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Glossary 185
GHz — gigahertz — A measurement of frequency that equals one thousand million Hz,
or one thousand MHz. The speeds for computer processors, buses, and interfaces are
often measured in GHz.
graphics mode — A video mode that can be defined as x horizontal pixels by y vertical
pixels by z colors. Graphics modes can display an unlimited variety of shapes and fonts.
GUI — graphical user interface — Software that interacts with the user by means of
menus, windows, and icons. 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.
HDMI — The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is an all-digital
audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streams.
HTTP — hypertext transfer protocol — A protocol for exchanging files between
computers connected to the Internet.
Hyper-Threading — Hyper-Threading is an Intel technology that can enhance overall
computer performance by allowing one physical processor to function as two logical
processors, capable of performing certain tasks simultaneously.
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.
book.book Page 185 Friday, November 30, 2007 11:28 AM