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Glossary
binary: The base-two number system, in which the only digits are 0 and
1. This system is used in computers since it can be implemented as a
series of electronic signals that are either off (0) or on (1). From right
to left, the digits in a binary number have the values 1 2 4 8 16 and
so on. For example, the binary number 101 is equivalent to the
decimal number 5. If you need to convert numbers from binary to
decimal or vice versa, many pocket calculators and calculation
programs can do the work for you. See also decimal.
bit: A binary digit. The basic unit of information used by the computer, a
bit may be either 1 or 0. While an individual bit cannot contain a
significant amount of information, by combining bits into larger
units, such as bytes (a group of eight connected bits), your computer
can deal with huge blocks of data. See also byte.
bitmap: A graphic composed of dots or pixels. It is usually created by a
drawing package, a screen capture utility or a scanner.
bits per second (BPS): A way of measuring the speed at which
information is passed between two devices. This is the basic
measure used in modem communications. This is similar, but not
identical, to the baud rate. See also baud.
board: Short for printed circuit board. A thin card containing chips and
other electronic components connected by metallic lines etched into
the surface. Most of the basic components of a computer, such as the
BIOS and memory are contained on one board, called the
motherboard. A computer may contain additional boards, called
daughterboards, that provide specific functions beyond those on the
motherboard.
boot: To start the computer. There are two types of boot. Turning on the
power is called a cold boot. Restarting the computer by pressing
+
originates from bootstrap program (as in pulling itself up by its
bootstraps), a program that loads and initializes the operating
system.
boot disk controller: The controller for the disk drive that the BIOS uses
to load the operating system. By default, this is the controller for the
primary floppy disk drive (A:). If you designate another disk drive
as the boot drive, its controller becomes the boot disk controller.
+
or the restart button is called a warm boot. The term boot
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