Ford BTT1O Name: ______________________ INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REFERENCE MANUAL 1. Signup for a term NOT covered in my slideshow. Then use the blank template to create ONE (1) slide per item as if you were going to add to my slideshow. We will then do a walkabout to take notes from everyone else’s slides. 2. Refer to the slideshows and the internet to complete the following chart. Match the terms listed in the “TERMS” box with the definitions provided on the following pages. Terms Bar code reader Bit Bubble-jet Printer Byte Cache Memory CD drive CDE or CD-RW CD-R CD-ROM Communications hardware CPU Cursor Digital Camera Disk drive Diskette DVD ROM Gigabyte Hard copy Hard disk Hardware Ink-jet printer Input hardware Joystick Keyboard Kilobyte Laser Printer Light pen Megabyte Microphone Microprocessor Modem Monitor Motherboard Mouse Mouse pointer Networks Output devices Peripheral Devices Plotters Pointing devices Power supply Term Definition The device that converts power from AC to DC to run the computer. Converts analog images to digital form A hardware device that is used to convert digital signals to analog ones in order to send signals over telephone lines Also called Hard Drive Usually hold the software users need to perform tasks. They are faster and hold more data than floppy disks. Thin, but rigid, metal or glass platters covered with a substance that allows data to be held in the form of magnetised spots They are tightly sealed within an enclosed unit to prevent any foreign matter from getting inside. Inside, there are disk(s) on a drive spindle, read/write heads mounted on an actuator (access) arm that moves back and forth, and power connections and circuitry. Each type is used to read: CD ROM, CD-R, CDE, CD-RW, DVD ROM, etc. They can be internal or external Use optical disk technology Page 1 Primary storage Processing hardware RAM Resolution ROM Scanner Secondary storage Soft copy Sound Card Speakers Stand alone Storage hardware System Unit Terabyte Touch screen Touchpad Trackball Video card ZIP/JAZ drive Ford BTT1O Name: ______________________ Page 2 External devices that are connected to the computer cabinet but are not inside the main cabinet i.e. keyboard, mouse, monitors, and printers. Also called an audio board. It is an internal add-on (expansion) circuit board in a computer that converts analog sound to digital sound and stores it for further processing and/or plays it back, providing output directly to speakers or an external amplifier. Examples: Sound Blaster, Ad Lib, etc. A bridge between the processor and RAM A special high-speed memory that the processor can access quickly. It allows the processor to run faster because it doesn’t have to take time to swap instructions in and out of RAM. Also known as the system cabinet. Contains the part of the electronic circuitry that does the actual processing. Short for Central Processing Unit It is the processing/computing part of the computer It controls and manipulates data to produce information The CPU in a microcomputer Short for Read-Only Memory It cannot be written on or erased by the computer user. The chips remember, permanently, information supplied by the manufacturer. One of the chips contains instructions that tell the processor what to do when you first turn on, or “boot” the computer. (ROM bootstrap). The main circuit board on which the microprocessor and other components are mounted Also called the system board Stands for Random Access Memory The more you have, the faster the software will operate Is memory that temporarily holds data and instructions that will be needed shortly by the processor. It is constantly being written on and erased. A device that displays softcopy output The clarity or sharpness of a display screen The higher the number of pixels, the better it is Allow the digital sound to be heard Provides sound input to the sound card Devices used to assist in the connections between computers and between groups of connected computers Groups of connected computers Computers not connected to anything Photoelectric scanners that translate the bar code symbols (vertical zebrastriped marks seen on most manufactured retail products) into digital code. A video display screen that has been sensitised to receive input from the touch of a finger. The physical parts of the computer that accept data (information) and converts it into a form that can be used for computer processing. Any physical component of the computer. You can touch it. A device that is used mainly to enter words and numbers into the computer. Also has keys called function keys that are used to enter specific software commands. Ford BTT1O Name: ______________________ Page 3 A device that is rolled about on a desktop to direct a pointer on the computer’s display screen. Also called the insertion point. The symbol on the screen that shows where data may be entered next. Translates images of text, drawings and photos into digital form The images can then be used by a computer Physical devices that provide the user with a way of viewing and using information produced by the computer Output that can be physically held in your hand Output displayed on a monitor or by audio (sound) Devices that control the position of the cursor or pointer on the screen ie: mouse, trackballs, joysticks The symbol that indicates the position of the mouse on the display screen A moveable ball on top of a stationary device that is rotated with the fingers or palm of the hand Sometimes found on laptop computers A pointing device that consists of a vertical handle, like a gearshift lever, mounted on a base with one or two buttons Often used for playing computer games A flat rectangular device that uses a very weak electrical field to sense the user’s touch. As the fingertip is moved, so does the cursor Often found on laptop computers A light sensitive pen like device where the user brings the pen to a specific spot on the display screen, presses the pen button which then identifies the screen location to the computer Sometimes used by engineers and graphic designers Uses a light sensitive processor chip to capture photographic images in digital form on the camera’s small disk Works in a similar manner as a photocopies Images are created on a drum, treated with a magnetically charged ink like toner (powder) then transferred from a drum to paper Forms images with little dots Sprays small, electrically charged droplets of ink from four nozzels from holes in a matrix Similar to an ink jet printer Uses miniature heating elements to force special ink through print heads with 128 tiny nozzles Used to produce high quality graphics in a variety of colours There are two types: flatbed and drum Used to create architectural drawings and maps Combination of: The electronic circuitry that does the processing and the memory that supports the processing The smallest unit of capacity. Also called a floppy drive A device that holds, spins, and reads data from and writes data to the diskette. The largest commercially available unit of capacity Approximately 1 trillion bites (1,009,511,627,776 bytes) A unit of capacity. 1024 bytes. Ford BTT1O Name: ______________________ SSD DVD Flash drive Page 4 Stands for Compact Disk - Read Only Memory Holds up to 680 MG of data An optical disk format that is used to hold software programs and data Once “burned”, a CD ROM cannot be written on or erased at a later time Stands for Compact Disk – Erase or Compact Disk – Read, Write An erasable or rewritable, optical disk Uses magneto-optical disk – both magnetic and optical technologies Also called a floppy disk A removable, round, flat piece of mylar plastic that stores data and programs as electromagnetic charges on a metal oxide film that coats the plastic. Often called “floppy” because the disk is flexible, not rigid A unit of capacity. Represents one character, digit, or other value. Comprised of 8 bits. Removable hard disk drives Hold gigs worth of data on hard disks. Disks can be removed and replaced by others Now considered out of date A silvery, 5-inch optically readable digital disk that looks like an audio compact disk Can store 4.7 – 17 GB Great data storage, studio-quality video images, and theatre-like surround sound through burning pits with a laser Devices used to store information in a relatively permanent manner i.e.: disks, tapes Devices that provide a way of storing software and data in a form that is relatively permanent information is NOT lost when the power is turned off A measurement of a microcomputer’s capacity. Approximately 1 million bites (1, 048, 576 bytes) Describes floppy disks, and CD ROMs memory capacity. A unit of capacity for hard drives and thumb drives. Approximately 1 billion bites (1, 073, 741, 824 bytes) Stands for Compact Disk – Recordable A CD format that allows users with CD-R drives to write data, only once, only a specially manufactured disk than can then be read by a standard CD-ROM drive It is the temporary working storage of the computer Contents ARE erased when power is turned off It is contained on memory chips stored on the motherboard. The chips remember, temporarily, information supplied by you or software. Solid state hard drive