Glossary 5
I
input/output
(I/O) The process of transferring data between the computer and external devices.
IDE
Intelligent Drive Electronics. A hard disk drive type that has controller electronics built
into the drive and delivers high throughput.
infrared communication
Technology that uses infrared waves to communicate data between the IR-equipped
devices without the use of cables. The IR port on the NEC Versa is Infrared Data
Association (IrDA) compatible.
interface
A connection that enables two devices to communicate.
interrupt
A special control signal from an I/O device that diverts the attention of the
microprocessor from the program to a special address.
K
kilobyte
(KB) 1024 bytes.
L
LAN
Local Area Network.
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display. An LCD consists of a thin sandwich of two glass plates with
sealed edges, containing nematic liquid-crystal material that forms the screen image.
Versa displays are LCD type.
load
To copy a program into the computer's memory from a storage device.