Computer Information Systems Applications glossary

An optical disc holding up to around 700 MB, the oldest of the four, still met occasionally with legacy audio discs or old software but effectively superseded for everyday storage.

Taught in Basic computer operations

Remote storage accessed over the internet (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox), available from any connected device and usually synchronised automatically, so it doubles as an off-site backup. It needs an internet connection to update and depends on the provider's own availability and security.

Taught in Basic computer operations

An optical disc with a capacity of about 4.7 GB (single layer), once common for larger transfers, software distribution and archival backups, now largely replaced by flash drives and cloud storage because most modern computers no longer include an optical drive.

Taught in Basic computer operations

Documents stored on a shared network location such as a file server or a departmental drive, accessible to authorised users from any machine on the network, so the current version is always the one everyone sees.

Taught in Basic computer operations

A small, portable USB drive (typically 8 GB to 256 GB) for transferring files between computers that are not on the same network, or for a quick backup. Cheap and convenient, but easily lost, and a common route for malware to move between machines if autorun is not disabled.

Taught in Basic computer operations

Shared directories, often with access permissions controlling who can read, who can write to, and who cannot see them at all, mapped to a drive letter or a network path for convenience.

Taught in Basic computer operations

A shared printer accessible to multiple computers on the same network, installed once on a server or a network-capable printer and connected to by each user rather than attached to every desk.

Taught in Basic computer operations