Toshiba Satellite Pro U400 - Manual (Page 167)

User’s Manual Glossary-8
Glossary
hardware: The physical electronic and mechanical components of a
computer system: typically, the computer itself, external disk drives,
etc. See also software and firmware.
hertz: A unit of wave frequency that equals one cycle per second.
host computer: The computer that controls, regulates, and transmits
information to a device or another computer.
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.
HW Setup: A TOSHIBA utility that lets you set the parameters for various
hardware components.
I
i.LINK (IEEE1394): This port enables high-speed data transfer directly
from external devices such as digital video cameras.
I/O devices: Equipment used to communicate with the computer and
transfer data to and from it.
I/O: Input/output. Refers to acceptance and transfer of data to and from a
computer.
icon: A small graphic image displayed on the screen or in the indicator
panel. In Windows, an icon represents an object that the user can
manipulate.
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.
instruction: Statements or commands that specify how to perform a
particular task.
interface: 1) Hardware and/or software components of a system used
specifically to connect one system or device to another.
2) To physically connect one system or device to another to
exchange information.
3) The point of contact between user, the computer, and the
program, for example, the keyboard or a menu.
interrupt request: A signal that gives a component access to the
processor.
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.
keyboard: An input device containing switches that are activated by
manually pressing marked keys. Each keystroke activates a switch
that transmits a specific code to the computer. For each key, the
transmitted code is, in turn, representative of the (ASCII) character
marked on the key.