Operating Systems - Chapter 1 Hardware Key Terms
Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in
each of the black spaces below before clicking
on it to display the answer.
Help!
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| ATA | An acronym for Advanced Technology Attachment; the disk drive standard that is commonly known as Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE).
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| biometrics | The science and technology of authenticating a person’s identity by measuring physiological features.
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| BIOS | An acronym for basic input/output system. The set of essential software routines that test a PC at start-up and start the OS.
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| bus | The set of hardware lines used to transfer data among the components of a PC.
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| cable modem | A device that sends and receives data through coaxial cables.
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| Centronics parallel interface | The de facto standard for parallel data exchange between PCs and peripherals, originally developed by the printer manufacturer Centronics, Inc.
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| CRT | An acronym for cathode-ray tube. The basis for the standard PC display screen.
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| digital video camera | A camera that captures and stores images on a digital medium. Also known as a camcorder.
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| ECP (Extended Capabilities Port) | A connection port for peripheral devices, most likely printers.
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| EEPROM | An acronym for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory. Type of EPROM that can be erased with an electrical signal.
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| electrostatic discharge (ESD) | The discharge of static electricity from an outside source—such as human hands—into an integrated circuit, often damaging the circuit.
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| EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) | A connection port for peripheral devices, most likely printers.
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| EPROM | An acronym for erasable programmable read-only memory. Type of memory chip that can be reprogrammed after manufacture.
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| expansion card | A circuit card that is plugged into a PC’s bus to add extra functions.
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| fingerprint scanner | A scanner that reads human fingerprints for comparison to a database of stored fingerprint images.
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| FireWire | A PC and digital video serial bus interface standard offering high-speed communications. FireWire is also known as IEEE 1394.
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| firmware | Software routines stored in read-only memory (ROM).
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| floppy drive | A device that reads data from and writes data to floppy disks.
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| flyback transformer | A transformer in a CRT monitor that produces voltages of up to 20,000 volts.
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| form factor | The physical size and shape of a device. It is often used to describe the size of PC cases.
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| hard drive | A device that reads data from and writes data to one or more inflexible platters.
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| heat sink | A device that absorbs and dissipates heat created by an electronic device, such as a microprocessor.
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| LCD | An acronym for liquid crystal display. A type of display that uses a liquid compound with a polar molecular structure sandwiched between two transparent electrodes.
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| memory | An area where data can be stored and retrieved.
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| microprocessor | A central processing unit (CPU) on a single chip.
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| modem | Short for modulator/demodulator. A communications device that enables a PC to transmit data over a standard telephone line.
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| motherboard | The main circuit board containing the primary components of a PC.
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| mouse | A common pointing device.
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| network interface card (NIC) | An expansion card used to connect a computer to a local area network.
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| optical drive | A disk drive that reads and may write data to optical (compact) discs.
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| parallel port | An input/output connector for a parallel interface device.
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| PATA | An acronym for Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment. PATA is the same as ATA, which was renamed when SATA was introduced.
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| PROM | An acronym for programmable read-only memory.
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| RAM | An acronym for random access memory. Semiconductor memory that can be read or written by the microprocessor or other devices.
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| register | A small amount of high-speed memory.
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| ROM | An acronym for read-only memory. A semiconductor circuit in which data is permanently installed by the manufacturer.
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| RS-232 | An industry-accepted standard for serial communications.
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| SATA | An acronym for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, which transfers data serially to and from the hard drive.
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| SCSI | An acronym for small computer system interface. It is used to connect SCSI devices to PCs.
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| serial port | An input/output connector for serial connectors.
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| sound adapter | An expansion card that supports the recording and playback of sound.
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| tape drive | A device for reading and writing data on magnetic tapes.
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| touch pad | A pointing device that responds to movement of a finger on a surface.
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| trackball | A pointing device with a stationary housing that contains a ball you roll with your hand.
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| Universal Serial Bus (USB) | A serial bus that connects devices to a PC. USB supports hot plugging.
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| USB drive | A small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a PC’s USB port and functions as a portable hard drive with up to 2 GB of storage capacity.
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| video adapter | Electronic components that generate the video signal sent to a video display.
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| wireless adapter | A device that supports a wireless connection through a radio connection to a wireless LAN.
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Review the information in the table. When you are ready to quiz yourself you can hide individual columns or the entire table. Then you can click on the empty cells to reveal the answer. Try to recall what will be displayed before clicking the empty cell.
To hide a column, click on the column name.
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.
To hide a column, click on the column name.
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.
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Created by:
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