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| Active Listening | Demonstrating to your customers that you hear what they are saying and you are taking in the important information they are providing you about their issue. |
| AFP | Acronym for Apple Filing Protocol; a client/server protocol used by Apple file service on Macintosh-compatible computers to share files and network services. AFP uses TCP/IP and other protocols to communicate between computers on a network. |
| Anti-Aliasing | Smoothing out of jagged lines in an image by padding pixels with intermediate colors. Anti-aliasing may cause some images to appear blurred. |
| AppleCare | Division at Apple that responds to customers' technical support issues. |
| AppleTalk | A comprehensive network system developed by Apple that runs on a variety of cable systems and protocols. |
| Application | Software designed for a particular purpose, such as home finance, education, or word processing. |
| Applications | In Mac OS X, the layer that contains the various programs you run, using the appropriate environment provided by the layer below. |
| Aqua | New user interface technology introduced in Mac OS X. |
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| Background Questions | In this context, background questions are ones that give a customer profile and allow you to determine whether you are the best person to help. |
| Bluetooth | A technology that permits devices to connect to each other and share data, wirelessly, over a short distance. |
| Boot ROM | Low-level instructions used by a computer in the first stages of starting up. |
| BootP | Short for Bootstrap protocol, protocol used primarily for computers that start up from a network server. |
| BootX Booter | Part of the Mac OS X startup process that loads the kernel environment. |
| BSD | Formerly known as the Berkeley System Distribution version of UNIX, BSD is now simply called the BSD operating system. |
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| Carbon | Application developed for use in Mac OS 9 that has been modified to also run in Mac OS X. User can choose to run applications in Native or Classic mode for some Carbon applications. Takes advantage of Mac OS X plumbing. |
| Classic | Application developed for use in Mac OS 9 and has not been updated. Does not take advantage of Mac OS X plumbing. |
| Closed Information Questions | Questions that direct responder to specific information. |
| Cocoa | Application developed in Java 2 or Objective C, which utilizes Mac OS X's APIs. Takes advantage of Mac OS X plumbing. |
| Command-Line Interface | Interface that allows use of the UNIX commands built into Mac OS X. |
| Compositing | A way to combine two or more images seamlessly. |
| Compression | The process of reducing the data size of a file. |
| Console | The Console application lets you see technical messages from the Mac OS X system software and Mac OS X applications. If you are programming or troubleshooting a problem, these messages might be useful. |
| Core OS | The foundation of Mac OS X, responsible for handling all I/O and for managing memory and processor usage. It is commonly referred to as Darwin. |
| Core Services | Includes the various system components that implement the operating system services used by applications, such as QuickTime for playing movies, Quartz for 2D drawing, directory services, and so forth. |
| CUPS | CUPS provides printing capabilities in Mac OS X v.10.2. It also provides command line printing options for PostScript and raster printers. |
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| Daemon | Processes created by the system that run in the background to manage services requests that the computer system expects to receive. |
| Darwin | Apple's Mac OS X base operating system minus graphical user interface. It is a UNIX-based operating system using the Mach 3 kernel. |
| Desktop | Where you do your work. On the desktop you see small pictures, or icons, that represent the items you work with or create on your computer. |
| Developer Frameworks | Consists of the application environments that allow you to run various applications in Mac OS X. |
| Device | A unit of hardware, outside or inside the case or housing for the essential computer (processor, memory, and data paths) that is capable of providing input to the essential computer or of receiving output or both. |
| Device Driver | Software that enables peripheral devices to work with a CPU. Three types of device drivers used in Mac OS X are kernel extensions, plug-ins, and applications. |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a protocol used to distribute IP addresses to client computers. |
| Directory | A folder. |
| DNS Servers | Dedicated hosts that provide DNS (Domain Name System) services. |
| Dock | A desktop organizer at the bottom of the screen that displays an icon for each item you store there. Items can be dragged from the Finder window to the Dock for easy access. Open applications and minimized windows also show up in the Dock. |
| Dual-Boot | The ability to start up a computer from a choice of operating systems installed on one computer. The operating systems can be installed on the same or separate disk partitions. |
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| Empathy | Identification with or an understanding of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another person. Sympathy usually has the component of "pity" and can be interpreted as condescending. |
| Encryption | A way to protect data by coding it so that it appears to be a random sequence of characters. Only those with the password can unscramble the data. |
| Escalation | In this context, referring an issue to another person with greater authority or expertise regarding that issue. |
