Motherboard:  The main printed circuit board in the computer.  It contains the processor chip, memory, and other system components.

 

Mouse:  An input device that is used as a pointing device.  A device used mainly to navigate through a computer.

 

Multimedia:  A combination of two or more elements, such as sound, animation and video in a computer program or presentation.  Multimedia programs, which require huge amounts of storage space, have become very popular with the wide availability of CD-ROM drives.

 

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI):  A standard for connecting musical instruments, synthesizers, and computers.  The MIDI standard provides a way of translating music into a form in which the computer can use, and vice versa.

 

Multitasking:  The computer runs one program for a short time and then switches to the next program.  Because the people’s sense of time is much slower than the computer’s speed the programs seem to be running simultaneously.

 

N

 

Non-Interlaced:  A method of refreshing a computer screen, in which each pixel of every line is refreshed as the electron beam shoots across the screen.

 

O

 

On Line:  A functional state in which a device is ready to receive or transmit information.

 

on-line:  Available through the computer.  On-Line may refer to information on the hard disk, such as on-line help or on-line documentation, or a connection, through a modem, to another computer.

 

Operating System:  A collection of computer programs that control how the computer works.  Such as Windows 95/98/2000…

 

 

 P

Peripheral Devices: Computer devices other than the CPU and memory.  They can be internal or external.

 

Port:  The electrical connection through which the computer sends and receives information to and from devices or other computers.  Standard ports include parallel and serial ports.

 

Processor:  See Central Processing Unit

 

Program:  A set of instructions that tells the computer what to do.  Programs call for information (input), which is entered at the keyboard or by means of a pointing device, and sends the results to a device such as a display, a printer, or a disk. 

 

Protocol:  A collection of rules and conventions that make it possible to transfer information between computers.  If you’re transmitting a file, both modems must use the same protocol-just as two people talking on the telephone must speak the same language to understand each other.

 

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