N
Name Server - DNS Domain Name System-A distributed database that maps IP addresses to domain names. A DNS server, keeps a list of names and the IP addresses associated with each name.
Nanosecond - One billionth of a second.
NAT (Network Address Translation) - A technique sometimes used so that multiple computers can share a single IP address.
Negative Cutter - A professional who cuts the original camera negative according to a cut list generated by the digital editing system.
NetBIOS Network Basic Input/Output System - A program that allows applications on different computers to communicate within a local area network.
NetBoot Server - A Mac OS X server on which you have installed NetBoot software and have configured to allow clients to start up from disk images on the server.
NetInfo - The Apple protocol for accessing a directory domain.
Network File System NFS - A client/server protocol that uses TCP/IP to allow remote users to access files as though they were local. NFS exports shared volumes to computers according to IP address, rather than user name and password.
Network Installation - The process of installing systems and software on Mac OS X client computers over the network. Software installation can occur with an administrator attending the installations or completely unattended.
Network Number - A 16-bit number that provides a unique identifier for a network in an AppleTalk internet.
Network Services - The capabilities that the network system delivers to users, such as printing on network printers, file sharing on network file servers, or communicating through electronic mail.
Network Time Protocol NTP - Used for synchronizing client clocks.
Network Type - A term used to describe different types of networks, such as Ethernet and Token Ring.
Network - A pane in System Preferences used to enter settings to connect to a network, and an icon users see when they click the Computer button in a Finder window. Two or more computing devices connected together by wiring, cable, digital circuit, or other means. The Internet is a network that comprises thousands of computer networks.
New World ROM - Certain Macintosh computers made since 1998 use a software ROM in conjunction with a hardware ROM. This design is called ROM in RAM. In some cases, a particular Apple technology or product will only work with computers that have this design.
nfsd Daemon - An NFS server process that runs continuously behind the scenes and processes reading and writing requests from clients. The more daemons that are available, the more concurrent clients can be served.
NMI - nonmaskable interrupt.
Node Number - A unique number used to identify each node on a network.
Node - An individually addressable device connected to an AppleTalk network, such as a computer or LaserWriter printer.
Non-Drop Frame Timecode - Normal NTSC timecode, where frames are numbered sequentially and there are 30 frames per second, 60 seconds per minute, and 60 minutes per hour. Because NTSC's frame rate is actually 29.97 fps, non-drop frame timecode is off by 3 seconds and 18 frames per hour in comparison to actual elapsed time.
NSL Network Service Locator - The Apple technology that simplifies the search for TCP/IP-based network resources.
ns - Nanoseconds.
NTSC Composite Color Monitor - The standard video format defined by the NTSC, the National Television Standards Committee.
NTSC - Acronym for National Television Standards Committee, the organization that defines North American broadcast standards. The term NTSC video refers to the video standard defined by the committee, which is 29.97 fps, 525 lines per frame, and interlaced.
NuBus - A bus architecture that allowed a variety of components to be added to older Macintosh models by installing cards into expansion slots such as video capture cards and networking. NuBus is a different bus architecture than the newer PCI bus and the boards are not interchangeable.
Numeric Keypad - The number keys, on the right side of the Apple IIgs keyboard, that are laid out like the keys on an adding machine. You can use them interchangeably with the number keys on the top row of the keyboard. Also known as keypad.
NV-RAM - nonvolatile random-access memory.