Term
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Definition
| An expansion card that enables a computer to produce sounds that are omnidirectional or three-dimensional. |
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Term
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Definition
| The time it takes a storage device to locate its stored data. |
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Term
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
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Definition
| The part of the CPU that is responsible for performing all the arithmetic calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). Additionally, the ALU makes logic and comparison decisions, such as comparing items to determine if one is greater than, less than, equal to, or not equal to another. |
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Definition
| The number of bits the video card uses to store data about each pixel on the monitor. |
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Term
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Definition
| Technology that uses radio waves to transmit data over short distances. |
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Term
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Definition
| A portable, read-only optical storage device. |
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Term
| Central Processing Unit (CPU or Processor) |
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Definition
| The part of the system unit of a computer that is responsible for data processing (or the "brains" of the computer); it is the largest and most important chip in the computer. It controls all the functions performed by the computer's other components and processes all the commands issued to it by software instructions. |
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Term
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Definition
| The steady and constant pace at which a computer goes through machine cycles, measured in hertz (Hz). |
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Term
Compact Disc-Read/Writable (CD-RW) Discs
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Definition
| A portable, optical storage device that can be written and rewritten to many times. |
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Term
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Definition
| A component that controls the switches inside the central processing unit (CPU). |
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Term
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Definition
| The percentage of time a central processing unit (CPU) is working. |
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Term
| DataTransfer Rate (or Bandwidth) |
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Definition
| The maximum speed at which data can be transmitted between two nodes on a network, usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps). |
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Term
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Definition
| A drive that enables the computer to read and write to DVDs. |
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Term
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Definition
| A port that is slightly larger than a standard phone jack and transfers data at speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second. It is used to connect a computer to a cable modem or a network. |
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Term
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Definition
| A device that connects to one port, such as a universal serial bus (USB) port, to provide additional new ports, similar to a multiplug extension cord for electrical appliances. |
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Term
File Allocation Table (FAT)
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Definition
| An index of all sector numbers that the hard drive stores in a table to keep track of which sectors hold which files. |
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Term
| FireWire Port (IEEE 1394 Port) |
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Definition
| A port based on a standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), with a transfer rate of 400 megabits per second. Today it is most commonly used to connect digital video devices such as digital cameras to a computer. |
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Term
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Definition
| Drives that plug into a universal serial bus (USB) port on a computer and store data digitally. Also called USB drives. |
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Term
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Definition
| A form of portable storage. This removable memory card is often used in digital cameras, MP3 playe4rs, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). |
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Term
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Definition
| A portable 3.5-inch storage format, with a storage capacity of 1.44 megabytes (MB). |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
Hard Disk Drive (Hard Drives)
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Definition
| Holds all permanently stored programs and data; is located inside the system unit. |
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Term
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Definition
| Impact of read/write head with magnetic platter of the hard disk drive that often results in data loss. |
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Term
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Definition
| A port based on a standard developed by the Infared Data Association for transmitting data. IrDA ports transmit data between two devices using infrared light waves, similar to a TV remote control. IrDA ports have a maximum throughput of 4 megabits per second and require that a line of sight be maintained between the two ports. |
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Term
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Definition
| The memory that the computer's operating system uses. |
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Term
Latency (or rotational delay)
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Definition
| Occurs after the read/write head of the hard drive locates the correct track, then waits for the correct sector to spin to the read/write head. |
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Term
Machine Cycle (or processing cycle)
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Definition
| The time it takes to fetch and execute a single machine level instruction by the central processing unit (CPU). |
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Term
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Definition
| Portable storage devices, such as floppy disks and Zip disks, that use a magnetized film to store data. |
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Term
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Definition
| One million Hertz,; Hertz is the unit of measure for processor speed, or machine cycles per second. |
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Term
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Definition
| A system that is limited to how fast it can send data to the central processing unit (CPU) because there's not enough random access memory (RAM) installed. |
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Term
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Definition
| An external device for reading flash memory cards. |
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Term
Memory Modules (Memory Cards)
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Definition
| Small circuit boards that hold a series of random access memory (RAM) chips. |
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Term
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Definition
| Musical Instrument Digital Interface; a port that allows you to connect electronic musical instruments (such as synthesizers) to your computer; the MIDI is a standard adopted by the music industry that provides for capturing specific data about a sound, such as pitch, duration, and volume. |
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Term
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Definition
| A mathematical rule, named after Gordon Moore, the cofounder of the central processing unit (CPU) chip manufacturer Intel, that predicts that the number of transistors inside a CPU will increase so fast that CPU capacity will double every 18 months. |
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Term
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Definition
| A special circuit board in the system unit that contains the central processing unit (CPU), the memory (RAM) chips, and the slots available for expansion cards. It is the largest printed circuit board; all the other boards (video cards, sounds cards, and so on) connect to it to receive power and to communicate. |
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Term
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Definition
| Permanent storage, as in read-only memory (ROM). |
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Term
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Definition
| Portable storage devices that use a laser to read and write data, such as CDs and DVDs. |
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Term
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Definition
| The file the operating system builds on the hard drive when it is using virtual memory to enable processing to continue. |
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Term
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Definition
| A port that sends data between devices in groups of bits at speeds of 92 kilobits per second. Parallel ports were commonly used to connect printers to computers. |
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Term
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Definition
| The amount of random access memory (RAM) that is installed in a computer. |
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Term
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Definition
| Thin, round metallic plates stacked onto the hard disk drive spindle. |
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Term
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Definition
| Technology that enables the operating system, one the system is booted up, to recognize automatically any new peripherals and configure them to work with the system. |
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Term
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Definition
| An interface through which external devices are connected to the computer. |
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Term
Random Access Memory (RAM)
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Definition
| The computer's temporary storage space or short term memory. It is located as a set of chips on the system unit's motherboard, and its capacity is measure in megabytes. |
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Term
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Definition
| The read/write heads move from the outer edge of the spinning platters to the center, up to 50 times per second, to retrieve (read) and record (write) the magnetic data to and from the hard disk. |
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Term
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Definition
| A section of a hard disk drive platter, wedge-shaped from the center of the platter to the edge. |
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Term
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Definition
| The time it takes for the hard drive's read/write heads to move over the surface of the disk, between tracks, to the correct track. |
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Term
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Definition
| A port that enables the transfer of data, one bit at a time, over a single wire at speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second (Kbps); it is often used to connect external modems to the computer. |
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Term
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Definition
| An expansion card that attaches to the motherboard inside the system unit that enables the computer to produce sounds. |
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Term
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Definition
| A special type of speaker designed to more faithfully reproduce low-frequency sounds. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of looking at a computer's subsystems, what they do, and how they perform to determine whether the computer system has the right hardware components to do what the user ultimately wants it to do. |
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Term
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Definition
| Concentric circles on a hard disk drive platter. |
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Term
Universal Serial Bus (USB) Port
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Definition
| A port that can connect a wide variety of peripherals to the computer, including keyboards, printers, Zip drives, and digital cameras. |
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Term
Video Card (Video Adapter)
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Definition
| An expansion card that is installed inside a system unit to translate binary data (the 1s and 0s your computer uses) into the images viewed on the monitor. |
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Term
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Definition
| The space on the hard drive that the operating system stores data to if you don't have enough random access memory (RAM) to hold all of the programs you're currently trying to run. |
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Term
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Definition
| Temporary storage, such as random access memory (RAM); when the power is off, the data in volatile storage is cleared out. |
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Term
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Definition
| A portable storage medium with storage capacities ranging from 100 megabytes to 750 megabytes. |
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