Toshiba Portege M300 User Manual - Page 216

Glossary non-system disk: A disk for storing programs and data that cannot be used to start the computer. Compare system disk. nonvolatile memory: Memory that is capable of permanently storing information. Turning the computer's power off does not alter data stored in nonvolatile memory. numeric keypad overlay: A feature that allows you to use certain keys on the keyboard to perform numeric entry, or to control cursor and page movement. O: OCR: Optical Character Recognition (reader). A technique or device that uses laser or visible light to identify characters and input them into a storage device. online state: A functional state of a peripheral device when it is ready to receive or transmit data. operating system: A group of programs that controls the basic operation of a computer. Operating system functions include interpreting programs, creating data files, and controlling the transmission and receipt (input/output) of data to and from memory and peripheral device. output: The results of a computer operation. Output commonly indicates data. 1) printed on paper, 2) displayed at a terminal, 3) sent through the serial port of internal modem, or 4) stored on some magnetic media. P: parallel: Processes that occur simultaneously. In communications, it means the transmission of more than one bit of information at a time. On your computer, the parallel port provides a parallel communications interface between the computer and an appropriate device. Compare serial. parity: 1) The symmetrical relationship between two parameter values (integers) both of which are either on or off; odd or even; 0 or 1. 2) In serial communications, an error detection bit that is added to a group of data bits making the sum of the bits even or odd. Parity can be set to none, odd, or even. password: A unique string of characters used to identify a specific user. The computer provides various levels of password protection such as user and supervisor. PC card: A credit-card-sized expansion card designed to increase the capabilities of notebook computers. PC Cards provide functions such as modem, fax/modem, hard disk drive, network adapter, sound card, or SCSI adapter. PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect. An industry standard 32-bit bus. peripheral: Any device, such as a printer or joystick, that is attached to the computer and controlled by the computer's CPU. pixel: A picture element. The smallest dot that can be made on a display or printer. Also called a pel. Glossary-10 User's Manual