Gaming Glossary

B:

Bandwidth:

The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. Bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second (Bps).

Bind:

Binding is how you assign keys to a control in a game. For example, if you bind the W key to the MOVE FORWARD command in the game, when you press W, you will move forward. Binding is different in each game.

Bit:

The smallest element of computer storage. A bit is a single digit (0 or 1) in a binary system. Physically, a bit is a transistor or capacitor in a memory cell, a magnetic domain on disk or tape, a reflective spot on optical media, or a high or low voltage pulsing through a circuit. Represented by a small b.

Bitrate:

The standard measure of data transmission speeds.

Boot:

To boot or to kick a player is to remove him or her from an online game.

Bot:

Computer controlled ally or opponent (typically in action and strategy games).

Broadband:

Typically used to describe high-speed data transmission over T1 lines (1,544 Mbps) and above. Broadband also more generally describes any type of data transmission in which a single wire can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission.

Bus:

A collection of wires through which data is transmitted from one part of a computer to another. You can think of a bus as a highway on which data travels within a computer. When used in reference to personal computers, the term bus usually refers to internal bus. This is a bus that connects all the internal computer components to the CPU and main memory. There's also an expansion bus that enables expansion boards to access the CPU and memory.

Byte:

Eight bits, which the computer treats as a single unit. A byte is the unit most computers use to represent a character such as a letter, number, or typographic symbol. A byte can also hold a string of bits that need to be used in some larger unit for application purposes.

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