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User’s ManualGlossary-4
Glossary
bus: An interface for transmission of signals, data or electric power.
byte: The representation of a single character. A sequence of eight bits treated as
a single unit; also the smallest addressable unit within the system.
C
cache memory: A section of very fast memory in which frequently used
information is duplicated for quick access. Accessing data from cache is faster
than accessing it from the computer’s main memory. See also L1 cache, L2
cache.
capacity: The amount of data that can be stored on a magnetic storage device
such as a floppy diskette or hard disk drive. It is usually described in terms of
kilobytes (KB), where one KB = 1024 bytes, megabytes (MB), where one MB
= 1024 KB and gigabytes (GB), where one GB = 1024 MB.
CardBus: An industry standard bus for 32-bit PC Cards.
CD: An individual compact disc. See also CD-ROM.
CD-R: A Compact Disc-Recordable disc can be written once and read many
times. See also CD-ROM.
CD-ROM: A Compact Disc Read-Only Memory is a high capacity disc that can
be read from but not written to. The CD-ROM drive uses a laser, rather than
magnetic heads, to read data from the disc.
CD-RW: A Compact Disc-ReWritable disc can be rewritten many times. See also
CD-ROM.
character: Any letter, number, punctuation mark, or symbol used by the computer.
Also synonymous with byte.
chassis: The frame containing the computer.
chip: A small semiconductor containing computer logic and circuitry for
processing, memory, input/output functions and controlling other chips.
Click: To press and release the pointing device’s primary button without moving
the pointing device. In the Windows® operating system, this refers to the
pointing device’s left button, unless otherwise stated. See also double-click.
CMOS: Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. An electronic circuit
fabricated on a silicon wafer that requires very little power. Integrated circuits
implemented in CMOS technology can be tightly packaged and are highly
reliable.
cold start: Starting a computer that is currently off (turning on the power).
COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4: The names assigned to the serial and
communication ports.
commands: Instructions you enter at the terminal keyboard that direct the actions
of the computer or its peripheral devices.