| A | B |
|---|
| ASCH | American Standard Code for Information Interchange - the most popular and widely used standardized coding system |
| Byte | Eight bits or combinations of ones and zeros |
| Expansion Slots | An opening on the motherboard where a circuit board or expansion board can be inserted. |
| USB | universal Serial Bus |
| ROM | Memory that is long term; Read only memory |
| RAM | Memory that is temporarily stored; Random access memory |
| Memory | Found on the motherboard, short term and long term. |
| Basic Controllers | A device that controls the transfer of data from the computer to a peripheral device and vice versa. |
| Serial Parallel Ports | Used to connect our peripheral devices to the computer |
| PC Case | Metal and plastic case that houses the main system components of the computer |
| Motherboard | A circuit board that contains many integral components |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit - the brains of the computer, the microprocessor |
| Control Unit | The "boss" and coordinates all of the CPU's activities |
| ALU | Arithmetic/logic unit which performs arithmetic computations and logical operations |
| WAN | Wide area network, includes several local area networks together |
| Network | When computers are connected to other computers |
| LAN | Computers connected together in a relatively close location such as in the same building or department, local area network |
| Sender | The computer that is sending the message |
| Channel | The media that carries or transports the message |
| Receiver | The computer receiving the message |
| Data Communications | The technology that enables computers to communicate |
| Personal Computer | Smaller and less powerful than the other types of computers |
| Desktop | A computer designed to be used on a desktop |
| Laptop | Designed to be small enough and light enough to be used on your lap |
| Web TV | Provides easy access to the Internet without having to have a traditional computer |
| Super Computer | The most powerful computer |
| Mainframes/minicomputers | Computers used by business and government to process large amounts of information |
| Notebook | A computer designed to be used on a desktop but still small enough to be portable |
| PDA | Personal digital assistant, a handheld device that is often used in conjunction with a desktop or other PC |
| Software | The intangible set of instructions that tell computers what to do, known as programs |
| Hardware | The tangible physical equipment that can be seen. |
| People | The users of the computers who enter the data and use the output |
| Data | The new facts entered into the computer to be processed which consists of text, numbers, sounds, and images |
| Computer | An electronic device that receives data, processes data, stores data, and produces a result (output) |
