Understanding Computer Terms
online shopping
Ordering products on the Internet. You can purchase books, flowers, music CDs, toys, groceries, stocks, airline tickets, cars, and much more.
on the fly
To write on the fly means to write directly from source data to CD data without first writing a disc image.
OS (Operating System)
The interface that permits a person and a computer to “talk” to one another. Microsoft Windows, the most popular operating system, displays icons, menus, and dialog boxes to find out what you want. You use a mouse and keyboard to reply. See Microsoft Windows. See also interface.
P
packet writing
A method of writing data on a CD in small increments. Packets can be of fixed or variable length. Roxio’s DirectCD software supports packet writing. Contrast with
parallel port
A connector on the back of the computer for plugging in a parallel cable attached to a parallel device, such as a printer. Data is transferred, one byte at a time, through eight data wires (one for each bit in the byte). All eight bits travel side by side and arrive at the same time. A parallel port is faster than a serial port, which lets data through one bit at a time. See byte. See also serial port.
path
A sequence of information that directs the operating system to a file. For example, C:\Windows\Clouds.bmp is the path to a bitmap file named Clouds. It is located in a folder named Windows, which is located on the C drive.
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