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Definition
| An input device that inputs biological data about a person; the data can identify a person's fingerprints, handprints, face, voice, eye, and handwriting. |
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Definition
| A condition in which chips loosen because of thermal changes. |
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| COM1 (Communications port 1) |
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Definition
| The number assigned a serial port that determines the system resources used by the port. A port might be called a COM1 port or a COM2 port. |
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Definition
| An older technology used by monitors in which the filaments at the back of a cathode tube shoot a beam of electrons to the screen at the front of the tube. |
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Definition
| A button on a CRT monitor that can be pressed to eliminate accumulated or stray magnetic fields around the monitor which can cause a CRT monitor to flicker or have wavy lines. |
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Term
| DVI-D (Digital Visual Interface) |
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Definition
| A video port that works only with digital monitors. |
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Term
| DVI-I (Digital Visual Interface) |
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Definition
| A video port that supports both analog and digital monitors. |
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Definition
| A Windows command to display information about hardware and diagnose problems with DirectX. |
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Term
| ECP (Extended Capabilities Port) |
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Definition
| A bidirectional parallel port mode that uses a DMA channel to speed up data flow. |
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Definition
| "Green" systems that satisfy the EPA requirements to decrease the overall consumption of electricity. See also Green Standards. |
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Term
| EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) |
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Definition
| A parallel port that allows data to flow in both directions (bidirectional port) and is faster than original parallel ports on PCs that allowed communication only in one direction. |
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Term
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Definition
| See IEEE 1394. Standards for an expansion bus that can also be configured to work as a local bus. It is expected to replace the SCSI bus, providing an easy method to install and configure fast I/O devices. Also called FireWire and i.Link. |
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Term
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Definition
| See LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor. A monitor that uses LCD technology. LCD produces an image using a liquid crystal material made of large, easily polarized molecules. LCD monitors are flatter than CRT monitors and take up less desk space. Also called a flat-panel monitor. |
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Definition
| A device used to house and protect a hard drive outside the computer case and connect it to an eSATA, USB, or other type port on the computer. Also called a toaster. |
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Term
| HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) |
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Definition
| A digital audio and video interface standard currently used on televisions and other home theater equipment and expected to ultimately replace DVI. |
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Term
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Definition
| A network device or box that provides a central location to connect cables and distributes incoming data packets to all other devices connected to it. Compare to switch. |
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Term
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Definition
| See IEEE 1394. Standards for an expansion bus that can also be configured to work as a local bus. It is expected to replace the SCSI bus, providing an easy method to install and configure fast I/O devices. Also called FireWire and i.Link. |
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Term
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Definition
| An older card that can contain serial, parallel, and game ports and floppy drive and IDE connectors. |
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Term
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Definition
A standard for parallel ports and cables developed by the Institute for Electrical and
Electronics Engineers and supported by hardware manufacturers. |
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Term
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Definition
| Standards for an expansion bus that can also be configured to work as a local bus. It is expected to replace the SCSI bus, providing an easy method to install and configure fast I/O devices. Also called FireWire and i.Link. |
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Term
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Definition
| A standard, developed by the 1394 Trade Association, that is designed for peer-to-peer data transmission and allows imaging devices to send images and photos directly to printers without involving a computer. |
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Term
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Definition
A wireless transceiver that uses infrared technology to support some wireless devices such as keyboards, mice, and printers. A motherboard might have an embedded infrared transceiver, or the transceiver might plug into a USB or serial port. The technology is defined by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Also called an IrDA transceiver, IR transceiver,
or infrared port. |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of display in which the electronic beam of a monitor draws every other line with each pass, which lessens the overall effect of a lower refresh rate. |
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Term
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Definition
| See infrared transceiver. A wireless transceiver that uses infrared technology to support some wireless devices such as keyboards, mice, and printers. A motherboard might have an embedded infrared transceiver, or the transceiver might plug into a USB or serial port. The technology is defined by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Also called an IrDA transceiver, IR transceiver, or infrared port. |
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Term
| IrDA (Infrared Data Association) transceiver |
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Definition
| See infrared transceiver. A wireless transceiver that uses infrared technology to support some wireless devices such as keyboards, mice, and printers. A motherboard might have an embedded infrared transceiver, or the transceiver might plug into a USB or serial port. The technology is defined by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Also called an IrDA transceiver, IR transceriver, or infrared port. |
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Term
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Definition
| A line on a bus that is assigned to a device and is used to signal the CPU for servicing. These lines are assigned a reference number (for example, the normal IRQ for a printer is IRQ 7). |
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Term
| KVM (Keyboard, Video, and Mouse) switch |
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Definition
| A switch allows you to use one keyboard, mouse, and monitor for multiple computers. Some KVM switches also include sound ports so that speakers and a microphone can be shared among multiple computers. |
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Term
| LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor |
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Definition
| A monitor that uses LCD technology. LCD produces an image using a liquid crystal material made of large, easily polarized molecules. LCD monitors are flatter than CRT monitors and take up less desk space. Also called a flat-panel monitor. |
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Term
| LPT (Line Printer Terminal) |
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Definition
| Assignments of system resources that are made to a parallel port and that are used to manage a print job. Two possible LPT configurations are referred to as LPT1: and LPT2:. |
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Term
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Definition
| The actual (and fixed) number of pixels built into an LCD monitor. For the clearest display, always set the resolution to the native resolution. |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of display in which the electronic beam of a CRT monitor draws every line on the screen with each pass. |
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Term
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Definition
| As applied to monitors, the number of times in one second an electronic beam can fill the screen with lines from top to bottom. Also called vertical scan rate. |
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Term
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Definition
| The number of pixels on a monitor screen that are addressable by software (example: 1024x768 pixels). |
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Term
| RGB (red, green, and blue) |
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Definition
| The three colors used to create a color space that consists of three dots, one for each color; Also called a triad. |
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Term
| RS-232c (Reference Standard 232 revision c or Recommended Standard 232 revision c) |
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Definition
| The interface standard used by a serial port, which is sometimes called an RS-232 port. |
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Term
| standard parallel port (SPP) |
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Definition
| An outdated parallel port that allows data to flow in only one direction and is the slowest of the three types of parallel ports. Also called a Centronics port. Compare to EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) and ECP (Extended Capabilities Port). |
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Term
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Definition
| A standard set by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for a CRT monitor that includes a minimum refresh rate of 70 Hz and a minimum resolution of 800 x 600. |
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Term
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Definition
| A 4-pin round video port that sends two signals over the cable, one for color and the other for brightness, and is used by some high-end TVs and video equipment. |
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Term
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Definition
| An input device that uses a monitor or LCD panel as a backdrop for user options. Touch screens can be embedded in a monitor or LCD panel or installed as an add-on device over the monitor screen. |
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Term
| UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) |
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Definition
| A chip that controls serial ports. It sets protocol and converts parallel data bits received from the system bus into serial bits. |
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Term
| VGA (Video Graphics Adapter) |
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Definition
| An outdated VESA standard for CRT monitors. |
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