Comp Chap 3 Interacting With Your Computer!
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Acclerator Card
- a circuit board that fits into an expansion slot and enhances the porcessing speed of the CPU
- Active Matrix
- A liquid crystal display (LCD) technology that assigns a transitor to eaach pixel in a flat panel monitor, improving display quality and eleminating the "submarining" effect typical of a flat panel monitor
- Alphanumeric Key
- on a computer keyboard, the keys that include the letter of the alphabet and other keys commonly found on a typewriter
- Bar Code
- A pattern of bars printed on a product or its packaging. A device called a bar code reader can scan a bar code and convert its pattern into numeric digits. After the bar code reader has converted a bar code image into a number, it feeds that number to the computer, just as though the number had been typed on a keyboard.
- Bar Code Reader
- An input device that converts a pattern of printed bars (called a bar code) into a number that a computer can read. A beam of light reflected off the bar code into a light-sensitive detector identifies the bar code and converts the bar patterns into numeric digits. These devices are commonly used in retail stores.
- Bitmap
- A binary representation of an image in which each part of the image, such as a pixel, is represented by one or more bits in a coordinate system.
- Card
- A rigid rectangular card—consisting of chips and electronic circuitry—that ties the processor to other hardware; also called a card.
- Cathode Ray Tube
- A type of monitor or TV screen that uses a vacuum tube as a display screen. CRTs are most commonly used with desktop computers.
- Centronics Interface
- he portion of a parallel printer cable that connects to the printer with a 36-pin plug. This interface is a standard developed by Centronics Corporation for the first dot-matrix printers.
- click
- To select an object or command on the computer screen (for example, from a menu, toolbar, or dialog box) by pointing to the object and pressing and releasing the mouse button once.
- Color (Monitor)
- A computer screen that displays computer data in color. A color monitor’s range and intensity are related to video bandwidth, dot pitch, refresh rate, and convergence.
- Configre
- To adapt a computer to a specific need by selecting from a wide range of hardware and software options. Configuration may include installing new or replacement hardware or software, or changing settings in existing hardware or software.
- Cursor
- A graphic symbol on screen that indicates where the next keystroke or command will appear when entered. Representations include a blinking vertical line or underline, a box, an arrow, or an I-beam pointer. Also called the insertion point.
- Cursor-movement Key
- The keys that direct the movement of the on-screen cursor or insertion point, including the up, down, left, and right arrows, and the Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys.
- Digitize
- The process of converting an image or a sound into a series of binary numbers (1s and 0s), which can be stored in a computer.
- dot pitch
- The distance between phosphor dots on a monitor. The highest-resolution monitors have the smallest dot pitch.
- double-click
- To select an object or activate a command on the screen by pointing to an object (such as an icon) and pressing and releasing the mouse button twice in quick succession.
- drag
- To move an object on the screen by pointing to the object, depressing the mouse button, and holding down the button while dragging the object to a new location. Dragging also is used to activate commands, as when moving files in the Windows 95 Explorer.
- drag and drop
- Moving text or graphics from one part of the document to another by selecting the desired information, holding down the mouse button, dragging the selection to a new location, and releasing the mouse button.
- DRAM
- he most common type of computer memory.
- dual-scan LCD
- An improved passive matrix technology for flat-panel monitors in which pixels are scanned twice as often, reducing the effects of submarining and blurry graphics.
- dye-sub printer
- A printer that produces photographic-quality images by using a heat source to evaporate colored inks from a ribbon, transferring the color to specially coated paper; also called thermal dye transfer and thermal dye diffusion.
- expansion board
- A device that enables the user to configure or customize a computer to perform specific tasks or to enhance performance. An expansion board—also called a card, adapter, or board—contains a special set of chips and circuitry that add functionality to the computer. An expansion board may be installed to add fax/modem capabilities to the computer, for example, or to provide sound or video-editing capabilities. Also see expansion slot.
- expasion slot
- The area of the motherboard into which circuit boards are inserted; connected to the bus in a PC.
- fiery printer server
- A color laser printer typically used to produce high-quality graphics; used by print shops and publishing firms.
- flatbed scanner
- A scanner that can accommodate large pages and books. Scanning heads move under a glass cover to digitize data from the hard copy and transfer it to the computer.
- function key
- he part of the keyboard that can be used to quickly activate commands, designated F1, F2, and so on.
- Grayscale (monitor)
- A monitor that displays colors ranging from white to black, including up to 256 shades of gray.
- handheld scanner
- A scanner that can be held in the hand and used to scan narrow areas of data.
- i-beam cursor
- An on-screen symbol shaped like a capital I that indicates the location of the mouse pointer.
- image scanner
- An input device that converts printed images into electronic form. Sensors determine the intensity of light reflected from the page, and the light intensities are converted to digital data that can be viewed and manipulated by the computer; also called a graphics scanner.
- ik jet printer
- printer that produces images by spraying ink onto the page; prints at moderate speeds and is cost-effective.
- insertion point
- See cursor.
