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New Technology Institute (NTI)

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Satellites
A body in space which receives signals from the earth and beams them to another part of the earth.

Sat Nav
Satellite Navigation

Search engines
Search engine software (on sites such as Google, Yahoo! Alta Vista or Lycos) helps you find what you are looking for on the World Wide Web. When you type in a word or phrase to describe what you are looking for, the search engine matches this against its index, to offer a list of likely matches. Getting an e-commerce site listed on the major search engines is vital for attracting visitors and business.

Scart
A scart cable connects the video, audio and system control signals, to and from the VCR, TV, Games Console or other equipment.

Scart Socket
Consists of a 21-pin cable connector socket that provides connections between different AV equipment.

Shareware
Shareware software is distributed free, usually via the Internet. You can use it for evaluation purposes, but are trusted to send money to the authors if you want to use it regularly. Sometimes sending a payment brings a more powerful version of the software, together with access to technical support and future upgrades. For small software firms, shareware can provide access to markets without the need to invest heavily in marketing and distribution.

Shutter
The shutter is the device behind the lens of the camera which is normally closed, but opens for an instant when a picture is taken to allow light into the camera and onto the CCD. The length of time the shutter is open is for is determined by the Metering System, and is known as the shutter speed, not to be confused with shutter lag. You will find that this will vary from shot to shot dependent on lighting conditions.

Smart Card
Personal viewing card supplied and activated by the digital broadcaster that when inserted in to a decoder box or intergrated TV allows access to digital programming

Software
Software is the program, or set of instructions, that tells a computer what to do. There are two basic types of software. The "operating system" - such as Windows XP - controls the basic workings of a computer, while "application software" - such as Microsoft Word, Sun's Star Office and Adobe Photoshop - allows you to do particular jobs. There are also other types of software - for example, network software, which enables a group of computers to communicate with one another, and language software, which helps programmers to write other software.

Sound card
A device that allows a computer to play sophisticated audio files.

Spam
Spam is junk email that clogs up your inbox, usually trying to flog you pills or porn. Delete it without opening as it may contain a virus, or use a Spam Filter to stop it getting there in the first place.

Spectrum Analyser
Visual display of sound output in various frequency bands.

Strontium
Precious metal used for very strong magnets in loudseakers. Allows a compact design and high-quality sound reproduction

Symbian OS
An operating system designed for small, portable devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. It is an open OS supported by many major mobile phone manufacturers.