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Laptop Glossary
Provides either 10 MB or 100 MB Ethernet connections depending on used network. These Ethernet cards are used for network connections, as well as connecting high-speed modems (e.g. DSL or cable modems) to your laptop. These are a space at the frame of the laptop for installing an internal drive or a peripheral. An amount of memory, which temporarily stores data to help compensate for differences in the transfer rate of data from one device to another. The connection or path between the CPU and the input/output (I/O) devices of the connection between two processors. Portion of a processor that holds recently accessed data. It is designed to speed up the subsequent accesses to the same data. When data is read the first time, a copy is saved in the cache, along with its address. The cache is normally constructed with faster memory chips than those in the main memory, so that data returned from the cache is delivered faster than from the main memory. A type of memory component in which the memory cells require periodic recharging. Software that comes with a peripheral. Drivers allow the peripheral to communicate with the laptop. Refers to an optical disc with multiple data layers that exceeds the capacity of a standard CD-ROM and that may contain video, audio, or any other type of digital data. Ethernet is a LAN in which the different nodes on the network are connected by a coaxial cable. The Ethernet standard is able to transmit data at a rate of 10 mbps. A socket on a motherboard into which an expansion board can be inserted. A shared language media of LANs, it transmits at a leading rate of 100 Mbps. Also referred to as IEEE 1394, this is a high-speed external connection used for connecting peripherals. 1,023,741,824 bytes (1024 megabytes). Flow of information to and from laptops and their attached devices. A LAN is a group of PC's, other computers & peripherals, all linked together, so that each device is located in close proximity to all the other devices. Re-chargeable battery. To optimize performance, this type of battery should be completely discharged before recharging. A type of rechargeable battery that usually has a longer life than the Ni-Cd Battery. This battery can be recharged at any time without damage. Interface through which multiple bits of data are transferred in or out. SCSI and Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) are special types of parallel ports. Flat panel display technology comprised of a grid of horizontal and vertical wires with an LCD controller at every pixel. The smallest element assigned to an independent color and intensity and displayed on a laptop monitor screen. A pixel is a dot with either a square or rectangular shape. Intel standard allowing additional hardware to be added to and subtracted from a laptop system without having to reconfigure or restart the laptop. Link of communication between hardware components. Types of connection include Fire Wire, Parallel, USB, Serial, and SCSI. Temporary storage area that the processor uses to execute programs and hold data. A PC with low amount of RAM will take a longer time to perform the simplest task as the information in the RAM is constantly being replaced (the RAM storage is full). When the power of a laptop is switched off, the RAM contents are lost. A measure of picture clarity based on the number of pixels used to reproduce the image. To erase and re-record a CD-ReWritable disc. Standard for a system-level interface between laptops and such peripherals as hard disks, CD-ROM's, printers and scanners. SDRAM (SYNCHRONOUS DYNAMIC RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) A type of RAM that is considerably faster and more reliable than standard RAM. A SVGA monitor can display up to 1280 X 1024 pixels using up to 16 million different colors. A type of active-matrix screen. An input/output (I/O) bus capable of data transfer at 12 mbps, with up to 127 devices connected in a daisy chain. USB devices may be hot plugged, meaning that power does not have to be turned off to connect or disconnect a peripheral. The basic specification provides for 640 x 480 pixel resolution and 256 simultaneous colors. The standard has been expanded by graphics card manufacturers. Video random-access memory; a special memory chip that is designed for video applications. Usually has a special port for video information. Other data travels through another port. To record data to a CD-Recordable disc. Speed relative to CD. Refers to kilobytes per second to which music is listened. 1x = 150KB per second. A high-resolution graphics standard that provides resolutions 640 by 480 or 1024 by 768 pixels, and supports simultaneous colors up to 65 thousand. XGA allows monitors to be non-interlaced. |