Ch. 2 Intro To Computers

Front 1

Specific circuit that can locate or calculate data stored in addresses (specific locations) in a single step rather than requiring multiple steps.

Back 1

Address generation unit (AGU)

Front 2

Part of the CPU that performs calculations & comparisons for the computer.

Back 2

Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)

Front 3

The grouping of transactions so that a specific task can be done to all files at one time

Back 3

Batch processing

Front 4

The computer’s recognition of human physical characteristics

Back 4

Biometrics

Front 5

Electrical paths embedded in the motherboard.

Back 5

Bus lines

Front 6

A group of (almost always eight) bits that the computer interprets as a character

Back 6

Byte

Front 7

A memory block designed to keep data and instructions close to the CPU so that the computer can retrieve that information quickly w/o going into other storage areas.

Back 7

Cache

Front 8

Display screens used in most standard television & computer monitors that use scanning technologies to display images onscreen

Back 8

Cathode ray tubes (CRT)

Front 9

The computer’s “brain.”

Back 9

Central processing unit (CPU)

Front 10

Pairing of alphabetical and numerical characters with numbers or bit strings

Back 10

Character encoding

Front 11

A laser-driven optical disk system, popular because of its great capacity (the data on several diskettes fits on one CD-ROM) & the durability of the disk. The user may read the disk but not save data to it

Back 11

Compact disk– read-only memory (CD-ROM)

Front 12

A laser-driven optical disk system that allows the user to read a compact disk and save data to it.

Back 12

Compact disk–rewriteable (CD-RW)

Front 13

Technology that provides a multitude of circuits per chip at a relatively low cost; consumes little power, making it a popular choice for everything from laptops to mainframes.

Back 13

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology (CMOS)

Front 14

Voice recognition systems that do not require the user to pause between words.

Back 14

Continuous word systems

Front 15

Part of the CPU that oversees how the computer follows stored instructions to run itself.

Back 15

Control unit

Front 16

Works much the same as a CD-ROM, but uses a laser beam with a shorter wavelength that reads spots that are packed more closely together, offering greater disk capacity.

Back 16

Digital video disk–read-only memory (DVD-ROM)

Front 17

Voice recognition systems that require the user to pause between words.

Back 17

Discrete word systems

Front 18

Different computers working on different parts of the same larger task or several computers running the same task at the same time (with simultaneous access to info); in both cases, the computers are connected by a network.

Back 18

Distributed data processing

Front 19

A board that contains several chips

Back 19

Double in-line memory module (DIMM)

Front 20

Type of memory that needs to be constantly refreshed or its contents will be lost; most common type of physical memory in personal computers.

Back 20

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Front 21

Operating system where tasks are presented as visual abstractions (icons).

Back 21

Graphical user interface (GUI)

Front 22

Enables the end user to put data into the computer to perform a task.

Back 22

Input device

Front 23

A type of display technology that uses electric current passing through liquid crystals.

Back 23

Liquid crystal display (LCD)

Front 24

Connects desired personal computers located in a relatively small area so users can share data, communicate directly, & pool resources such as printers.

Back 24

Local-area network (LAN)

Front 25

The four steps the CPU goes through to perform an instruction

Back 25

Machine cycle

Front 26

Tracks characters electronically, eliminating the potential errors & wasted time that typing might cause.

Back 26

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)

Front 27

A combination of magnetized and laser-driven media

Back 27

Magneto-optical disk

Front 28

Base for the computer circuitry

Back 28

Motherboard

Front 29

Manufacturing on a molecular level; here, refers to chips being built the size of a few atoms.

Back 29

Nanotechnology

Front 30

Carbon forms (the size of nanometers) with excellent electrical conduction capability for use in flat-screen monitors.

Back 30

Nanotube

Front 31

Type of computer that plugs into a tv set to enable user access to Internet & e-mail

Back 31

Network computer (Net box)

Front 32

These chips are used in notebook computers, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, & other small computers

Back 32

Nonvolatile flash memory

Front 33

The use of light beams to convert text or pictures to data in a process called imaging

Back 33

Optical recognition

Front 34

Device that displays the comp’s info

Back 34

Output device

Front 35

The processing of 2 parts of a job simultaneously.

Back 35

Parallel processing

Front 36

An input, output, or storage device

Back 36

Peripheral

Front 37

Storage format in which a disk’s magnetic particles are lined up on end (perpendicularly) to fit more data onto a disk.

Back 37

Perpendicular storage

Front 38

Allowing the comp to move on to the next part of the cycle before each phase is completed.

Back 38

Pipelining

Front 39

The computer’s memory

Back 39

Primary storage

Front 40

Includes the instructions needed to run the CPU & any programs, plus any data not yet sent elsewhere

Back 40

Primary storage

Front 41

Data in this storage is lost when the power is turned off.

Back 41

Primary storage

Front 42

Chips that can be altered with a ROM burner, which allows a user to user to read but not save information.

Back 42

Programmable readonly memory chips (PROM)

Front 43

Memory that can be accessed randomly, meaning that the information does not have to be located sequentially according to when it was put into the system or where it was stored

Back 43

Random-access memory (RAM)

Front 44

What is not permanent and is lost in the case of a power outage (unless a backup has been made)?

Back 44

RAM

Front 45

Read-only memory (define & aka)

Back 45

*Aka: ROM
*Memory that users generally cannot change

Front 46

This includes the instructions that tell the computer how to operate; because it is a permanent part of the computer’s “brain,” it is not affected when the power goes off.

