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Toshiba Tecra S4 User Manual

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User’s Manual

Glossary-11

motherboard: A name sometimes used to refer to the main printed circuit

board in processing equipment. It usually contains integrated
circuits that perform the processor’s basic functions and provides
connectors for adding other boards that perform special functions.
Sometimes called a main board.

MP3: An audio compression standard that enables high-quality

transmission and real-time playback of sound files.

N

non-system disk: A formatted floppy disk you can use to store programs

and data but you cannot use to start the computer. See system disk.

nonvolatile memory: Memory, usually read-only (ROM), that is capable of

permanently storing information. Turning the computer’s power off
does not alter data stored in nonvolatile memory.

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

OCR: Optical Character Recognition (reader). A technique or device that

uses laser or visible light to identify characters and input them into a
storage device.

online state: A functional state of a peripheral device when it is ready to

receive or transmit data.

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.

P

parallel interface: Refers to a type of information exchange that transmits

information one byte (8 bits) at a time. See also serial interface.