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198 Glossary
BIOS — basic input/output system — A program (or utility) that serves as an interface
between the computer hardware and the operating system. Unless you understand what
effect these settings have on the computer, do not change them. Also referred to as system
setup.
bit — The smallest unit of data interpreted by your computer.
Bluetooth
®
wireless technology — A wireless technology standard for short-range (9 m
[29 feet]) networking devices that allows for enabled devices to automatically recognize
each other.
Blu-ray Disc — Blu-ray Disc (BD) is an optical disc format jointly developed by the
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). A BD records and plays high-definition video (HD),
and stores large amounts of data: five times the storage capacity of a DVD and can hold
up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.
boot sequence — Specifies the order of the devices from which the computer attempts to
boot.
bootable CD — A CD that you can use to start your computer. In case your hard drive is
damaged or your computer has a virus, ensure that you always have a bootable CD or
floppy disk available. Your Drivers and Utilities media is a bootable CD.
bootable disk — A disk that you can use to start your computer. In case your hard drive
is damaged or your computer has a virus, ensure that you always have a bootable CD or
floppy disk available.
bps — bits per second — The standard unit for measuring data transmission speed.
BTU — British thermal unit — A measurement of heat output.
bus — A communication pathway between the components in your computer.
bus speed — The speed, given in MHz, that indicates how fast a bus can transfer
information.
byte — The basic data unit used by your computer. A byte is usually equal to 8 bits.
C
C — Celsius — A temperature measurement scale where 0° is the freezing point and
100° is the boiling point of water.
cache — A special high-speed storage mechanism which can be either a reserved section
of main memory or an independent high-speed storage device. The cache enhances the
efficiency of many processor operations.
L1 cache — Primary cache stored inside the processor.
L2 cache — Secondary cache which can either be external to the processor or
incorporated into the processor architecture.