ROM Read Only Memory “…computer memory on which data has been prerecorded. Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be removed and can only be read. -Webopedia

Hard disk “This is large-capacity permanent storage used to hold information such as programs and documents.” -Tyson. How PCs Work.

Sound Card “This is used by the computer to record and play audio by converting analog sound into digital information and back again.” -Tyson. How PCs work.

Mouse “A device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on a display screen…” -Tyson. How PCs work.

Scanner “A device that reads data and inputs it to the computer…” -Wilson.

Ports Slots or spaces “on the outside of a computer to attach external devices such as printers, scanners, tape backup drives, removable CD-ROM or floppy-disk drives.” -Wilson. Ethernet USB Serial

LAN Local Area Network –Network covering a small geographic area

GUI Graphical User Interface Icon-based command system

ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange Standard allows for transfer of information between different systems

Binary “Computers are based on the binary numbering system, which consists of just two unique numbers, 0 and 1.” -Webopedia All digital data is encoded in the binary system so that it can be processed by computers. Everything is represented in strings of 0s and 1s.

Unicode More complex than ASCII

cache Temporary storage of data that might be accessed again.

CPU Central Processing Unit Main part of a computer

Operating System Software that allows the operation of the computer and other applications What is the latest OS from Microsoft?

PC Personal Computer Individual computer or workstation

Graphics Card Converts video data to display on the monitor

Network Card Enables connections to external networks

Server Large computers that serve software and data to smaller client PCs.

Desktop v. Laptop Desktop –Keyboard –CPU –Disk drives –Monitor Laptop –Single portable unit with battery

Hardware Physical components –Casing –Motherboard –Cards –Chips –Drives –Mouse –Printer

Software OS Applications Web Browser Word Processing etc. ILS – Integrated Library System

Hard Disk Long-term storage of applications (software) and files (data)

DVD Digital Video Disc Stores images, video and text

Server Backups Daily or regular backups to magnetic tape

Network Drives Shared drives accessed from numerous PCs on a single network G, H, I, J, K, S, W, Z

Monitor Technology CRT –Cathode Ray Tube LCD –Liquid Crystal Display

Screen Resolution The number of pixels on a monitor –1024 X 768 means 1,024 pixels on 768 lines

Pixels Picture Element Dots or points

Peripherals Digital camera PDA – personal digital assistant FAX – facsimile Barcode scanner

WAN Wide Area Network –Network covering a wide area network

Wireless Technology provides flexibility and mobility to staff

Client-Server Large servers serve up applications and files to smaller PC clients

Internet Largest network in the world – global network of networks Uses standard protocols for information exchange –HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol –FTP – File Transfer Protocol –SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol –TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

Internet in Libraries How has the Internet affected libraries?