Glossary
pointing device such as a TrackPoint III
or mouse to select a particular function or
software application.
IDE. Integrated device electronics.
IR. Infrared.
ISA. Industry standard architecture.
ISO. International Organization for
Standardization.
JEIDA. Japan Electronics Industry
Development Association.
kilobyte (KB). 1024 bytes.
LAN. Local area network.
MCI. Media Control Interface.
megabyte (MB). 1024 kilobytes. About
1 million bytes.
memory. Often referred to as
random-access memory (RAM),
measured in kilobytes (KB) or megabytes
(MB) of information.
MHz. Megahertz.
microcode. One or more
microinstructions used in a product as an
alternative to hard-wired circuitry to
implement functions of a processor or
other system component.
MIDI. Musical Instrument Digital
Interface.
modem. A device that connects your
computer to a telephone line, allowing it
to communicate with another computer at
another location.
parallel port. A port used to attach
such devices as dot-matrix printers and
input/output units; it transmits data 1 byte
at a time.
partial suspend mode. A kind of
suspend mode where only a part of the
system components uses power.
password. A series of letters or
numbers that you designate to restrict
access to your computer.
PC Card. A card that is based on the
PC Card standard.
PCMCIA. Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association.
pel. Picture element.
picture element. In computer graphics,
the smallest element of a display surface
that can be independently assigned color
and intensity.
pixel. Picture element.
pointing device. An instrument, such
as a mouse, TrackPoint III, or joystick,
that is used to move a pointer on the
screen.
pop-up menu. On the display screen, a
menu that emerges in an upward
direction from a particular point or line on
a display screen.
POST. Power-on self-test.
prompt. A visual or audible message
sent by a program to request the user's
response.
pull-down menu. On the display
screen, a menu that emerges in a
downward direction from a point or line at
or near the top of the screen.
reboot. To restart all operations of the
computer as if the power had just been
turned on.
resume. To begin computer operations
again from suspend mode.
Glossary
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