Glossary
179
LED (Light Emitting Diode)—A solid state lamp (SSL) that
uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light,
which offers long life and high efficiency output. Multiple
diodes are used together, since the light created by
individual light-emitting diodes is small compared to
incandescent and compact fluorescent lamps.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)—A type of display that uses a
liquid substance between two transparent electrode panels.
When an electric current passes through the electrodes, the
molecules in the liquid form a crystalline pattern that
polarizes the light passing through it. A filter over the
electrodes permits only non-polarized light to pass to the
surface of the display, creating light and dark pixels.
load—To move information from a storage device (such as a
hard disk) into memory for processing.
local area network—See
LAN
.
logical drive—A section of a disk that is recognized by the
operating system as a separate disk drive. A system’s logical
drives may differ from its physical drives. For example, a
single hard disk drive may be partitioned into two or more
logical drives.
M
memory—Typically refers to the computer’s main memory,
where programs are run and data is temporarily stored and
processed. Memory can be volatile and hold data
temporarily, such as RAM, or it can be non-volatile and hold
data permanently, such as ROM. A computer’s main
memory is RAM. See also
RAM, ROM
.
microprocessor—See
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
.
motherboard—The computer’s main circuit board that
contains the processor, memory, and other primary
components.
MS-DOS prompt—See
system prompt
.
multi-function drive—A DVD drive that can read and write to
CD and DVD media.
multimedia—A combination of two or more media, such as
sound, animation, and video in a computer program or
presentation.
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