- integrated pointing device
- A pointing device built into the computer’s keyboard, consisting of a small joystick positioned near the middle of the keyboard, typically between the g and h keys. The joystick is controlled with either forefinger. Two buttons that perform the same function as mouse buttons are just beneath the spacebar and are pressed with the thumb.
- interupt request
- 1) A signal sent by the operating system to the CPU, requesting processing time for a specific task. (2) A signal sent by the keyboard controller to the CPU to indicate that a complete keystroke has been received.
- IRIS printer
- A type of ink jet printer that sprays the ink on paper mounted on a spinning drum. Such printers can produce images with a resolution of 1,800 dots per inch.
- keyboard buffer
- part of memory that receives and stores the scan codes from the keyboard controller until the program can accept them.
- keyboard controller
- A chip within the keyboard or the computer that receives the keystroke and generates the scan code.
- keyboarding
- Touch typing using a computer keyboard.
- laser printer
- A quiet, fast printer that produces high-quality output. A laser beam focused on an electrostatic drum creates an image to which powdered toner adheres, and that image is transferred to paper.
- LCD monitor
- A flat-panel monitor on which an image is created when the liquid crystal becomes charged; used primarily in notebook and laptop computers.
- mulitmedia PC
- A PC capable of producing high-quality text, graphics, animation, video, and sound. A multimedia PC may include a CD-ROM or DVD drive, microphone, speakers, a high-quality video controller, and a sound card.
- numeric keypad
- he part of a keyboard that looks and works like a calculator keypad, with 10 digits and mathematical operators.
- optical character recognition OCR
- Technology that enables a computer to translate optically scanned data into character codes, which can then be edited.
- paralell interface
- A channel through which 8 or more data bits can flow simultaneously, such as a computer bus. A parallel interface is commonly used to connect printers to the computer; also called a parallel port.
- passive matrix
- Liquid crystal display technology, used for flat-panel monitors, that relies on a grid of transistors arranged by rows and columns. In a passive matrix LCD, the color displayed by each pixel is determined by the electricity coming from the transistors at the end of the row and the top of the column.
- PC Card
- A specialized expansion card the size of a credit card, which fits into a laptop or notebook computer and is used to connect new components.
- pixel
- One or more dots that express a portion of an image; picture element.
- plotter
- An output device used to create large-format hard copy; generally used with CAD and design systems.
- pointer
- An on-screen object, usually an arrow, used to select text, access menus, move files, or interact with other programs, files, or data represented graphically on the screen.
- pointing device
- A device that enables the user to freely move an on-screen pointer and to select text, menu options, icons, and other on-screen objects. Two popular types of pointing devices are mice and trackballs.
- port
- A socket on the back of the computer used to connect external devices to the computer.
- QWERTY
- A standard keyboard arrangement; refers to the first six letters on the top row of the alphanumeric keyboard.
- refresh rate
- he number of times per second that each pixel on the screen is scanned; measured in hertz (Hz).
- resolution
- he degree of sharpness of an image, determined by the number of pixels on a screen, expressed as a matrix.
- right-clicking
- When using a two-button mouse, to use the right mouse button to select an object or command on the screen.
- RS-232
- The standard serial port configuration used for communications between the computer and peripherals.
- scan code
- The code—generated by the keyboard controller—that tells the keyboard buffer which key has been pressed.
- serial interface
- channel through which a single data bit can flow at one time. Serial interfaces are used primarily to connect a mouse or a communications device to the computer; also called a serial port.
- small computer system interface
- A device that extends the bus outside the computer, permitting the addition of more peripheral devices than normally could be connected using the available expansion slots.
- soundcard
- An expansion card that records and plays back sound by translating the analog signal from a microphone into a digitized form that the computer can store and process and then translating the modified data back into analog signals or sound.
- SVGA
- An IBM video display standard capable of displaying resolutions up to 1280x1024 pixels, with 16 million colors.
- thermal wax printer
- A printer that produces high-quality images by using a heat source to evaporate colored wax from a ribbon, which then adheres to plain paper.
- toner
- A substance composed of tiny particles of charged ink, used in laser printers. The ink particles stick to charged areas of a drum and are transferred to paper with pressure and heat.
- trackpad
- A stationary pointing device that the user operates by moving a finger across a small, touch-sensitive surface; used with laptop and notebook computers.
- Trackpoint
- See integrated pointing device.
- UARt
- A chip that converts parallel data from the bus into serial data that can flow through a serial cable, and vice versa.
- VGA
- An IBM video display standard capable of displaying resolutions of 640x480, with 16 colors.
- video card
- A specialized expansion board that enables the user to connect video devices—such as VCRs and camcorders—to the PC. This enables the user to transfer images from the video equipment to the PC, and vice versa. Many video cards enable the user to edit digitized video and record the edited images on videotape
- cideo controller
- A circuit board attached to the motherboard that contains the memory and other circuitry necessary to send information to the monitor for display on screen. This controller determines the refresh rate, resolution, and number of colors that can be displayed; also called the display adapter.
- Video Ram
- Memory on the video controller, called dual-ported memory, that can send a screen of data to the monitor while receiving the next data set.