Toshiba Satellite 5205 Series User Manual

Page 290

Advertising
background image

290

Glossary

5.375 x 8.375 ver 2.4.0

direct memory access (DMA) — A dedicated channel, bypassing

the CPU, that enables direct data transfer between memory and a
device.

directory — See folder.

disable — To turn a computer option off. See also enable.

disc — A round, flat piece of metal, designed to be read from and

written to by optical (laser) technology, and used in the
production of optical discs, such as CDs and DVDs. Compare
disk.

disk — A round, flat piece of material that can be magnetically

influenced to hold information in digital form, and used in the
production of magnetic disks, such as diskettes and hard disks.
Compare disc. See also diskette, hard disk.

disk drive — The device that reads and writes information and

programs on a diskette or hard disk. It rotates the disk at high
speed past one or more read/write heads.

diskette — A thin, flexible disk in a protective jacket that stores

magnetically encoded data. Diskettes can be removed from the
computer and come in two sizes: 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch. Your
computer uses 3.5-inch diskettes. See also double-density
diskette, high-density diskette.

document — Any file created with an application and, if saved to

disk, given a name by which it can be retrieved. See also file.

double-click — To press the control button or mouse button rapidly

twice without moving the pointing device. In the Windows

®

operating system, this refers to the primary control button or left
mouse button, unless otherwise stated.

double-density diskette — A 3.5-inch diskette that can hold up to

720 KB of information (half the capacity of a high-density
diskette). See also diskette, high-density diskette.

download — (1) In communications, to receive a file from another

computer through a modem or network. (2) To send font data
from the computer to a printer. See also upload.

Advertising