Toshiba Satellite 4030CDT User Manual page 222

AVI (Audio Video Interleaved): Microsoft Corporation's trade name for
synchronization and digital compression of video and audio sig
nals.
backup: A copy of a file, usually on removable disk or tape, kept in
case the original file is lost or damaged. It's a good idea to keep
backup copies of all your important files.
base memory: See conventional memory.
basic input/output system (BIOS): A set of basic computer instructions.
The BIOS, in a ROM chip, contains the information the computer
needs to check the hardware and load the operating system.
batch file: A file, ending with a .BAT extension, containing MS-DOS
commands that you can perform together, rather than typing them
one at a time. Batch files are useful if you have a series of
MS-DOS commands that you need to type fairly often. For exam
ple you could use a batch file for the commands needed to log on
to a network. See also AUTOEXEC.BAT.
baud (baud rate): The speed at which communication devices such as
printers, terminals, and modems transmit information. The Baud
rate is the number of signal changes per second (not necessarily
the same as bits per second). It is named for Emil Baudot, a pio
neer in printing telegraphy. See also bits per second.
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 imple
mented 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 val
ues 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 num
bers from binary to decimal or vice versa, many pocket calculators
and calculation programs can do the work for you. See also deci
mal.
bit: 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.
Part I: Getting To Know Your Computer