Tech Terms

If you’ve found that your teachers have been using long words like ‘fibre-optic’ or ‘ethernet’ lately, don’t worry- it’s probably because they’re excited about the laptop rollout!

Here’s a list of tech terms that are commonly used and their meanings. More words will be added as I hear them.

Airport – This can either be a place where planes take off and land, or the name of the Wireless Router made by Apple computers, but usually when teachers mention an ‘Airport’ when talking about DERNSW, they are referring to any Wireless Access Point, whether it be made by Apple or not.

Commission – Basically the commissioning process is when you type your name in to a  ‘naked’ laptop so it knows it belongs to you. After commissioning, nobody else can log into your laptop using their own login details.

Ethernet – Just a type of wired network. An ethernet cable is just a blue network cable, while an ethernet port is where you plug that blue cable into your computer or network router.

Fibre-Optic - Special cables used for connecting the wireless access points in classrooms to the main server.

Intranet – Different to Internet. Local to your school. Almost like a mini-internet with it’s servers in your school. Sometimes they are kept private and can only be accessed from inside the school, while some schools make them public so you can access them over the Internet.

Moodle – An online application for schools where teachers can post assignments and resources. Ask your computer admin if your school has it.

Re-Image – If your laptop isn’t working properly, or even won’t work at all, you’ll most likely be sent down to the TSO to get it re-imaged. This is where your hard-drive gets wiped and is replaced with the original software that is on all S1′s.

T1 and S1 – The name given to our laptops. Both are the same, but the teachers’ (T1) are black and the students’ (S1) are red.

TSO – Tech Support Officer. Appointed to your school to fix the laptops.

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