Internet Glossary - Q
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Query
A word or a phrase used to pass instructions to a search engine or a directory
in order to locate web pages.
QuickTime
This is a multimedia technology developed by Apple. It is a popular format
for creating and storing sound, graphics, and movie (.mov) files. Though
it is an Apple technology, QuickTime software is available for both the
Mac and the PC.
QWERTY
This term is used to describe a standard (Latin alphabet-based) keyboard.
Why? Because the first six keys in the upper-left part of the keyboard
spell out Q-W-E-R-T-Y. I suppose you could call it a QWERTYUIOP keyboard,
but QWERTY is a lot easier to say. In case you are wondering why the QWERTY
keyboard is arranged like it is, the original reason was to reduce the
jamming of typebars in typewriters as they moved to strike the paper.
In 1932, August Dvorak developed what was intended to be a more efficient
keyboard, in which he placed the vowels and the five most common consonants
in the middle row, based on the idea that an alternating rhythm would
be established between the right and left hands. Though the keys on the
Dvorak keyboard are more efficienty arranged, it was and still is difficult
for people to switch from the familiar QWERTY arrangement.
