GLOSSARY

bits per second (bps)

The bits (binary digits) per second rate. Thousands of bits per second are expressed as kilobits per second or Kbps.

.bmp

This DOS three-character extension at the end of a file name identifies the file contents as bit-mapped graphics (FILENAME.BMP).

byte

A group of binary digits stored and operated upon as a unit. In user documentation, the term usually refers to 8-bit units or characters. One kilobyte (KB) is equal to 1,024 bytes or characters; 640 KB indicates 655,360 bytes or characters.

carrier

A tone signifying a connection the modem can alter to communicate data across telephone lines.

character

A representation, coded in binary digits, of a letter, number, or other symbol.

characters per second (CPS)

A data transfer rate generally estimated from the bit rate and the character length. For example, at 2400 bps, 8-bit characters with start/stop bits (for a total of ten bits per character) will be transmitted at a rate of approximately 240 characters per second (cps). Some protocols employ advanced techniques, such as longer transmission frames and data compression, to increase cps.

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Radio Shack 3Com Bigpicture operating instructions Bits per second bps, Bmp, Byte, Carrier, Characters per second CPS