IBM ThinkPad 380 or 380CD User's Guide
This glossary includes terms and definitions from the
IBM Dictionary of Computing (New York: McGraw-Hill,
1994).
Glossary
- ac
- Alternating current.
- ac power
- Power that is supplied to the computer through an electrical outlet.
- Advanced Power Management (APM)
- A facility consisting
of one or more layers of software that support
power management in computers with power manageable hardware.
The APM software interface allows applications, operating systems,
device drivers, and the APM BIOS to work together to reduce power
consumption, without reducing system performance.
- ANSI
- American National Standards Institute.
- APM
- Advanced Power Management.
- application program
- A program that
performs specific tasks on your computer, such as word processing
or creating spreadsheets.
- ASCII
- American National Standard Code for Information Interchange.
- ATA PC Card
- A PC Card with an AT attachment hard disk drive interface
such as a storage device PC Card.
- AUTOEXEC.BAT
- A file that contains a startup procedure of DOS.
Each time you start your system, DOS performs the commands that are
stored in this file.
- backup copy
- A copy, usually of a file or group of files, that is kept in case
the original file or files are unintentionally changed or destroyed.
- batch
- A process method in which a program or programs records with little
or no operator action.
- BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
- Microcode that contains such
basic hardware operations as
interactions with diskette drives, hard disk drives, and the keyboard.
(Ref #136.)
- bitmap graphics
- (1) A form of graphics in which all points on the display are
directly addressable.
(2) In multimedia applications, a form of graphics in an area of
computer memory or storage that can be displayed as an image.
- boot
- To prepare a computer system for operation by loading an operating
system.
- bps
- Bits per second. In serial transmission, the instantaneous
bit speed with which a device or channel transmits a character.
- bus
- A facility for transferring data between several devices located
between two end points, only one device being able to transmit
at a given moment.
- cache memory
- A special memory, smaller and faster than main memory, that is
used to hold a copy of instructions and data in main memory that
are likely to be needed next by the processor, and that have been
obtained automatically from main memory.
- CD-i
- Compact disc-interactive.
- combination keys
- Keys that have specific functions when you hold them down at
the same time.
- CONFIG.SYS
- A file that contains a group of commands to load installable
device drivers and reserve space in system memory for information
processing. This file is referred to by DOS during system startup.
- configuration
- (1) The manner in which the hardware and software of an information
processing system are organized and interconnected.
(2) The physical and logical arrangement of devices and programs that
make up a data processing system. (3) The devices and
programs that make up a system, subsystem, or network.
- CRT
- Cathode ray tube display.
- device driver
- A file that contains the code needed to attach and use a device.
Operating system loads device drivers for screens,
keyboards, printers, diskette
drives, hard disk drives, and auxiliary devices. The user can
replace these or add other devices by coding and loading a device
driver.
- DIMM
- Dual inline memory module.
- DIP switch
- In an IBM personal computer, a two-position switch on a circuit
board that is preset to control certain functions; the
user can change the position of a DIP switch to satisfy
special requirements.
- directory
- A type of file containing the names and controlling information for
other files or other directories.
- DMA
- Direct memory access.
The transfer of data between memory and input/output units without
processor intervention.
- double-click
- To press and release a mouse button twice within
a time frame defined by the user, without moving the
pointer off the choice.
- DSP
- Digital signal processor.
- ECP
- Extended Capability Port.
- EGA
- Enhanced graphics adapter.
- EIA
- Electronics Industries Association.
- EIA-232D
- An EIA interface standard that defines the physical, electronic,
and functional characteristics of an interface line that connects
a communication device and associated workstation. It uses a 25-pin
connector and an unbalanced line voltage.
- EMS
- Expanded memory specification.
- FAQ
- Frequently asked questions.
- fax
- Facsimile machine.
- A transmitted document from a facsimile machine.
- fixed disk
- In personal computing, fixed disk
is synonymous with hard disk.
- flash memory
- Electrically rewritable storage.
- folder
- A file used to store and organize documents.
- fuel gauge
- An indicator on the screen that constantly shows the current power
status of the battery pack.
- HHR
- Half-horizontal resolution.
- hibernation
- One of the power-saving methods that stores
data and applications running
in the computer's memory on the hard disk.
During hibernation, the computer is
automatically turned off to save power.
When power is turned on again,
the computer immediately restores
the same data and applications as when hibernation started,
without restarting the operating system.
- high-resolution mode
- Video resolutions that are greater than 640 by 480 pels.
- icon
- A graphic symbol, displayed on a screen, that a user can point to
with a 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.
- MPEG
- Moving Pictures Experts Group
- 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 PCMCIA 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.
- POST
- Power-on self-test.
- 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.
- 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.
- ROM
- Read-only memory.
- serial port
- A port used to attach such devices as display devices,
letter-quality printers, modems, plotters,
and such pointing devices
as light pens and mice; it transmits data 1 bit at a time.
- suspend
- Stops all operations of the computer to reduce power drain and
restrict access to the files.
- SVGA
- Super video graphics adapter.
- TFT
- Thin film transistor.
- TSRs
- Terminate-and-stay-resident programs, memory-resident programs
that are loaded into memory and stay there so you can conveniently
access them whenever you need to.
- vertical expansion
- A video display technique in character-display mode to fit
video images on the whole LCD screen by adjusting the number of
character dots vertically.
- VESA
- Video Electronics Standards Association.
- VGA
- Video graphics adapter, a video mode that produces up to 640-by-480
resolution.
- VSYNC
- Vertical synchronization frequency.
- XMS
- Extended memory specification.
Index
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