beautypg.com

Toshiba Portege S100 User Manual

Page 203

background image

User’s Manual

Glossary-7

Glossary

escape: 1) A code (ASCII code 27), signaling the computer that what

follows are commands; used with peripheral devices such as

printers and modems.

2) A means of aborting the task currently in progress.

escape guard time: A time before and after an escape code is sent to the

modem which distinguishes between escapes that are part of the

transmitted data, and escapes that are intended as a command to

the modem.

execute: To interpret and execute an instruction.
Extended Capability Port: An industry standard that provides a data

buffer, switchable forward and reverse data transmission, and run

length encoding (RLE) support.

F

fast infrared: An industry standard that enables cableless infrared serial

data transfer at speeds of up to 4 Mbps.

file: A collection of related information; a file can contain data, programs,

or both.

firmware: A set of instructions built into the hardware which controls and

directs a microprocessor’s activities.

floppy disk: A removable disk that stores magnetically encoded data.
floppy disk drive (FDD): An electromechanical device that reads and

writes to floppy disks.

Fn-esse: A TOSHIBA utility that lets you assign functions to hot keys.
folder: An icon in Windows used to store documents or other folders.
format: The process of readying a blank disk for its first use. Formatting

establishes the structure of the disk that the operating system

expects before it writes files or programs onto the disk.

function keys: The keys labeled F1 through F12 that tell the computer to

perform certain functions.

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.