Chapter 2 Closer look at Hardware and Software Flashcards
Binary computers
computers which can understand only two states, usually thought of as off and on represented by the digits 0 and 1
Bit
is the smallest unit of data a digital computer can recognize represented by 0 or 1
Byte
a group of 8 bits
Kilobyte (KB)
approx.1 thousand bytes (1024 bytes)
Megabyte
approx 1 million bytes
Gigabyte
approx 1 billion bytes
Terabyte
approx 1 trillion bytes
Petabyte
approx 1000 terabytes
decimal numbering system
the numbering system that represents all numbers using 0-9
ASCII
American standard code for information interchange
a fixed length binary coding system used to represent text based data for computer processing on many types of computers
Unicode
a international coding system that can be used to represent text based data in any written language
mouse
a pointing device that the user slides along a flat surface to move a pointer around the screen and clicks its buttons to make selections
stylus
pen like device for inputting data
touch screens
a display device that is touched with the finger to issue commands or otherwise provide input to the connected device
scanner
an input device that reads printed text and graphics and transfers them to a computer in digital form
barcode
a machine readable code that represents data as a set of bars
barcode reader
an input device that read barcodes
ERFID tag
a device containing a tiny chip and a radio antenna that is attached to an object so it can be identified using RFID technology
RFID reader
a device used to read RFID tags
Biometric Readers
a device used to input biometric data such as and individuals fingerprints or voice.
Digital Camera
an input device that takes picture and records them as digital images
OMRs
optical mark readers that input data from special forms to score or mark exams, questionnaires ballots etc.
OCR
optical character recognition readers
used to read optical characters printed on documents such as invoices and utility bills
MICR
magnetic ink character recognition readers
used to read the MICR-encoded bank and account information on cheques in order to sort and process them.
VOIP
Voice over internet protocol is used to place telephone calls via a computer
system unit
is the main case of a computer
it housed the processing hardware for that computer (i.e. the motherboard, one or more CPUs and several types of memory) as well as a few other devices such as storage divides, power supply and cooling fans.
CPU
central processing unit
the chip located on the motherboard of a computer that performs the processing for a computer
also called the processor
microprocessor
a CPU for a personal computer
multi-core CPU
a CPU that contains the processing components or core of more than one processor in a single CPU
Dual core CPU
a CPU that contains two separate processing cores
Quad-core CPU
a CPU that contains four separate processing cores
RAM
random access memory
chips connected to the motherboard that provide a temporary location for the computer to hold data and program instructions while they are needed
Volatile
a characteristic of memory or storage in which data is not retained when the power to the computer is turned off
Cache memory
is a special group of very fast memory chips located on or close to the CPU
this is used to speed up processing by storing data and instructions that may be needed next by the CPU in handy locations
registers
are another type of high speed memory built into the CPU to temporarily store data during processing
ROM
read-only memory
consists of non volatile chips that permanently store data or programs
like RAM these chips are attached to the motherboard inside the system unit and the data or programs are retrieved by the computer when they are needed
Flash memory
a type of nonvolatile memory into which data can be stored and retrieved.
output device
a piece of hardware that presents the results of processing in a form the user can understand
Display device
the most common form of output device. presents output visually on some type of screen aka a monitor
CRT monitor
Cathode-ray tube
used to be the norm for desktop computers
were large and bulky
Flat-panel display
thinner new computer screens and TV’s
pixels
display screens are divided up into small areas or dots
this is the smallest colourable area in an electronic image
printer
an output device that produces output on paper
Laser printer
an output device that uses toner powder and technology similar to that of a photocopier to produce images on paper
ink jet printers
form images by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink from one or more ink cartridges onto the page
Speakers
another output device to provide audio output
Storage medium
the part of storage system such as a DVD disc where data is stored.
Storage device
a piece of hardware, such as a DVD drive into which storage medium is inserted. to be read from or written to.
hard drive
tthe primary storage system for most computers; used to store most programs and data used with a computer
magnetic hard drive
a hard drive consisting of one or more metal magnetic disks permanently sealed, along with an access mechanism and read/write heads inside its drive
solid state drives (SSD)
a hard drive that uses flash memory media instead of metal magnetic hard disks
hybrid hard drive
a hard drive that contains both a large amount of flash memory and magnetic hard disks
internal hard drives
permanently located inside a computer’s system unit and is not removerable
optical disc
type of storage medium read from and written to using a laser beam
CD disc
a low capacity (typically 650 mb) optical disc that is often used to deliver music and software, as well as to store user data
DVD disc
a medium capacity (4.7 GB or 8.5 GB) optical disc that is often used to deliver software and movies as well as to store user data
Blu-ray Disc
a high capacity typically 25GB or 50GB that is often used to deliver high definition movies as well as to store user data.
Read only discs
CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and BD-ROM
data cannot be erased from these discs
Recordable Discs
CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R and BD-R discs
recordable discs cannot be erased
Rewritable discs
CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and BD-RE discs
rewritable optical discs can be written to erased and overwritten
Flash memory
nonvolatile chips that can be used for storage by the computer or user; can be built into a computer or a storage medium
Flash memory card
a small, rectangular flash memory medium such as a SD card (secure digital), secure digital high capacity (SDHC), xD picture card etc
USB flash drive
a small storage device that plugs into a USB port and contains flash memory media
remote storage
a storage device that is not directly connected to the computer being used, such as one accessed through a local network or the internet
On line storage
remote storage devices accessed vial the internet also called cloud storage.
smart card
a credit card sized peice of plastic containing a chip and other circuitry that can store data
Communications device
a piece of hardware that allows one device to communicate with other devices via a network or the internet.
network adapter
a network interface such as an expansion card or external network adapter
modem
a device that enables a computer to communicate over telephone lines
software license
an agreement either included in a software package or displayed on the screen during installation that specifies the conditions under which a buyer of the program can use it
commercial software
software that is develped and sold for a profit
Shareware
software that is distributed on the honor system
Freeware
software that is given away for free
open source software
programs made up of source code that is available to the general public. the programs can be copyrighted but individuals and businesses can modify the program and redistribute it but the change must be shared with the open source community and the original copyright notice must remain intact
installed software
software that must be installed don a computer in order to be used.
Web based software
software that is delivered on demand via the web; also referred to as software as a service(SaaS) and cloud ware.
Ribbon
a feture found in recent versions of Microsoft office that uses tabs to organize groups of related commands
Editing
changing content of a document such as inserting or deleting words.
Formatting
changing the appearance of a document such as changing the margins or font size
File
something stored on a storage medium such as a program a document or an image
Filename
a name given to a file by the user it is used to retrieve the file at a later time
Folder
a named place on a storage medium into which files can be stored to keep the files stored on that medium organized
