components are fabricated
for
use
in
computer, audio,
and
video
equipment.
IDE —
integrated device electronics
— An
interface
for
mass storage devices
in which the
controller is
integrated
into the
hard drive
or CD drive.
IEEE
1394
— Institute of
Electrical and
Electronics
Engineers,
Inc. — A
high-performance serial bus used
to
connect
IEEE
1394-compatible devices, such
as
digital
cameras and
DVD
players,
to
the
computer.
infrared
sensor
— A port that
allows you
to
transfer
data
between
the
computer and infrared-compatible
devices
without
using a cable
connection.
integrated
—
Usually refers
to
components
that
ar
e
physically located
on the
comp
uter
’
s
system board.
Also
referred
to
as
built-in
.
I/O — input/output — An
operation
or
device
that enters
and extracts data
from
your computer.
K
e
yboar
d
s
and
printers are
I/O devices.
I/O
address
— An
address
in RAM that
is associated
with
a specific device (such as a
serial connector,
parallel
connector,
or
expansion
slot)
and allows
the
processor
to
communicate
with that device.
IrDA —
Infrared Data Association
— The organization
that
creates
international
standar
d
s
for infrared
communications.
IRQ — interrupt
request
— An
electronic
pathway
assigned
to
a specific device so
that the
device
can
communicate
with the
processor. Each device
connection
must
be assigned an
IRQ.
Although
two
devices can
shar
e
the
same
IRQ
assignment, you cannot operate
both
devices
simultaneously.
ISP
— Internet
service provider
— A
company
that allows
you
to
access
its
host server
to
connect directly
to the
Internet,
send and receive e-mail, and
access
websites.
The
ISP typically provides you
with
a software
package,
user name, and access
phone numbers
for
a
fee.
K
Kb — kilobit — A unit of
data
that
equals 1024
bits. A
measurement
of the
capacity
of
memory
integrated
circuits.
KB —
kilobyte
— A unit of
data
that
equals 1024
bytes
but
is
often
referred
to
as 1000
bytes.
key
combination — A
command requiring you
to
pr
ess
multiple
keys
at the
same
time.
kHz — kilohertz — A
measurement
of
frequency
that
equals 1000
Hz.
L
LAN —
local area network
— A
computer
network
covering a small area.
A LAN
usually is confined
to
a
building or
a few nearby buildings.
A LAN
can
be
connected
to
another
LAN
over any distance
through
telephone lines and radio
waves
to form
a wide
ar
ea
network
(W
AN).
LCD — liquid
crystal display
— The
technology used
by
portable computer and flat-panel
displays.
LED — light-emitting
diode
— An
electronic
component
that
emits
light to
indicate
the
status
of the computer.
local
bus
— A
data bus
that
provides a fast
throughput for
devices
to the processor.
LPT — line print terminal — The
designation
for
a
parallel connection
to
a
printer or
other parallel
device.
M
Mb —
megabit
— A
measurement
of
memory
chip
capacity
that
equals 1024
Kb.
Mbps —
megabits per second
—
One
million bits per
second.
This
measurement is typically used
for
transmission
speeds
for
networks and
modems.
MB —
megabyte
— A
measurement
of
data storage
that
equals 1,048,576 bytes.
1 MB
equals 1024 KB.
When used
to
refer
to
hard drive storage,
the term
is
often
rounded
to
1,000,000
byte
s.
MB/sec
—
megabytes per second
—
One
million bytes
per second.
This
measurement is typically used
for data
transfer
ratings.
media bay
— A
bay
that
supports devices such as
optical
drives, a second battery,
or
a
Dell
TravelLite™
module.
memory
— A
temporary data storage area inside
your
Glossary
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