Toshiba SATELLITE P500 - Manual (Page 198)

User’s Manual Glossary-13
Glossary
Read Only Memory (ROM): Non-volatile memory that can be read but not
written to. Non-volatile here means that information in ROM
remains whether or not the computer is receiving power. This type
of memory is used to store your computer's BIOS, which is
essential instructions the computer reads when you start it up. See
also BIOS, memory. Compare RAM.
S
S/P DIF: A standard of digital interface for audio.
SCSI: Small Computer System Interface is an industry standard interface
for connection of a variety of peripheral devices.
SD/SDHC Card: Secure Digital cards are flash memory widely used in a
variety of digital devices such as digital cameras and Personal
Digital Assistants.
serial: Processes that occur one at a time. In communications, it means
the transmission of one bit at a time sequentially over a single
channel. On your computer, the serial port provides a serial
interface between the computer and an appropriate device.
Compare parallel.
SIO: Serial Input/Output. The electronic methodology used in serial data
transmission.
soft key: Key combinations that emulate keys on the IBM keyboard,
change some configuration options, stop program execution, and
access the numeric keypad overlay.
software: The set of programs, procedures and related documentation
associated with a computer system. Specifically refers to computer
programs that direct and control the computer system's activities.
See also hardware.
stop bit: One or more bits of a byte that follow the transmitted character or
group codes in asynchronous serial communications.
system disk: A diskette that contains the operating system files needed to
start the computer. Any diskette can be formatted as a system disk.
A system disk is also called a "bootable disk", "boot disk" or a
"startup disk." Compare non-system disk.