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Dell Vostro 1200 (Early 2009) User Manual

Page 142

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142

Glossary

Blu-ray Disc (BD)— An optical storage technology offering storage capacity of up

to 50 GB, full 1080p video resolution (HDTV required), and as many as 7.1 channels

of native, uncompressed surround sound.
Bluetooth

®

wireless technology — A wireless technology standard for short-range

(9 m [29 feet]) networking devices that allows for enabled devices to automatically

recognize each other.
boot sequence — Specifies the order of the devices from which the computer

attempts to boot.
bootable media — A CD, DVD, or floppy disk that you can use to start your

computer. In case your hard drive is damaged or your computer has a virus, ensure that

you always have a bootable CD, DVD, or floppy disk available. Your Drivers and

Utilities media is an example of bootable media.
bps — bits per second — The standard unit for measuring data transmission speed.
BTU — British thermal unit — A measurement of heat output.
bus — A communication pathway between the components in your computer.
bus speed — The speed, given in MHz, that indicates how fast a bus can transfer

information.
byte — The basic data unit used by your computer. A byte is usually equal to 8 bits.

C

C — Celsius — A temperature measurement scale where 0° is the freezing point and

100° is the boiling point of water.
cache — A special high-speed storage mechanism which can be either a reserved

section of main memory or an independent high-speed storage device. The cache

enhances the efficiency of many processor operations.
L1 cache — Primary cache stored inside the processor.
L2 cache — Secondary cache which can either be external to the processor or

incorporated into the processor architecture.
carnet — An international customs document that facilitates temporary imports into

foreign countries. Also known as a merchandise passport.
CD-R — CD recordable — A recordable version of a CD. Data can be recorded only

once onto a CD-R. Once recorded, the data cannot be erased or written over.
CD-RW — CD rewritable — A rewritable version of a CD. Data can be written to a

CD-RW disc, and then erased and written over (rewritten).

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