G
LOSSARY
-10    P
RESARIO
 M
OBILE
 I
NTERNET
 PC B
EYOND
 S
ETUP
 G
UIDE
800 S
ERIES
O
online To be communicating with another 
computer through a modem or network. 
You are online when you log on and 
establish a connection. You are offline 
when you lose or terminate a connection. 
See modem. See also network.
online Help A manual that displays on 
the screen while you are actually working 
in a program and need help. It can be 
accessed through the Help menu at the 
top of the screen. Help for Windows can 
be accessed from the Start button on the 
taskbar.
online shopping Ordering products on 
the Internet. You can purchase books, 
flowers, music CDs, toys, groceries, 
stocks, airline tickets, and used cars.
OS (operating system) The interface 
that permits a person and a computer to 
“talk” to one another. Microsoft Windows, 
the most popular operating system, 
displays icons, menus, and dialog boxes to 
find out what you want. You use a mouse 
and keyboard to reply. See Microsoft 
Windows. See also interface.
P
parallel port A connector on the back of 
the computer for plugging in a parallel 
cable attached to a parallel device, such 
as a printer. Data is transferred, one byte 
at a time, through eight data wires (one for 
each bit in the byte). All eight bits travel 
side by side and arrive at the same time. 
A parallel port is faster than a serial port, 
which lets data through one bit at a time. 
See digital. See also serial port.
PC card A removable device that is 
designed to plug into a PCMCIA slot to 
accommodate devices such as a modem, 
fax, and rotating storage media. 
path A sequence of information that 
directs the operating system to a file. For 
example, C:\Windows\Clouds.bmp is the 
path to a bitmap file named Clouds. It is 
located in a folder named Windows, 
which is located on the C drive.
peripheral An external device connected 
to a computer. Examples are a monitor, 
keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, 
joystick, and digital camera.
pixel One of the individual dots, or picture 
elements, that compose a graphical image. 
See graphics.
playlist Tracks chosen to play from a 
CD or DVD.