The Technological Edge for the Savvy Independent Consultant

As an independent consultant working in any field it which you have competition, you need to get and maintain an edge over them. To continue to learn about your best friend, your personal computer would help you keep that edge.

To this end, always look to pick up a few new computer skills instead of just knowing how to use your computer.

To begin with, learn the meaning of some technical acronyms. There are at least eight essential acronyms that are important to know. Here I will describe just four: central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), universal serial bus (USB), and hypertext markup language (HTML).

CPU refers to the most important component of a computer. It is responsible for executing programs, performing calculations, and moving data between memory and long-term storage media. The significance of the CPU is two-fold: it determines which software product can be run on your computer and also how fast the software will run. Each motherboard will support only a specific type or range of CPU.

GPU refers to processes necessary for graphics rendering. The GPU translates the data from the CPU into images--a picture you can see. Unless a computer has a graphics capability built into the motherboard, that translation takes place on the graphic card. The CPU working in conjunction with software applications, sends information about the image to the graphic card, the graphic card then processes that information and sends it through a cable to the monitor.

The graphic card and the GPU is really one in the same. The graphic card houses the GPU. They control all the visuals that you see on your computer screen which includes everything from your desktop background to chatting with your friends.

USB referred to relatively fast serial communication architecture for attaching peripheral devices to avoid the configuration that used to plague personal computers in the past. Until recently, USB operated at 12 Mbps, but still supports up to 127 devices including keyboards, monitors, mice, and printers using a USB hub. High speed USB now operates at 480 Mbps. For faster devices such as cameras or camcorders, fire wire is more suitable. The speed of the fire wire interface is also good for devices such as portable hard drives.

And, finally, hypertext markup language (HTML) is a language used to describe documents that are to be published over the World Wide Web (www). HTML description of the document defines the placement of text and images on the page, and also the hypertext links that lead visitors from this page to other pages on the web. The term "markup" refers to the special instructions called tags which are distinguished in the document using the keyboard symbols which are called "angle brackets."