terminology interview questions
Top terminology frequently asked interview questions
so the underlying technology with SSD, eMMC, SD, USB Flash etc... is NAND flash correct? So is the difference between all of them just the way controllers are implemented? Or are the technologies different all together?
From what I know, I think SSDs are for desktops and eMMCs are for mobile devices, but is there some intricate difference between all of these storage technologies?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Derived from this question:
If opensolaris, freebsd, openbsd, netbsd are not UNIX, what is then?
What confuses me more, is the fact OSX1.5+ is UNIX, while prior version of OSX weren't
What is the difference between UNIX and UNIX-like?
And what is the diff between UNIX-Like and Linux?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I'm reading a work on Cloud services and it touches briefly upon "Fog computing" as an example of possible future development branch of software-hardware infrastructure, without specifying what it is exactly and any of its benefits.
Wikipedia has a few words about Fog computing on its Edge computing page. I suppose it could mean that processing is distributed unevenly between a set of devices, but it's somehow different from concentrating all processing on central data server (cloud computing) or end-user devices (edge computing), but I'm not sure.
So what exactly is "Fog computing"?
Source: (StackOverflow)
I just got into a heated discussion about Wi-Fi. What does the Fi in Wi-Fi mean? I would have thought potentially "frequency interface" since all network adapters are classified as interfaces. However I'm not certain.
Source: (StackOverflow)
I want to call it a "mouse nipple" or maybe a "joystick", although I know these are not correct.
It's different from the touchpad, which is below the keyboard and has dedicated click buttons. Instead, it sits smack in the middle of the keyboard at the bottom right corner of the G key and bottom left corner of the H key. Tapping it translates to a click and nudging it left/right/up/down controls the pointer on the screen.
What is the correct term for this thing? I'd like to google some info about configuring it, but my google fu fails without the proper name.
Source: (StackOverflow)
I've been wondering what it means for software to run natively. What exactly is such software and how is it different from software that does not run natively? How can I tell if a given peice of software will run natively on my computer? Is there likely to be software already on my computer that runs natively?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Nowadays it seems that Full HD isn’t enough anymore and the terms “4K,” “QHD” and “UHD” are thrown around interchangeably.
At the same time, there is not just one “4K” resolution in the catalogs. I have seen resolutions such as 2560 x 1600, 3440 x 1440, 3840 x 2160, 4096 x 2160 being advertised as 4K. But it can’t all be 4K, right?
Is it that 4K is not defined correctly, did the technology grow independent from the naming conventions, or do the advertising companies just refuse to burden the customers with correct informations?
Also, on a sidenote, if 4K means 4xFullHD (2 x 1920 by 2 x 1080 => 3840 x 2160), shouldn't FullHD be called 2K?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Operating system development tutorials pinpoint reaching screen data by writing directly to VGA or EGA or Super VGA, but what I do not get is what is the real difference between writing to a fixed address for display, and writing to a video card directly, either onboard or removable? I just want the basic clarification of my confusion on this on my issue
And since it's not such a simple case with variables in cards, connective-interfaces, buses, architectures, system on a chip, embedded systems, etc., I find it to be hard to find a way to understand the idea behind this 100%. Would the fixed addresses differ from a high-end GPU to a low-end onboard one? Why and why not?
It is one of my goals in programming to host a kernel and make an operating system, and a farfetched dream indeed. Failing to understand the terminology not only hinders me in some areas, but makes me seem foolish on the subjects of hardware.
EXTRA: Some of these current answers speak of using the processors maximum addressable memory in the specifics on 16-bits. The problem is some of these other arising issues:
1.What about the card's own memory? That would not need system RAM for screen data itself.
2.What about in higher-bit modes? And can't you not neglect BIOS in real mode(x86)and still address memory through AL?
3.How would the concept of writing to a fixed address remain unchanged on a GPU with multitudes of registers and performance at or above the actual microprocessor?
Source: (StackOverflow)
Now this might sound like too many previous questions, but I am really confused about these terms. I was trying to understand how "dual core" is different from "Core 2 Duo", and I came across some answers. For example, this answer states:
Core 2 Duo has two cores inside a single physical package
and
dual core is 2 cpu in a package
2 cpu's in a die = 2 cpu's made together 2 cpu's in package = 2 cpu's on small board or linked in some way
Now, is a core different from a CPU? What I understand is there is something that does all the heavy computation, decision making, math and other stuff (aka "processing") is called a CPU. Now what is a Core? And what is a processor when somebody says he has got a Core 2 Duo? And in this context what is a Package and what is a Die?
I still don't understand the difference between Core 2 Duo and Dual Core.
And can somebody explain hyper-threading (symmetric multi-threading) too if they are super generous?
Source: (StackOverflow)
What is the hexadecimal system and why is it used so much in computing? I know that computers use 0s and 1s to store data, so how come we use hexadecimal?
Source: (StackOverflow)
When troubleshooting trivial problems via phone, I'm often in this situation:
- Me: Click on the Start Button
- Other: What button?
- Me: sigh The blue circle on the lower left with the windows logo on it
- Other: What logo?
- Me: SIGH On the lower left of your screen, there should be a blueish thingamajig, please click on this. You should then see a menu popping up.
Is there another way to tell a user to open the "Start" Menu, so that I can avoid going through this?
(And, by the by, since the button has no text anymore, is it actually still called Start-Button?)
Source: (StackOverflow)
- I was wondering what differences are
between firmware and software?
- What differences are
between firmware and OS?
- Are boot-loaders firmware? Bios is.
How about GNU grub? Is grub software or firmware?
Source: (StackOverflow)
What's the difference between the terms 'netbook', 'notebook', and 'laptop'? I've always just called portable computers "laptops", but apparently there is a technical difference between the three.
Source: (StackOverflow)