SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Define the following terms in your own words:

i. Analog - Analog device are NOT read in 10101 pattern of digital devices, rather they are in a series of bumps and grooves.

ii. AC Adapter- External power supply, looks like an oversized plug.

iii. Bay (computer bay)- Reserved space where hard or floppy disk drives can be inserted.

iv. Bluetooth- Bluetooth allow for short range wireless contact between devices.

v. Bit- Comes from the phrase "binary digIT", its a single digit number in base-2, it is the smalelst unit of computer data.

vi. Bus- In a computers data the bus data goes up and down. Most computers have several different buses to transmit data, also run on a certain speed that is measured in megahertzs.

vii. Byte- A set of 8 bits that represent a single character in the computers memory. Do not confuse the term with "byte"

viii. Cache- Cache's store recently used information so that they can be recalled again. The most common instance of this is in web browsers, where a cache is used to remember web pages that are visisted frequently.

ix. Celeron- A brand name given by microcorp to several microproccessors.

x. Central processing unit (CPU)- Pretty much the brain of your computer. Proccess everything from simple to complex functions.

xi. Chip- Technically, is a piece of silicon with a circuit embedded in it, but cn also refer to different components within your computer, such as an integrated circuit.

xii. Digital- Unlike analog, with runs on bumps and grooves, digital reads information in a 10101 pattern.

xiii. Dual-core processor - A dual-core processor is a CPU with two processors or "execution cores" in the same integrated circuit.

xiv. Expansion slot- An opening in a computer where a circuit board can be inserted to add new capabilities to the copmuter. Nearly all comptuers except some portable ones contain an expansion slot. The boards inserted are called expansion boards.

xv. Firmware- A software program programmed on a hardware device. it provide instructions on how the device communicates.

xvi. Gigabyte- Around over a billion bytes. Usually hard drives are measured in gigabytes, for example
160GB". It is the predesecor to terabytes. Abbreviated "gigs"

xvii. Gigahertz- Equal to 1,000 megahertz and is commonly used to measure a computers processing speed.

xviii. Megabyte- Around a million bytes and precedes the gigabyte unit of measuring computer data.

xix. Memory- Refers to how a cmoputer stores digital data much like we store our memory./

xx. Motherboard- The main circuit board of your computer.

xxi. Pentium- A registered trademark, refers to some microsoft processors.

xxii. Port- can refer to an internet (protocol) or hardware port, is a general term.

xxiii. R.A.M- Stands for random access memory. Small chips that recall memory from a memory module, installed on the computers motherboard.

xxiv. R.O.M.- Stands for Read-only memory, the comptuer uses this when it boots up.

xxv. USB port- Stands for universal serial bus. A very common type of port on computes, often used for attatching many types of peripherals.

xxvi. Video Card- Gives the CPU a break, used for loading graphics.