Summary

12 floppy disk drivefloppy disk drive (FDD) A device that spins amagnetically coated floppy disk to read data from itand write data to it.floppy drive cable An external cable that connectsthe computer and the floppy drive.format To prepare a file system in a partition tostore files.form factor The physical size and shape of computercomponents. Components that share the sameform factor are physically interchangeable.full backup Backs up all files on a disk. Alsocalled a normal backup.full-duplex transmission Data transmission thatcan go two ways at the same time. An Internet connectionusing DSL service is an example.function key (Fn key) A modifier key usuallyfound on laptop computers. It is used in combinationwith other keys to perform specific functions.Ggamepad An external controller used as an inputdevice, primarily for gaming.gigahertz (GHz) A common measurement of aprocessor equal to one billion cycles per second.Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM) A worldwide cellular network.graphical user interface (GUI) An interface thatallows the user to navigate through the operating systemusing icons and menus.graphics application Creates or modifies graphicalimages. The two types of graphical images includeobject- or vector-based images, and bitmaps or rasterimages.Graphics Device Interface (GDI) A Windowscomponent to manage how graphical images aretransmitted to output devices. GDI works by convertingimages to a bitmap that uses the computerinstead of the printer to transfer the images.grayware Spyware that installs on a computerwithout being prompted and downloads additionalapplications without permission from the user.Hhalf-duplex transmission Data transmission thatcan go two ways, but not at the same time. A twowayradio is an example.handshaking sequence A series of short communicationsthat occur between two modems. Thisestablishes the readiness of the two modems andcomputers to engage in data exchange.handwriting recognition The ability of computers,especially mobile devices, to recognize letters andnumbers written by hand and convert them to ASCIItext.hard disk drive (HDD) A device that stores andretrieves data from magnetic-coated platters thatrotate at high speeds. The HDD is the primary storagemedium on a computer.hardware Physical electronic components thatmake up a computer system.Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) A library ofhardware drivers that communicate between theoperating system and the hardware that is installed.