Glossary-4
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LOSSARYLOSSARY
LOSSARYLOSSARY
LOSSARY
capacity: The amount of data that can
be stored on a magnetic storage
device such as a diskette (floppy
disk) or hard disk. It is usually
described in terms of kilobytes (KB),
where one KB = 1024 bytes and
megabytes (MB), where one MB =
1024 KB.
card: Synonym for board. See
board.
CardBus: An industry standard bus
for 32-bit PC Cards.
CD-ROM: A Compact Disk-Read
Only Memory is a high capacity disk
that can be read from but not written
to. The CD-ROM drive uses a laser,
rather than magnetic heads, to read
data from the disk.
Centronics: The printer manufac-
turer whose method of data transmis-
sion between a parallel printer and a
computer has become an industry
standard.
CGA: Color/graphics adaptor. A
video display protocol defined by the
IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adaptor
and its associated circuitry. This
protocol supports two-color 640x200
and four-color 320x200 graphics, and
16-color 640x200 and 320x200 text
modes.
character: Any letter, number,
punctuation mark, or symbol used by
the computer. Also synonymous with
byte.
chassis: The frame containing the
computer.
chip: A small semiconductor contain-
ing computer logic and circuitry for
processing, memory, input/output
functions and controlling other chips.
CMOS: Complementary Metal-
Oxide Semiconductor. An electronic
circuit fabricated on a silicon wafer
that requires very little power.
Integrated circuits implemented in
CMOS technology can be tightly
packaged and are highly reliable.
cold start: Starting a computer that is
currently off (turning on the power).
COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4:
The names assigned to the serial and
communication ports.
commands: Instructions you enter at
the terminal keyboard that direct the
actions of the computer or its periph-
eral devices.
communications: The means by
which a computer transmits and
receives data to and from another
computer or device. See parallel
interface; serial interface.
compatibility: 1) The ability of one
computer to accept and process data in
the same manner as another computer
without modifying the data or the
media upon which it is being trans-
ferred. 2) the ability of one device to
connect to or communicate with
another system or component.
capacity
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