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68 Glossary
Most programs that operate on the Windows
operating systems are GUIs.
H
hard drive — A drive that reads and writes data on a
hard disk. The terms hard drive and hard disk are
often used interchangeably.
heat sink — A metal plate on some processors that
helps dissipate heat.
hibernate mode — A power management mode that
saves everything in memory to a reserved space on the
hard drive and then turns off the computer. When
you restart the computer, the memory information
that was saved to the hard drive is automatically
restored.
HTTP — hypertext transfer protocol — A protocol
for exchanging files between computers connected to
the Internet.
Hz — hertz — A unit of frequency measurement that
equals 1 cycle per second. Computers and electronic
devices are often measured in kilohertz (kHz),
megahertz (MHz), gigahertz (GHz), or terahertz
(THz).
I
IC — integrated circuit — A semiconductor wafer, or
chip, on which thousands or millions of tiny
electronic components are fabricated for use in
computer, audio, and video equipment.
IDE — integrated device electronics — An interface
for mass storage devices in which the controller is
integrated into the hard drive or CD drive.
IEEE 1394 — Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc. — A high-performance serial bus used
to connect IEEE 1394-compatible devices, such as
digital cameras and DVD players, to the computer.
infrared sensor — A port that allows you to transfer
data between the computer and infrared-compatible
devices without using a cable connection.
integrated — Usually refers to components that are
physically located on the computer’s system board.
Also referred to as built-in.
I/O — input/output — An operation or device that
enters and extracts data from your computer.
Keyboards and printers are I/O devices.
I/O address — An address in RAM that is associated
with a specific device (such as a serial connector,
parallel connector, or expansion slot) and allows the
processor to communicate with that device.
IrDA — Infrared Data Association — The
organization that creates international standards for
infrared communications.
IRQ — interrupt request — An electronic pathway
assigned to a specific device so that the device can
communicate with the processor. Each device
connection must be assigned an IRQ. Although two
devices can share the same IRQ assignment, you
cannot operate both devices simultaneously.
ISP — Internet service provider — A company that
allows you to access its host server to connect directly
to the Internet, send and receive e-mail, and access
websites.
The ISP typically provides you with a software
package, user name, and access phone numbers for a
fee.
K
Kb — kilobit — A unit of data that equals 1024 bits.
A measurement of the capacity of memory integrated
circuits.
KB — kilobyte — A unit of data that equals 1024
bytes but is often referred to as 1000 bytes.
key combination — A command requiring you to
press multiple keys at the same time.