Back 46

ROM

Front 47

Technology that increases a computer’s speed by changing the way it is expressed

Back 47

Reduced instruction set computer (RISC)

Front 48

One of the safest data storage methods

Back 48

Redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID)

Front 49

Temporary areas for data storage on the CPU used to rapidly access the data.

Back 49

Registers

Front 50

Storage separate from the CPU and memory

Back 50

Secondary storage

Front 51

This includes a variety of formats that hold data even when the computer’s power source is turned off.

Back 51

Secondary storage

Front 52

Hard disk storage system that involves dividing each track (or ring) on a disk into storage areas (or sectors), with each track having the same number of areas.

Back 52

Sector method

Front 53

Commands are executed one at a time in sequence

Back 53

Serial processing

Front 54

A board that contains several chips

Back 54

Single in-line memory module (SIMM)

Front 55

This fits into a slot on the motherboard and adds megabytes of memory, from 4 to 32MB or more.

Back 55

Single in-line memory module

Front 56

The use of special equipment to collect data without having to type it in.

Back 56

Source data automation

Front 57

Speech synthesis

Back 57

Voice synthesis

Front 58

This is used by automated telephone systems to provide information or to survey consumers.

Back 58

Speech synthesis

Front 59

Type of memory that doesn’t need to be refreshed, making it faster but more expensive and requiring more space than dynamic RAM (DRAM).

Back 59

Static RAM (SRAM)

Front 60

Process in which the data must be available immediately in the order that the request for information occurs (such as individual requests for bank balances); requires real-time capabilities.

Back 60

Transaction processing

Front 61

Enables a personal computer user to connect a new peripheral (an input, output, or storage device) directly to the microprocessor without having to worry about compatibility

Back 61

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Front 62

The peripheral is configured to the system automatically, enabling a user to add components more easily

Back 62

USB

Front 63

Data storage where only the necessary parts of a program are brought into memory as they are needed.

Back 63

Virtual storage

Front 64

Network that consists of two or more connected LANs and can cover an immense geographic area to offer additional resource-sharing opportunities between different types of comps

Back 64

Wide-area network (WAN)

Front 65

The Internet is one example of a?

Back 65

WAN

Front 66

A fundamental unit of processing consisting of a fixed number of bits (can vary based on a system’s architecture).

Back 66

Words

Front 67

Enables a user to fill the disk once, after which it cannot be altered (a laser writes to the disk by burning spots onto the disk’s surface)

Back 67

Write once, read many disk (WORM)

Front 68

Hard disk storage method that separates each track into storage sections, but it keeps each section the same size by putting more sections on the outside tracks.

Back 68

Zone method

Front 69

These divide computer screens into dots, called pixels, that can be individually accessed by graphics software.

Back 69

Cathode ray tubes (CRT)

Front 70

This fits into a slot on the motherboard & provides a 64MB boost to memory; is a successor of SIMM.

Back 70

DIMM (double in-line memory module)

Front 71

This is the most common type of physical memory in personal comps

Back 71

DRAM

Front 72

Includes the CPU, memory, interfaces, & more

Back 72

Motherboard

Front 73

Much cheaper but doesn't have the memory, storage, or option for hard-copy o/put that a personal comp has

Back 73

Network computer

Front 74

The info in this memory can be accessed faster b/c it's w/in the device itself & remains intact after the power is no longer available

Back 74

Nonvolatile flash memory

Front 75

Provides a user w/ an opportunity to digitize copies of handwritten docs, photos, or other pics for the comp

Back 75

Optical recognition

Front 76

B/c it is a permanent part of the comp's "brain," it's not affected when the power goes out

Back 76

Read-only memory (ROM)

Front 77

Includes data mirroring & data striping

Back 77

RAID (Redundant array of inexpensive disks)

Front 78

In most cases, the size of the code increases as several commands must be used to do what one command did on previous instruction sets.

Back 78

RAID (Reduced Instruction set comp)

Front 79

What does AGU stand for?

Back 79

Address generation unit

Front 80

What does ALU stand for?

Back 80

Arithmetic/logic unit

Front 81

What does CRT stand for?

Back 81

Cathode ray tubes

Front 82

What does CPU stand for?

Back 82

Central processing unit

Front 83

What does CD-ROM stand for?

Back 83

Compact disk read-only memory

Front 84

What does CD-RW stand for?

Back 84

Compact disk-rewriteable

Front 85

What does CMOS stand for?

Back 85

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (technology)

Front 86

What does DVD-ROM stand for?

Back 86

Digital video disk-read-only memory

Front 87

What does DIMM stand for?

Back 87

Double in-line memory module

Front 88

What does DRAM stand for?

Back 88

Dynamic RAM

Front 89

What does GUI stand for?

Back 89

Graphical user interface

Front 90

What does LCD stand for?

Back 90

Liquid crystal display

Front 91

What does LAN stand for?

Back 91

Local-area network

Front 92

What does MICR stand for?

Back 92

Magnetic ink character recognition

Front 93

What does PROM stand for?

Back 93

Programmable read-only memory (chips)

Front 94

What does RAM stand for?

Back 94

Random-access memory

Front 95

What does ROM stand for?

Back 95

Read-only memory

Front 96

What does RISC stand for?

Back 96

Reduced instruction set computer

Front 97

What does RAID stand for?

Back 97

Redundant array of inexpensive disks

Front 98

What does SIMM stand for?

Back 98

Single in-line memory module

Front 99

What does SRAM stand for?

Back 99

Static RAM

Front 100

What does USB stand for?

Back 100

Universal Serial Bus

Front 101

What does WAN stand for?

Back 101

Wide-area network

Front 102

What does WORM stand for?

Back 102

Write once, read many (disk)