Broadband Glossary "R" Definitions

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Welcome to our Broadband Glossary. We compiled a comprehensive collection of Broadband and Internet related terms and definitions. To look for a definition or term, simply click on the letter that matches the first letter of the word you are searching for. If the term you want is a numeral, you will find it under the 0-9 listing.

We intend for our Broadband Glossary to be ever expanding. As new technology is released, we will add these definitions to our Glossary. If you cannot find the term you are searching for, please contact us and we will add it to the Broadband glossary as quickly as possible. We hope that you find this Broadband Glossary easy to navigate and that you find the term you're looking for.

RAM or Random Access Memory

RAM is computer memory that is used by programs and documents. When programs and data are called up from permanent storage, they operate in RAM. In general, this means that the more RAM you have, the more able you are to handle large amounts of data. When a computer is shut down, the contents in RAM are deleted.

ROM or Read Only Memory

A special type of memory used to store programs that start a computer and do diagnostics. Data stored in ROM can only be read and cannot be removed even when your computer is turned off. Most personal computers have only a few thousand bytes of ROM.

Router

A hardware device that routes data from a local area network (LAN) to another network connection. A router acts like a coin sorting machine, allowing only authorized machines to connect to other computer systems. Most routers also keep log files about the local network activity.

RTF or Rich Text Format

A standardized file format created by Microsoft for producing formatted text files. An RTF file may include information such as text style, size, and color. RTF format is a universal format, and as such can be read by most word processing programs.