IC3 Unit 2

pointing device

Allows the user to control the movement of the cursor, or pointer, on the screen.

peripheral device

Attached device that is not critical to computer operation. Also called peripheral.

firmware

Circuitry and software that hold instructions for initializing the hardware and loading the main OS.

computer system

Computer with its attached devices.

motherboard

Connects all of the hardware in the computer.

audio-output device

Converts data in the computer into sounds.

audio-input device

Converts sounds into data that can be used by the computer.

output

Data provided to the user.

booting

Describes the use of a small program to get the computer running and the OS loaded. Also called bootstrapping.

keyboard

Device for inputting textual and numeric data.

central processing unit (CPU)

Device that fetches coded instructions, decodes them, and then runs or executes them. Also called a microprocessor or chip.

input device

Device that makes it possible for the user to provide communication to the computer.

monitor

Device that provides a display output.

touch screen

Device that senses applied pressure and sends signals to the CPU.

mouse

Device with one or more buttons that can be moved on a flat surface to control the cursor.

control unit

Fetches each instruction from the list directed by the program being run.

input

Function that translates data from the human world into computer data.

supercomputer

Has processing power that can handle complex jobs beyond the scope of other computer systems.

webcam

Image-input device that can be mounted on top of a monitor or may be built into a laptop computer.

text-input device

Image-input device used with software to convert the image to text that can be used by the computer.

universal serial bus (USB)

Industry standard for communication between devices and the computer.

optical storage

Involves saving data as tiny pits in foil on a plastic disc and reading the data with a laser.

magnetic media

Made of iron oxide-coated disks that can be selectively magnetized to store on-off signals.

output device

Makes it possible for the user to receive communication from the computer.

user interface (UI)

Means by which the user enters data and receives feedback.

millions of instructions per second (MIPS)

Measurement of the speed of mainframes.

floating point operations per second (FLOPS)

Measurement of the speed of supercomputers.

random-access memory (RAM)

Memory that can be changed.

read-only memory (ROM)

Memory that cannot be changed.

volume label

Name of the device itself. Also known as the volume name.

data projector

Output device that collects video data from a computer or other media player and projects the images onto a separate screen.

memory

Part of the computer that stores information for immediate processing.

stylus

Pen-like pointer, but without ink.

printer

Peripheral device that transforms computer information into a physical form.

hardware

Physical components of the computer.

port

Point of interface between the motherboard and external devices.

ripping

Process of extracting audio from a CD, DVD, or video file.

personal computer

Processing device designed to meet the needs of an individual user, whether in the home, a business, or a school.

mainframe computer

Provides centralized storage, processing, and overall management of large amounts of data.

flash drive

Removable peripheral device and most recognized example of SSD. Also known as a thumb or jump drive.

hard disk drive

Sealed unit that contains a stack of individual disks, or platters, which are magnetic media that rotate at a very high speed. Also called a hard drive.

solid-state drive (SSD)

Similar to RAM, but has an integrated circuit to store data as involatile memory rather than volatile memory.

optical-character recognition (OCR)

Software that can be used with image scanners to digitize text so the computer understands it as text characters.

operating system (OS)

Software that manages all of the devices, as well as locates and provides instructions to the CPU.

clock speed

Speed rating of a CPU.

server

Stores data and responds when requested by other computers in the network.

arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)

Temporarily holds data that is being processed and handles all arithmetic operations such as addition and subtraction.

processing

Transformation of input data and acting on those data.

image-input device

Used to digitize images so they can be used by the computer.

storage

Where data are kept by the computer so the information can be viewed, played, or otherwise used.