| A | B |
|---|
| audio input | The process of inputting sound into the computer. |
| biometrics | A technique or device that examines a fingerprint, voice pattern, or the iris or retina of the eye. |
| digital camera | A camera that takes and stores photographs as digital files. |
| expansion slot | Opening on the motherboard where an expansion board, also called an adapter card, can be inserted. |
| FireWire | Also known as IEEE 1394 and IEEE 1394b. The IEEE 1394 bus standard supports data tranfer rates of up to 400 Mbps and can connect up to 63 external devices; IEEE 1394 b provides speeds up to 3200 Mbps. |
| inkjet printer | A type of printer that uses a nonimpact process. Ink is squirted from nozzles as they pass over the media. |
| input | Data or instructions, which must be entered into the computer and then stored temporarily or permanently on a storage media device. |
| keyboard | Common input device for entering numeric and alphabetic data into a computer. |
| laser printer | A printer that produces images using the same technology as copier machines. |
| modem | Communications hardware device that facilitates the transmission of data. |
| monitor | The display device on a computer, which includes the screen and the housing for its electrical components. |
| mouse | A pointing device that serves as a faster, more effective alternative to the keyboard in communicating instructions to the computer. |
| output | Data that has been processed into a useful format. |
| plug-and-play | Technology that allows a hardware component to be attached to a computer so that it is automatically configured by the operating system, without user intervention. |
| pointing device | Device, such as a mouse or trackball, that allows the user to select objects on the screen. |
| port | An interface to which a peripheral device attaches to or communicates with the system unit. |
| printer | A device that produces a paper or hard copy of the processing results. |
| scanner | An input device that can change images into codes for input to the computer. |
| trackball | A pointing device that works like a mouse turned upside down; the ball is on top of the device. |
| Universal Serial Bus (USB) | Standard for computer ports that support data transfer rates of up to 12 million bits per second. |
