Term
| Series of binary electronic commands sent to a CPU to get work done. |
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| Single group of programs designed to do a partifular job; always stored on mass storage devices. |
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| Main component of the PC, in which the CPU, RAM, CD-ROM, and hard drive reside. All other devices--the keyboard, mouse, and monitor--connect to the system unit. |
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| Any device that connects to the system unit. |
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| Hardware connection with some sort of projection that connects to a port. |
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| Part of a connector into which a plug is inserted. Also known as a jack. |
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Definition
| Port (Physical Connection) |
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| Part of a connector into which a plug is inserted. Also known as a port. |
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| Jack (Physical Connection) |
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| Small receptacles used to attach cables to a system. (USB, PS/2, and DB-25. |
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| General purpose serial interconnect for keyboards, printers, joysticks, and many other devices. Ebables hot-swapping and daisy-chaining devices. |
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| Universal Serial Bus (USB) |
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| Any hardware that may be attached to or removed from a PC without interrupting the PCs normal processing. |
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| Interconnection standard to send wide-band signals over a serialized, physically thin connector system. |
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| D-shaped connectors used for a variety of connectons in the PC and networking world. |
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| UTP cable connector, used for both telephone and network connections. |
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| Very popular, 1/8-inch diameter connector used to transmit two auido signals; perfect for stereo sound. |
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| Connectors on a motherboard that enable users to add optional components toa system. |
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| Consortium of comptuer manufacturers that standardized improvemtnts to comomn IBM PC components. |
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| Video Electroncs Standards Association (VESA) |
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| Special video connector designed for digital-to-digital connections; most commonly seen on PC video cards and LCD monitors. |
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Definition
| Digital Visual Interface (DVI) |
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| Single multimedia connection that includes both high-definition video and audio. One of the best connections for outputting to television. |
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| Digital audio connecotr found on many high end sound cards. |
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| Expansion card that enables a PC to physically link to a network. |
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| Pointing device distinguished by a ball that is rolled with the fingers. |
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| Connection for the synchronous, high-speed flow of data along parallel lines to a device, usually a printer. |
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| Peripheral often used while playing computer games; orginally inteded as a multipurpose input device. |
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| Serial ATA-based connector for external hoard drives and optical drives. |
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| "Brain" of the comptuer. Microprocessor that handles primary calculations for the comptuer. |
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Definition
| Central Processing Unit (CPU) |
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| Arrangement of a large number of pins extending from the bottom of the CPU package. |
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| Memory that can be accessed at random; that is, which you can write to or read from without touching the preceding address. |
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Definition
| Random Access Memory (RAM) |
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Term
| 32 or 64-bit type of DRAM packaging, similar to SIMMs, with the disticntion that eac ise of each tab instyerded into the sytem performs a separate function. |
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Definition
| Dual In-Line Memory Module (DIMM) |
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Term
| Flat piece of circuit board that resides inside your comptuer case and has anumber of connectors on it. |
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| Provides the electral power for a PC. Converts standard AC power into various voltages of DC electricity in a PC. |
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| System hardware that uses removable 3.5-inch disks as storage media. |
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| Implementation that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. |
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| Serialized version of the ATA standard that offers many advantages over PATA technology, including thinner cabling, keyed connectors, and lower power requirements. |
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