NEC SP B-Series A

access time

The time period between the supply of an access signal and the output or

acceptance of the data by the addressed system. Examples are the access times for

DRAMs, SRAM s , hard drives, and CD-ROM dr ives. Hard dr iv e access time is the

time it takes for a computer to get data from the drive. A hard drive with an 11 ms

access time is fast. A CD-ROM drive with a 280-ms access time is fast.

ACPI

Advanced Co nf iguration a n d Power Inter f a ce. A power ma na gement spec ification

developed b y I nt el, Micros oft, and Tosh ib a. When insta lled on the sys t em, ACPI

enables the op erating sys t em to control t he amount of po w er given to eac h device

attached to the computer. With ACPI, the operating system can turn off peripheral

devices (such as CD-ROM drives) when they are not in use. As another example,

ACPI enables manufacturers to produce computers that automatically power up as

soon as you touch the keyboard.

adapter

An expansion b oard or comp o n ent on the syst em board tha t communicates w i t h

peripherals (such as the dis p lay monitor or network dev ices).

address

A hexadecimal nu mber that r ep r esents a locat ion in stora g e or memory. Also u sed

to identify communication ports. To communicate with a storage device.

AGP

Accelerat ed Graphics P ort. A high-s p eed, high-p erformanc e vi deo standa r d

supported by a dedicated connector on the system board. The connector allows the

connection of an AGP board to the system board’s AGP bus. AGP boards feature

64- or 128-bit graphics acceleration with an integrated digital video engine and

accelerated 3-D graphics, texture mapping, a nd shading functions. Fast refresh

rates, high resolution, and color depth allow for incredible graphics suitable for

multimedia a nd graphic inte ns ive applica tions.

algorithm

Any set of instruct ions to be foll o wed in order.

anti-aliasing

Making jagged edges look smoother by filling in the jags with an intermediate

color. Usually used in reference to the edges of shapes, especially letters, on a

computer screen.

API

Applicatio n P rogrammin g I nt erface. An AP I is a series of f u nctions tha t programs

can use to make the operating system do routine or repetitive tasks. Using Windows

APIs, for example, a program can open windows, files, and message boxes (as well

as perform more complicated tasks) by passing a single instruction. Windows has

several classes of APIs that deal with telephony, messaging, and other issues.