Compaq Presario Internet PC - Manual (Page 121)

M Y P RESARIO —G ETTING S TARTED AND B EYOND G LOSSARY 7
H
hard disk Internal media for permanent
storage of system files, programs, utilities,
and data files. The hard disk consists of
flat, round platters. Each side of each
platter has a head that floats on a thin
cushion of air over the surface of the
rapidly spinning disk and reads
electronically stored data or writes data
onto the disk. If the computer is dropped, a
head may fall onto a platter and cause the
hard disk to crash.
hard drive The drive that reads and writes
to the hard disk. If you have a large hard
drive, it may be divided into several
partitions. Each partition is designated by a
different icon and drive letter, beginning,
consecutively, with the letter C. Partition
C: contains the files the computer uses to
start up. The other partitions contain no
preinstalled files.
hardware The physical components of a
computer—the parts you can physically
touch. See software.
HTML (hypertext markup language)
The standard language for documents
designed for viewing on the Web with a
browser. Tags, embedded in the
documents, mark the location of other
electronic files. Click the hyperlinks to
jump from one Web site to another.
Documents formatted for a browser can be
identified by the file extension .htm or
.html. See hyperlink. See also file
extension.
http:// (hypertext transfer protocol)
This protocol commands the Web server to
locate the Web site you requested and
transmit the Web site to your computer.
You communicate a request to your
computer by using the keyboard or mouse.
You type the Web site address (URL) in the
address box of the browser, or click a
hyperlink on a Web page. Your computer
communicates the request to the Web
server by using hypertext transfer protocol.
The Web server communicates the request
to other servers and computers connected
to the Web. Throughout the world, servers
and computers recognize the same
protocol. Their common language makes
the World Wide Web possible. See URL,
browser, hyperlink, and server.
hyperlink An embedded link to another
document or Web site. When you position
the cursor over a hyperlink (colored text or
image), a small hand
S
is displayed. When
you click on the hyperlink, the browser
displays the new document or Web site.
See HTML.
I
icon A small picture that represents a
menu command, file, program, tool, or
peripheral.
interactive A computer program that
responds to you as if you were having a
conversation. You give instructions; the
computer performs an action (or requests
additional information). Computer games