| Extension | Small piece of software that loads at startup and modifies or adds functionality to the base system. Extension conflicts in Mac OS 9 can be a source of customer issues. |
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| File System | The hierarchy of files on your drives. These files are placed somewhere in a hierarchical (tree) structure. A file is placed in a directory or subdirectory at the desired place in the tree structure. In Mac OS 9, your volumes are displayed as distinct entities (mostly in the invisible /Volumes directory). In Mac OS X, all volumes are really part of one file system that contains the contents of all of your volumes. However, the Mac OS X Finder displays this more like Mac OS 9. |
| File Viewer | A Finder window that shows you the volumes available to you (internal, external, network) and their contents. |
| Finder | Application that is the gateway to your computer and network. In a Finder window you see icons for your applications, documents, peripherals, disks, and servers. |
| Firewall | Software that protects the network applications running on your server. IP Firewall service, which is part of Mac OS X Server software, scans incoming IP packets and rejects or accepts these packets based on a set of filters you create. |
| FireWire | FireWire is Apple's cross-platform implementation of a high-speed serial data bus defined by IEEE Standard 1394-1995 that is able to transfer large amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices. FireWire features simplified cabling and hot swapping, and provides a single plug-and-socket connection to which up to 63 devices can be attached with data transfer speeds up to 400 megabits per second. FireWire is designed to support much higher data rates than USB 1.0; both standards are expected to exist together, serving different device types. With the introduction of the new FireWire 800 standard, Apple now refers to the original standard as FireWire 400. |
| Firmware | Software programs or data that have been written onto read-only memory. |
| Force Quit | Command used to terminate an application or a process. |
| Fragmentation | The breaking up of a file into many separate locations in memory or on a disk. It takes longer to retrieve files that are highly fragmented. |
| Framework | A bundle of shared library code that is automatically and dynamically loaded and linked to programs. |
| FTP | Acronym for file transfer protocol, the protocol the Internet uses to facilitate the transfer of files between computers. |
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| Get Info | Information window displayed for a highlighted file using the Command-I key sequence. Information includes kind, location, creation/modification dates, and sharing privileges of the selected file as well as related files. |
| gid | Short for group identification number. Every user account is a member of a group and each group has a unique gid. |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface, the visual screen environment with which users interact. |
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| HFS | Hierarchical file system, also known as Mac OS Standard format, a data storage format. |
| HFS+ | Hierarchical File System Plus. The Mac OS Extended file system format. This file system format was introduced as part of Mac OS 8.1, adding support for filenames longer than 31 characters, Unicode representation of file and directory names, and efficient operation on very large disks. HFS+ is a multiple-fork volume format. |
| http | Hypertext Transfer Protocol, an application protocol that defines the set of rules for linking and exchanging files on the World Wide Web. |
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| Infomercial | A television ad that presents information as if it is an interview or documentary instead of a sales device. |
| Interface | Hardware or software that links the computer to a device. |
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| Java | Application developed entirely in Sun's Java language. Java applications use the Aqua interface, but use Sun's APIs rather than Apple's. Java applications should run on any platform that supports Java. |
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| Kernel/Microkernel | The complete Mac OS X core operating-system environment, which includes Mach, BSD, the I/O Kit, file systems, and networking components. It controls access to the computer and its files, allocates resources among the various activities taking place within the computer, maintains the file system, and manages the computer's memory. |
| Kernel Extension | Kernel extensions add functionality to Darwin via pieces of software found in .kext files. (For example, AppleADBDisplay.kext is a device driver for the display.) |
| Knowledge Base | Apple website that includes product manuals and articles on many technical support issues. |
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| LAN | Acronym for local area network; a network maintained within a facility, as opposed to a WAN (wide area network) that links geographically separated facilities. |
| Localhost | Computer host name that is used if one is not entered in Mac OS X Setup Assistant. |
| Location | A network location is a set of configurations for your network ports (your computer's Ethernet port, modem port, or AirPort Card, for example). |
| Logs | Files that record events on your computer. |
| Login Item | Item that is opened automatically when you log in. |
| Login Items | Preferences pane where you can designate applications and documents that you want to be opened automatically when you log in. |
| loginwindow | Part of the Mac OS X startup sequence, the loginwindow application displays the login window and provides several services on behalf of the user. |
| Log out | Menu command to quit current user settings and return to login screen. |
