Jargon Buster S

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S-Video - Super-Video, sometimes referred to as Y/C Video, or component video
S-Video (Super-Video, sometimes referred to as Y/C Video, or component video) is a video signal transmission in which the luminance signal and the chrominance signal are transmitted separately to achieve superior picture clarity. The luminance signal (Y) carries brightness information, which defines the black and white portion, and the chrominance signal (C) carries color information, which defines hue and saturation. Traditional or composite video, the way that video signals have traditionally been transmitted, sends both (along with synchronization data) as one signal. Television sets are actually designed to display luminance and chrominance signals separately. Composite signals must be separated before they can be displayed. When the signals are sent as a composite, they overlap at a frequency range above 2.1 megahertz (MHz). The overlapping areas are difficult to separate entirely, and the remnants of either signal within the other creates video errors. Vestiges of chrominance data remaining in the luminance data cause a cross-luminance effect that creates a dot structure pattern (this is sometimes referred to as "dot crawl"), and vestiges of luminance data remaining in the chrominance data create "rainbow" effects in detailed patterns called "cross-color". Sending the signals separately, as in S-Video, circumvents this error-prone process

S.M.A.R.T. - Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)
Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) is an interface between a computer's start-up program or BIOS (basic input/output system) and the computer hard disk. It is a feature of the Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE) technology that controls access to the hard drive. If S.M.A.R.T is enabled when a computer is set up, the BIOS can receive analytical information from the hard drive and determine whether to send the user a warning message about possible future failure of the hard drive.

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface)
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a standard audio transfer file format. It is usually found on digital audio equipment such as a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) machine or audio processing device. It allows the transfer of audio from one file to another without the conversion to and from an analog format, which could degrade the signal quality.
The most common connector used with an S/PDIF interface is the RCA connector, the same one used for consumer audio products. An optical connector is also sometimes used.

Serial ATA - Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA
Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA) is a new standard for connecting hard drives into computer systems. As its name implies, SATA is based on serial signaling technology, unlike current IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard drives that use parallel signaling. SATA has several practical advantages over the parallel signaling (also called Parallel ATA or PATA) that has been used in hard drives since the 1980s. SATA cables are more flexible, thinner, and less massive than the ribbon cables required for conventional PATA hard drives. SATA cables can be considerably longer than PATA ribbon cables, allowing the designer more latitude in the physical layout of a system. Because there are fewer conductors (only 7 in SATA as compared with 40 in PATA), crosstalk and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are less likely to be troublesome. The signal voltage is much lower as well

SMTP - Simple Mail Transport Protocol
Simple Mail Transport Protocol: the agreed standard for sending email.

SSL - Secure Sockets Layer
Secure Sockets Layer: The most common standard for securely transmitting sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, over the internet.