Computer Glossary

A computer collects, processes, stores and outputs information. Hardware and software are the two basic parts of a computer system

• Hardware - any part of a computer system you can touch
• Software -  a set of electronic instructions that tell a compute what to do.
• Peripheral - Any piece of hardware attached to a computer.
• Input Device - Lets you communicate with a computer.  A keyboard, mouse, and joystick are input devices. 
• Storage Devices -  used to place information on a storage media. A floppy drive, recordable CD-ROM, tape drives and DVD-ROM are considered storage devices
• Processor / CPU - Central Processing Unit - the main chip in a computer.  The CPU processes instructions, manages the flow of information through a computer system.  The CPU communicates with input, output and storage devices to perform tasks.
• Output device - lets a computer communicate with you.  These devices displays information on a screen, printed copies, or generate sound.
• Byte - one character, a character can be a number, letter or symbol.  Consists of eight bits.
• Bit -  The smallest unit of information a computer can process.
• Kilobyte (K)- One kilobyte = 1024 characters.  This is approximately equal to one page of double spaced text.
• Megabyte (MB) -  One Megabyte = 1,048,576 character.  This is approximately equal to one book.
• Gigabyte (GB) - One Gigabyte = 1,073,741,824 characters.  This is approximately equal to a shelf of books in a library.
• Terabyte (TB) - One terabyte = 1,099,511,627,776 character.  This is equal to an entire library of books.
• Power Supply - Changes normal household electricity into electricity that a computer can use.
• Hard Drive - The primary device that a computer uses to store information
• Floppy Drive - Stores and retrieves information on a floppy disks
• RAM - Temporarily stores information inside a computer.  This information is lost when you turn off the computer.
• CPU - The main chip in a computer.  Processes instructions, performs calculations and manages the flow of information through a computer.
• Motherboard/System board - The main circuit board of a computer.  All electrical components plug into the mother board.
• Expansion Slot - a socket on the motherboard.
• Expansion Card - Lets you add new features to a computer.
• Drive Bay - A space inside the computer case where a hard drive, floppy drive, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive sits.
• Port -  a connector at the back of a computer where you plug in an external device such as  printer or modem.  This allows instructions and data to flow between the computer and the device.
• Parallel Port - has 25 holes.  This type of port is known as a female connector.  A parallel port connects a printer or tape drive.
• Serial Port - has either 9 or 25 pins.  This type of port is known as a male connector.  A serial port connects a mouse or modem.
• USB Port - Universal Serial Bus - allows you connect up to 127 devices using on one port. 
• Video card - a circuit board that plugs into and expansion slot inside the computer.  The video card translates instructions from the computer to a form the monitor can understand.   Also called the video adaptor, graphics board or graphics card.
• Size  of a monitor - Is measure diagonally across the screen.  Common monitor sizes are 14,1 5, 17 and 21 inches. 
• Flat Panel - uses Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), which is the same type of display found in most digital wristwatches. 
• Dot Pitch - The distance between tiny dots on a screen.  The dot pitch determines the sharpness of images on the screen.  The smaller the dot pitch, the crisper the images.  Select a monitor with a dot pitch of 0.28 mm or less.
• Resolution - is measured by the number of horizontal and vertical pixels.  Determines the amount of information a monitor can display.
• Pixel - the smallest element on a screen.  Pixel is short for picture element.