| LPR | Line Print Remote. Method of communicating over TCP/IP to printer to send it print jobs. |
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| .Mac | http://www.mac.com, Apple's online fee based portal service. |
| mach_init | Process that manages all CPU processes including preemptive multitasking, memory usage and protection, and all inter-process communication protocols for the system, both local and remote. |
| Memory Protection | A system of memory management in which programs are prevented from being able to modify or corrupt the memory partition of another program. Mac OS 8 and 9 do not have memory protection; Mac OS X does. |
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| Native | Application developed for the Cocoa environment in Mac OS X. |
| NetInfo | Hierarchical distributed database that can store information to be accessed by clients connected to the network. It can include network configuration, user accounts, email accounts, NFS accounts, and printer/fax devices on that network. |
| NetInfo Domain | NetInfo server at the top of a hierarchical tree of servers that distributes NetInfo database information to other NetInfo servers or clones under it. |
| NFS | Network File System. Allows computer user to view and optionally store and update files on a remote computer as though the files were on the user's own computer. NFS is to UNIX what Personal File Sharing is to a Macintosh. |
| Nonverbal Communication | Body language and expression. Knowing how to read these is extremely helpful in business. |
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| OpenGL | Industry's most widely used and supported 2D and 3D graphics application programming interface (API). |
| Open Firmware | A cross-platform firmware standard for controlling hardware used by all PCI-based Mac OS computers. |
| Open Information Questions | Questions in the form of how, what, and why that elicit important information and require several words to answer. |
| Operational Model | The method by which a help desk will operate, including the number of staff members, hours of operation, and all of the ways the team will process and resolve issues within the defined scope of support. |
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| Package | A folder that appears as an application file to a user. It is a folder that, for example, contains an application and its support files. Packages remove the need to have an application's files located in several places in the System folder. Display the contextual menu (Control key) to view a package's content. |
| PAIR | Acronym for Probe-Analyze-Isolate-Resolve; an approach to troubleshooting in which you pare down the issue. |
| Path | The route through a file system to a particular file (for example, /System/Library). |
| Pathname Separator | The character used to separate elements of a path or pathname. Under Unix and POSIX.1 compliant systems, the pathname separator is the (forward) slash (/). For obvious reasons, no directory or filename can contain this character. |
| PDF | Portable Document Format. A file format developed by Adobe that has captured all of the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, or forward to someone else. |
| Peripheral Device | Plug-ins add functionality to support devices such as cameras. Plug-ins can be downloaded from the manufacturers website. |
| Permissions | In Mac OS X, a system to determine which users can access specific file and folders. |
| Plug-In | A device that is connected to the computer, like a printer or a modem. |
| Port | In networking, a physical network connector such as your computer's Ethernet port, modem port, or AirPort Card, for example. |
| POST | Power-On Self Test, part of startup sequence that checks the basic hardware components for functionality and verifies that RAM is functioning to operating specifications. |
| PPP | Point-to-Point Protocol, method of connecting a computer to the Internet. |
| PPPoE | Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet connection, specification for connecting users on an Ethernet to the Internet via a "gateway." |
| PRAM | Parameter RAM. PRAM stores date and time settings and other system preference data. |
| Preemptive Multitasking | A type of multitasking in which the operating system can interrupt a currently running task in order to run another task, as needed. |
| Preference files | Small files that contain customized settings for applications. |
| Print Driver | Software that enables a printer to work with a CPU. |
| Privileges | Settings that define the kind of access users have to shared files and folders. You can assign four types of privileges: read and write, read only, write only, and no access. |
| Probing Questions | Leading and revealing questions asked to solicit information. |
| Process | A BSD abstraction for a running program. A process' resources include a virtual address space, threads, and file descriptors. In Mac OS X, a process is based on one Mach task and one or more Mach threads. |
| Protected Memory | Operating system allocates a unique memory address space for each application or process running on the computer. It is protected because the operating system prevents applications from accessing memory outside of their allocated space (a frequent cause of system crashes in other operating systems). |
| Protocol | A special set of rules that relate to communication between systems. |
| Proxy Server | A host computer that acts as an intermediary between a computer user and the Internet. |
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| Quartz | New 2D graphics system, based on the Internet-standard PDF, delivers on-the-fly rendering, anti-aliasing, and compositing of PostScript graphics with pristine quality. |
