Network Card: A card that can be installed in one of the motherboard slots to give the computer the ability to talk to other computers with similar cards. A collection of similarly equipped computers connected by specially designed cables is known as a network. The mechanism (including languages and protocols) used to communicate on a network are varied, but the most common networking designs in use are Ethernet and Token Ring.
Operating System Software (OS): The instructions that allow the computer to start working and permit it to run other programs. The major OS software types include MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, Macintosh, UNIX, and LINUX. The most popular OS in use at present is Windows 95. Most computers come with one of these pre-installed.