acoustic coupler
A device onto which a telephone handset is placed to connect a computer with a network. The acoustic coupler might also contain a modem, or the modem could be a separate device.
Popular in the 1970s, acoustic couplers are no longer widely used. Nowadays, telephones connect directly to a modem via modular telephone connectors. This produces better connections than acoustic couplers and avoids the problems produced by irregularly shaped telephones. Still, acoustic coupler modems are useful in some situations, such as in hotel rooms where the telephone cable is anchored to the wall. Modems that do not use an acoustic coupler are sometimes called direct-connect modems.
Read Also:
- Anonymous FTP
A method for downloading public files using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Anonymous FTP is called anonymous because you don’t need to identify yourself before accessing files. In general, you enter the word anonymous or ftp when the host prompts you for a username; you can enter anything for the password, such as your e-mail […]
- answer-only modem
A modem that can receive messages but cannot send them. Only the most inexpensive modems are answer-only.
- antenna
Also called an aerial, an antenna is a conductor that can transmit, send and receive signals such as microwave, radio or satellite signals. A high-gain antenna increases signal strength, where a low-gain antenna receives or transmits over a wide angle.
- antenna array
Also called an array antenna, antenna arrays are several antennas connected and arranged in a regular structure to form a single antenna. Antenna arrays are able to produce radiation patterns that combined, have characteristics that a single antenna would not.
- anti-adware
Anti-adware refers to any software utility that scans your system and removes adware, spyware, keyloggers, trojans, and other malicious code from your computer. Some of these programs are undetectable to anti-virus software and many users now use an anti-adware utility in addition to anti-virus software to protect their system.