| QuickTime | A multimedia development, storage, and playback technology from Apple. QuickTime files combine sound, text, animation, and video in a single file. |
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| Receipt | A record of the installation of an application package; it allows you to verify the installation of application files and to remove those files if you decide you no longer want them installed. This is not the installation package. |
| Rendering | The ability to calculate and display an image or visual effect in "real-time," or as it is happening. |
| Rendezvous | A protocol developed by Apple for automatic discovery of computers, devices, and services on IP networks. |
| Root (Device) | The top-level directory (folder) of a file system. |
| Root (User) | The administrator account on UNIX operating systems with ability to completely modify the operating system configuration. |
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| Safe Mode | A method of starting up loading only essential kernel extensions (so your display, drive, mouse, and keyboard still work). Used to troubleshoot kernel extensions that might have been added to your system. Pressing Shift at startup activates it. There is no feedback that says "Safe Mode - Most extensions off." |
| Scope of Support | The level of service that is provided by the support center or help desk. This includes the type of support that is provided, the audience, and the method by which the clients obtain the service. |
| Self-Mounting | Refers to a disk image that does not need to be mounted using the Disk Copy program in Mac OS X. Self-mounting images have the .smi suffix. |
| Sheet | Dialog attached to active file window that can relate to error, save, or print messages for that file. |
| Single-User Mode | Account without GUI interface that allows administrator to troubleshoot startup problems by entering commands at a command line. It is accessed by holding down Command-S at startup. |
| SMB | Short for Server Message Blocks, a file sharing protocol. |
| Sound Bite | A short comment or phrase that is effective in broadcast television or radio. |
| Specifications | Critical information needed in order to identify and resolve a problem with a particular computer, such as model, serial number, processor, memory, associated drives, operating system, and so on. |
| Split-Half Approach | A technique for systematically isolating the source of a problem. You eliminate roughly half of the items you are checking, try to recreate the problem, and continue halving the search group until you find the source of the problem. |
| Startup Items | Programs and shell scripts that load during the last stage of the startup process whose function is to clean out temporary files and start the system daemons-background processes. |
| Startup Disk | Mac OS X System Preferences item that allows the user to select a different startup disk or Mac OS to use on next restart. |
| Superuser | The system administrator, also called the root user. |
| System | An entity comprised of a number of components working together to perform a function. A successful support center or help desk functions as a system. |
| System Preferences | Application that allows user to change system settings. Replaces Mac OS 9 control panels. |
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| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, two of the main protocols of the Internet. To connect a computer to the Internet, it must have some kind of TCP/IP communication software installed on it. |
| Terminal | Application that provides access to the command-line interface. |
| Tier One Agents | Agents who first respond to the customer, help identify the problem, and solve it, or escalate to the resource most qualified to resolve the issue. |
| Tone of Voice | An important aspect of vocal communication. Experts have found that tone of voice comprises 87% of the total impact of vocal communication. |
| TruBlue Environment | The Classic environment that runs in the background. |
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| UDF | Universal Disk Format. The file system format used in DVD disks. |
| UFS | UNIX file system. An industry standard file-system format used in UNIX-like operating systems. |
| UID (User ID) | A number that uniquely identifies a user. Mac OS X computers use the UID to keep track of a user's directory and file ownership. |
| UNIX | Name is pronounced YEW-nihks. In 1974, UNIX became the first operating system written in the C language. It is a non-proprietary operating system and is the first open or standard operating system that can be improved or enhanced by anyone. |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus. An industry-wide peripheral bus standard that supports a data speed of 12 megabits per second, and that accommodates a wide variety of devices. |
| User Interface | The way a computer application communicates with you. |
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| Verbose Mode | A window of scrolled text at startup of the computer that displays operating system configuration information. Holding down Command-V at startup accesses it. |
| Virtual Memory Manager | Manages an application's protected memory space and automatically allocates precisely the amount of memory needed by the application. Mac OS 8 and 9 did not automatically allocate virtual memory to an application - this was performed in the application's Info window. In Mac OS X, virtual memory is built into the operating system and cannot be turned on or off. It is on all of the time and does not degrade performance. |
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| Yes-No Questions | Questions in the form of is, are, was, do, did; they elicit a yes or no response and are used when direct facts are needed. |
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