Halftone – not the full Anthony
You don’t really need to know this if all you’re going to do is stare at that screen all day. But if you’re going to print something out you do. The print process works with millions of little dots that are sprayed or pressed on to paper and fools the eye into seeing a continuous and uninterrupted image. To achieve that the digital image has to be converted into these dots and so we convert it into a 'halftone'.

Handle - you’d be stuck in the loo without one
Designers use these to drag and change the shape of a graphic (and presumably to get out of the loo). Also used in programming to identify active files within programs. Something I certainly can’t get a handle on.

Hertz – what happens when you stub your toe
The more of these your computer processor has the faster you can work. That’ll please the boss.

Hickie – when you’re feeling sickie
A printing defect when the ink doesn’t hold to the paper’s surface, usually due to paper dust. Also known as a bull’s eye.

HTML – in control of the ones and zeros
HyperText Markup Language is used by the guys in anoraks to code your web pages so that they look and interlink the way they should. Very boring, but without it you’d be adrift in a very large sea of ether without hope or a paddle.

High-end – you’ve peaked
Often used in brags between techies, who’ll never admit to having a low-end. The higher an end you’ve got the better the performance you’ll have. Something that will please the girlies.

Histogram – old seventy eight player
Tweak one of these and you can perform miracles, especially when the photographer has screwed up and his future rests in the hands of the designer. Looks like a bar chart on screen with the height of the bars on the left determining how bright (or lacking in density) the image is, and those on the right how dark (or dense). Or is it the other way around? Looks prettier with a respectable bulge in the middle.

Home key – use it quietly when you get in late
Just like the one hanging on your key ring, this one on your keyboard also gets you home (back to the beginning). Isn’t that right James?

Hotlists– just don't let the other half find them
Your list of frequently used Web locations stored in your computer's browser as URLs. You'll find URL under U.

Hotspot – one of the Costas
At least in multimedia land you won’t get sunstroke. A clever little bit of programming that activates something (like an animation or pop-up caption) when you roll your cursor over it.

Hue – a friendly French protestant
Another term that designers use to blind each other with. It’s used to describe the wavelength or quality of a colour, and is often seen hand in hand with bosom pals Saturation and Brightness.

Hyperlink – jumping about
Even those intrepid Star Trek crew members hadn't thought of this one. A single click of a mouse and in a nanosecond or two you're on the other side of the world. Eat your heart out Scotty.

Hypertext – burning your nib out
System for allowing a web page user to explore different sections of a page, or jump between pages by clicking on the text.