Toshiba P200 Manual

							Satellite P200/Satellite Pro P200 Glossary-5Glossary
G
gigabyte (GB):  A unit of data storage equal to 1024 megabytes. See also 
megabyte.
graphics: Drawings, pictures, or other images, such as charts or graphs, to 
present information.
H
hard disk:  A non-removable disk usually referred to as drive C. The factory 
installs this disk and only a trained engineer can remove it for 
servicing. Also called fixed disk.
hard disk drive (HDD): An electromechanical device that reads and writes 
a hard disk. See also hard disk.
hertz:  A unit of wave frequency that equals one cycle per second.
hot key:  The computer’s feature in which certain keys in combination with 
the extended function key, Fn, can be used to set system 
parameters, such as speaker volume.
I
input:  The data or instructions you provide to a computer, communication 
device or other peripheral device from the keyboard or external or 
internal storage devices. The data sent (or output) by the sending 
computer is input for the receiving computer.
I/O:  Input/output. Refers to acceptance and transfer of data to and from a 
computer.
I/O devices:  Equipment used to communicate with the computer and 
transfer data to and from it.
J
jumper:  A small clip or wire that allows you to change the hardware 
characteristics by electrically connecting two points of a circuit.
K
K:  Taken from the Greek word kilo, meaning 1000; often used as equivalent 
to 1024, or 2 raised to the 10th power. See also byte and kilobyte.
KB:  See kilobyte. 
						

							Glossary-6 Satellite P200/Satellite Pro P200Glossary
L
Light Emitting Diode (LED):  A semiconductor device that emits light when 
a current is applied.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD):  Liquid crystal sealed between two sheets 
of glass coated with transparent conducting material. The viewing-
side coating is etched into character forming segments with leads 
that extend to the edge of the glass. Applying a voltage between the 
glass sheets alters the brightness of the liquid crystal.
LSI:  Large Scale Integration.   
1) A technology that allows the inclusion of up to 100,000 simple 
logic gates on a single chip.  
2) An integrated circuit that uses large scale integration.
M
megabyte (MB):  A unit of data storage equal to 1024 kilobytes. See also 
kilobyte.
mode:  A method of operation, for example, the boot mode, Sleep mode or 
the hibernation mode.
modem:  Derived from modulator/demodulator, a device that converts 
(modulates) digital data for transmission over telephone lines and 
then converts modulated data (demodulates) to digital format where 
received.
monitor:  A device that uses rows and columns of pixels to display 
alphanumeric characters or graphic images. See also CRT.
MP3:  An audio compression standard that enables high-quality 
transmission and real-time playback of sound files.
N
numeric keypad overlay:  A feature that allows you to use certain keys on 
the keyboard to perform numeric entry, or to control cursor and page 
movement.
O
operating system:  A group of programs that controls the basic operation 
of a computer. Operating system functions include interpreting 
programs, creating data files, and controlling the transmission and 
receipt (input/output) of data to and from memory and peripheral 
devices.
output:  The results of a computer operation. Output commonly indicates 
data.  
1) printed on paper,  2) displayed at a terminal,  3) sent through the 
serial port of internal modem, or 4) stored on some magnetic media. 
						

							Satellite P200/Satellite Pro P200 Glossary-7Glossary
P
parity:  1) The symmetrical relationship between two parameter values 
(integers) both of which are either on or off; odd or even; 0 or 1.  
2)  In serial communications, an error detection bit that is added to 
a group of data bits making the sum of the bits even or odd. Parity 
can be set to none, odd, or even.
peripheral device:  An I/O device that is external to the central processor 
and/or main memory such as a printer or a mouse.
pixel:  A picture element. The smallest dot that can be made on a display 
or printer. Also called a pel.
plug and play:  A capability with Windows that enables the system to 
automatically recognize connections of external devices and make 
the necessary configurations in the computer.
port:  The electrical connection through which the computer sends and 
receives data to and from devices or other computers.
prompt:  A message the computer provides indicating it is ready for or 
requires information or an action from you.
R
Random Access Memory (RAM):  High speed memory within the computer 
circuitry that can be read or written to.
restart:  Resetting a computer without turning it off (also called “warm boot” 
or “soft reset”). See also boot.
RJ11:  A modular telephone jack.
RJ45:  A modular LAN jack.
ROM: Read Only Memory:  A nonvolatile memory chip manufactured to 
contain information that controls the computer’s basic operation.  
You cannot access or change information stored in ROM.
S
SCSI:  Small Computer System Interface is an industry standard interface 
for connection of a variety of peripheral devices.
soft key:  Key combinations that emulate keys on the IBM keyboard, change 
some configuration options, stop program execution, and access the 
numeric keypad overlay.
stop bit:  One or more bits of a byte that follow the transmitted character 
or group codes in asynchronous serial communications.
system disk:  A disk that has been formatted with an operating system. For 
MS-DOS the operating system is contained in two hidden files and 
the COMMAND.COM file. You can boot a computer using a system 
disk. Also called an operating system disk. 
						

							Glossary-8 Satellite P200/Satellite Pro P200Glossary
T
terminal:  A typewriter-like keyboard and CRT display screen connected to 
the computer for data input/output.
TFT display:  A liquid crystal display (LCD) made from an array of liquid 
crystal cells using active-matrix technology with thin film transistor 
(TFT) to drive each cell.
TouchPad/Dual Mode Pad:  A pointing device integrated into the TOSHIBA 
computer palm rest.
U
Universal Serial Bus:  This serial interface lets you communicate with 
several devices connected in a chain to a single port on the 
computer.
V
VGA:  Video Graphics Array is an industry standard video adaptor that lets 
you run any popular software.
W
warm start:  Restarting or resetting a computer without turning it off.
write protection:  A method for protecting a floppy disk from accidental 
erasure.