User’s ManualGlossary-8
Glossary
hard disk drive (HDD): An electromechanical device that reads and writes a hard
disk. See also hard disk.
hardware: The physical electronic and mechanical components of a computer
system: typically, the computer itself, external disk drives, etc. See also
software and firmware.
hertz: A unit of wave frequency that equals one cycle per second.
host computer: The computer that controls, regulates, and transmits information
to a device or another computer.
hot key: The computer’s feature in which certain keys in combination with the
extended function key, FN, can be used to set system parameters, such as
speaker volume.
HW Setup: A TOSHIBA utility that lets you set the parameters for various
hardware components.

I

icon: A small graphic image displayed on the screen or in the indicator panel. In
Windows, an icon represents an object that the user can manipulate.
input: The data or instructions you provide to a computer, communication device
or other peripheral device from the keyboard or external or internal storage
devices. The data sent (or output) by the sending computer is input for the
receiving computer.
instruction: Statements or commands that specify how to perform a particular
task.
interface: 1) Hardware and/or software components of a system used specifically
to connect one system or device to another.
2) To physically connect one system or device to another to exchange
information.
3) The point of contact between user, the computer, and the program, for
example, the keyboard or a menu.
I/O: Input/output. Refers to acceptance and transfer of data to and from a
computer.
I/O devices: Equipment used to communicate with the computer and transfer
data to and from it.

K

K: Taken from the Greek word kilo, meaning 1000; often used as equivalent to
1024, or 2 raised to the 10th power. See also byte and kilobyte.
keyboard: An input device containing switches that are activated by manually
pressing marked keys. Each keystroke activates a switch that transmits a
specific code to the computer. For each key, the transmitted code is, in turn,
representative of the (ASCII) character marked on the key.
kilobyte (KB): A unit of data storage equal to 1024 bytes. See also byte and
megabyte.