Glossary 113

input/output (I/O): Input and output are two of the three functions that computers perform (the other is processing). Input/Output describes the interrelated tasks of providing information to the computer and providing the results of processing to users. I/O devices include keyboards (input) and printers (output). A disk drive is both an input and an output device, since it can both provide information to the computer and receive information from the computer.

ITU-T Standard: A series of communication procedures for telephone lines and analog data transmission standardized by ITU (International Telecommunications Union, formerly CCITT).

K

keyboard: The device you use to type information into the

 

 

computer. Each key on the keyboard is a switch that is activated

 

when you press it. The switch sends a specific code, representing

 

the character printed on the key, to the processor.

 

kilobyte (KB): A unit of data storage equal to 1024 bytes. Its

 

abbreviations (K and KB) are taken from the Greek word kilo,

 

meaning 1000, although the abbreviation refers to 1024, or 2

 

raised to the 10th power. See also byte.

M

megabyte (MB): A unit of data storage equal to 1024 KB. From the

Greek work mega for million, one megabyte is actually

 

 

1,048,576 bytes (1024 x 1024 bytes). See also byte.

 

MIPS (Millions of Instructions Per Second): A computer

 

processor’s performance.

 

modem: A device for transmitting computer information over

 

telephone lines. A modem converts (modulates) digital

 

information for transmission and also converts (demodulates)

 

information it receives back to digital format. Many modems also

 

interpret and execute commands received from the computer.

 

modem port: The port to send and receive data to and from the

 

modem of a remote station.

 

MNP: A protocol developed by Microcom®, a modem

 

manufacturer in the United States, which with an error correcting

 

function built into the modem itself corrects errors in the modem.