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83 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Access time
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Average time it takes a computer to locate data on the storage medium and read it
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Benchmarks
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Results of technical tests of speed and performance measured against other products
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Blu-ray DVD
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A high-capacity DVD which uses a blue laser light to read lands and pits
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Cache
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High-speed memory located on the system board which usually contains frequently used instructions -- measured in Bytes
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CD-R
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Recordable CD that cannot be erased or modified once recorded
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CD-ROM
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Usual format for pre-recorded music CD or software. Data cannot be changed, added to, or deleted
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CD-RW
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Rewritable CD that can be recorded and erased multiple times
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Color depth
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Number of colors a monitor can display ex. 24-bit = 16 million colors
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Cathode ray tube (CRT)
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Monitor uses a gun-like device to spray beams of electrons toward the screen and activate individual dots of color -- pixels
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Data bus
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Electronic pathway which data flows from one component to another
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Data transfer rate
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Amount of data a storage device can move per second from the storage medium to the computer
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Desktop computer
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A system unit, storage devices, display and sound components which uses a mouse and keyboard to input data
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Dot matrix printer
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Produces characters by striking paper with a printer head with an ink ribbon
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Dot pitch
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A measure of image clarity based on the distance between like-colored pixels
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Drive bays
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Storage devices inside your computer which accept portable media such as floppy disks and CDs
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DVD-R
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Recordable DVD that cannot be erased or modified once recorded
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DVD-ROM
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DVD that cannot be erased or modified once recorded
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DVD-RW
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Rewritable DVD that can be recorded and erased multiple times
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EEPROM
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Non-volatile solid state memory that holds clock time/date, # of drives, amount of RAM
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Expansion card
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Circuit board that allows a computer to control a storage, input, or output device
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Expansion slot
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A narrow socket into which you plug in an expansion card
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Floppy disk
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Magnetic storage medium which consists of a mylar disk covered with a thin layer of magnetic oxide inside of a plastic casing
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Front side bus (FSB)
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Circuitry that transports data to and from the microprocessor
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Gigahertz
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1 billion information cycles per second
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Graphics card
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Circuit board for graphics display that plugs into the motherboard
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Graphics processing unit (GPU)
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Specialized processor which stores screen image while they are being processed and before they are displayed
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Hard disk drive (HDD)
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a computer storage device that contains a large – capacity rigid storage surface sealed inside a drive case. Typically used as the primary storage device n personal computers
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Head crash
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a collision between the read- write head and the surface of the hard disk platter, resulting in damage to some of the data on the disk
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Hyper-threading technology
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a feature of microprocessors that allows a single processor to simulate the operation of two processors
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Ink jet printer
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nozzle-like print head that sprays ink onto paper to form characters and graphics. Most ink jet printers use CMYK color, which requires only blue, pink, yellow, and black inks to create a printout that appears to have thousands of colors.
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Lands
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Lighter, non-pitted surface areas of the disk
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Laser printer
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uses the same technology as a photocopier to paint dots of light on a light- sensitive drum. Electrostatic charged ink is applied to the drum and then transferred to paper. Laser is more complex than ink jet technology.
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Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
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produces an image by manipulating light within a layer of liquid crystal cells. Modern LCD is compact in size, lightweight, and provides an easy-to-read display.
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Level 2 Cache
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located on a separate chip and takes a little more time to get data to the processor. Cache capacity is usually measure in kilobytes.
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Linux platform
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an operating system that is a derivative of UNIX, available as freeware, and widely used for servers though it is used on personal computers and workstations.
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Mac platform
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The operating system software designed for use on Apple Macintosh computers.
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Magnetic storage
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stores data by magnetizing microscopic particles on a disk or tape surface.
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Microprocessor clock
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a timing device that sets the pace for executing instructions.
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Mod
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is a custom, hand-built modification to a computer system component.
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Mouse
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an input device that allows the user to manipulate objects on the screen by clicking, dragging, and dropping.
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Multi-core processor
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ability of a computer, processor, or operating to support dual core processors or multiple processors.
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Nanosecond
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a unit of time representing 1 billionth of a second.
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Non-volatile
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any electronic component that does not require a constant supply of power to hold data
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Notebook computer
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a small lightweight, portable computer that usually runs on batteries. Sometimes called a laptop.
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Optical storage
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a technology that records data as light and dark spots on a CD, DVD, or other optical media.
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Overclocking
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Forcing a computer component such as a microprocessor to run at a higher speed than intended by the manufacturer
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Parallel processing
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Multiple instructions are executed at the same time.
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PC card
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Also called PCMCIA expansion cards. Can be used for storage or wireless access.
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PC platform
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Based on the design for a personal computer -- IBM PC compatible.
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Peripheral device
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designates input, output, and storage equipment that might be added to a computer system to enhance its functionality.
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Pipelining
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A technology that allows the processor to start new commands before finishing the first one
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Pits
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Spots on a CD that are burned into an optical storage medium "CD-Rom" represent digital data
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Pixels
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Short for picture element. A pixel is the smallest unit in a graphic image. Computers use a matrix of pixels to display images and graphics
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Plasma screen
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a compact lightweight, flat panel computer display that uses technology similar to neon lights
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Plug and Play
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the ability for a PC to automatically recognize and install drivers for a new device put into the PC
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Pointing stick
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a device used instead of a mouse. looks like the top of an eraser
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Power surge
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a spike in electrical voltage that has the potential to fry hardware components of the PC, or Mac
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RAM
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Memory storage for applications currently in use by the system.
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Random access
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the ability of a storage device to go directly to a specific storage location without having to search sequentially from a beginning location
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Read-only technology
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the data can only read and not changed (like copyright protected)
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Read-write head
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magnetizes particles to write data and senses the particles’ polarities to read data
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Refresh rate
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The speed at which the screen is repainted. Measured in Hertz -- standard is 75 Hertz.
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Resolution
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the number of horizontal and vertical pixels that a device displays on a screen
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ROM
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Read-only memory
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Safe mode
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A mode of the computer where changes cannot be made that can significantly benefit or harm the computer.
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Sequential access
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A form of storage for the computer where data is accessed sequentially; pieces of data are processed one by one.
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Serial processing
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A type of processing where each process is sequential rather than multitasked.
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Solid state storage
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A type of storage where the data is held electronically onto a circuit board rather than magnetically as most hard drives.
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Storage density
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The density of the storage, which is how much data it can hold. Its usually measures in gigabytes.
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Storage device
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An electronic device that uses multiple methods to store data and information electronically.
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Storage medium
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A type of device that storage is inserted in to.
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SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array)
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The earlier standard of 800 X 600 resolution
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System unit
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The mass of the entire computer unit and all of its components.
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Tablet computer
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a portable computing device featuring a touch screen that can be used for writing and drawing
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Tape drive
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a device that reads data from and writes data to a long stream of recordable media
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Touch screen
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overlays a digital screen
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Trackball
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Pointing device where you use your fingers or palm to roll a ball
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Track pad
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touch sensitive surface that you can slide your fingers on to navigate around the screen of a computer
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USB
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universal serial bus
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USB flash drive
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Portable storage device that plugs directly into a computer’s USB port using a built in connector
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Virtual memory
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Area of the hard disk to store parts of programs or data files until they are needed
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Volatile
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Requires electrical power to hold data
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Word size
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Refers to the number of bits that a microprocessor can manipulate at one time
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