LAN
Local Area Network. An interconnection of computers and peripherals within a single limited geographic location which can pass programs and data amongst themselves.
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display. A type of display which makes images by controlling the orientation of crystals in a crystalline liquid.
Lithium ion Battery
A type of rechargeable battery which has a high power- time life for its size and is not subject to the memory effect as Nickel Cadmium batteries.
LPT Port
Line Printer Port. A way of referring to parallel interface ports because historically line printers were the first and latter the most common device connected to parallel ports.
MB
Megabyte.
Megahertz
1,000,000 cycles per second.
Memory
A repository for data and applications which is readily accessible to your notebook CPU.
MHz
Megahertz.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A standard communication protocol for exchange of information between computers and sound producers such
as synthesizers.
Modem
A contraction for
Monaural
A system using one channel to process sound from all sources.
MPU-401
A standard for MIDI interfaces and connectors.
G l o s s a r y
NTSC
National TV Standards Commission. The standard for TV broadcast and reception for the USA.
Operating System
A group of control programs that convert application commands, including driver programs, into the exact form required by a specific brand and model of micro- processor in order to produce the desired results from that particular equipment.
Parallel Port
A connection to another device through which data is transferred as a block of bits simultaneously with a wire for each bit in the block and with other wires only for control of the device not for transfer of data.
Partition
A block of space on a hard drive which is set aside and made to appear to the operating system as if it were a separate disk, and addressed by the operating system accordingly.
PCMCIA
PCMCIA is a trademark of the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association is an organization that sets standards for
Peripheral Device
A piece of equipment which performs a specific function associated with but not integral to a computer. Examples: a printer, a modem, a
Pitch (keyboard)
The distance between the centers of the letter keys of a keyboard.
Pixel
The smallest element of a display, a dot of color on your display screen. The more pixels per area the clearer your image will appear.
POST
Power On Self Test. A program which is part of the BIOS which checks the configuration and operating condition of your hardware whenever power is applied to your notebook. Status and error messages may be displayed before the operating system is loaded. If the self test detects failures that are so serious that operation can not continue, the operating system will not be loaded.
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