Compaq Presario Internet PC - Manual (Page 117)

M Y P RESARIO —G ETTING S TARTED AND B EYOND G LOSSARY 3
C
cable modem A modem that allows you
to access the Internet through your cable
service provider. Continuously connected
to the Internet, it allows high-speed,
high-capacity data transfer.
CD (compact disc) Media used in a CD
player (digital recordings of music) or
CD-ROM drive (computer data, such as
programs). Both types of compact disc are
read-only; once data is recorded or written
to them, they can only be played or read.
CD Extra, CD Plus, or Enhanced CD A
multisession CD containing a number of
audio tracks in the first session, and one
CD-ROM XA data track in the second
session. Additional characteristics are
defined in the Blue Book standard. An
alternative to mixed-mode for combining
standard CD-DA audio, which can be
played in a normal audio player, and a
computer application, on a single CD.
CD-R (CD-recordable) Media used in a
CD-R drive to record or write data that
cannot be erased.
CD-R drive A drive that uses a low-power
laser to burn pits into the dye layer of a
CD-R, where digital data is written. The
marks are permanent. When the finalized
disc is played or read, the metal layer
reflects laser light in much the same way as
the aluminum layer in a music CD or
CD-ROM.
CD-ROM (CD read-only media) Media
used in a CD-ROM drive. The data is read-
only; you cannot erase or record over it.
The disc has three layers. The base is a
circular piece of clear plastic,
mechanically stamped with tiny
indentations, or pits, in which digital data
is written.
CD-ROM drive A drive that reads a
CD-ROM (or music CD) by shining a laser
into the clear plastic base and interpreting
the way the laser light is reflected by the
shiny aluminum layer. The CD-ROM drive
is read-only; it cannot write to a disc.
CD-RW (CD-rewritable) Media used in a
CD-RW drive to record data that can be
overwritten thousands of times.
CD-RW drive A drive with three laser
powers that can write to a CD-RW, erase
the data, or read the data. A high-power
laser melts the crystalline recording layer.
A CD-RW drive can read CD-ROMs,
CD-Rs, and CD-RWs. It can write to both
CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
chat An Internet feature that allows you to
exchange typed messages with another
person (or a group of people) in real time.
A message you type instantly displays on
the other person’s computer.
click (left click) To press and quickly
release the left mouse button to select an
item.
close disc To “close” a recordable disc so
that no further data can be written to it.
This is done when the last session’s lead-in
is written.