Glossary 305
1000 bytes.
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 via telephone lines and radio waves to form a wide
area network (WAN).
LED — light-emitting diode — An electronic component that emits light to
indicate the status of the computer.
L
OCAL BUS — A data bus that provides a fast throughput for devices to the
microprocessor.
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.
M
BPS — 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 mean 1,000,000 bytes.
MB/
SEC — megabytes per second — One million bytes per second. This
measurement is typically used for data transfer ratings.
M
EMORY — A temporary data storage area inside your computer. Because the data
in memory is not permanent, Dell recommends that you frequently save your files
while you are working on them, and always save your files before you shut down the
computer. Your computer can contain several different forms of memory, such as
RAM, ROM, and video memory. Frequently, the word memory is used as a synonym
for RAM.
M
EMORY ADDRESS — A specific location where data is temporarily stored in
RAM.
M
EMORY MAPPING — The process by which the computer assigns memory
addresses to physical locations at start-up. Devices and software can then identify
information that the microprocessor can access.
MH
Z — megahertz — A measure of frequency that equals 1 million cycles per
second. The speeds for computer microprocessors, buses, and interfaces are typically
measured in MHz.
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