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Glossary

I to L

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Icon
A pictorial representation of a program or software function or feature.
IDE
Intelligent Drive Electronics. IDE is the protocol that most PC disk drives use to communicate with the processor.
Ink Jet Printer
A type of printer that sprays ink, in very tiny droplets, from jet nozzles onto the paper. Ink jet printers can print in much higher resolutions than dot matrix printers, but not as high as laser printers.
Input
Data entered into the computer via some sort of input device such as the drive, lightpen, keyboard, microphone, mouse, modem, or scanner.
Insertion Point
A flashing vertical line showing where text will be inserted (cursor).
Install
Loading and copying a program’s files to a computer’s disk drive and configuring it to run. Common when installing new software.
Intel Corporation
A leading manufacturer of microprocessors, including the current standard, the Pentium I, II, and III Processors. Computers with Intel processors are usually identified by a "Intel Inside" logo.
Interface
The program or device that controls the way two pieces of equipment or programs work together. The term interface can also be used to describe the look and layout of a program on the screen for interaction with the user.
Internet
Originally a military project in the 1960’s to connect the few relatively spread-out large computers more economically, the Internet is a network of computers connected to each other on a global scale,to share information. The Internet has expanded to become a common application, especially due to the appeal of the World Wide Web and E-Mail. Other features of the internet include newsgroups, mailing lists, chat, online audio and video files, coursework and games.
Intranet
Similar to the Internet, an intranet is a smaller network of computers, usually within a single organization or building.
IRC
Internet Relay Chat.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. Also known as internet access providers, Internet service providers are local networks connected to the internet. When a user sets up an account with an ISP they are being connected to the ISP’s local network which is then connected to the internet network, allowing the user access to the internet.
Justification
To align text so that all the lines begin and/or end at the same place on a page. Justifications can be along the right side of the page, the left side, down the middle (center justification), or set to evenly distribute text across the page (full justification).
Keyboard
An input device based on the standard QWERTY typewriter configuration. Computer keyboards typically have more keys and features than typewriters, but work in much the same way.
Kilobyte
A kilobyte or KB is approximately 1000 bytes. Hard drive manufacturers use an even number as a multiplier. In this case 1 KB would be 1,000 bytes.
LAN
Local Area Network. A small network of computers usually within the same building or organization.
Laser Printer
A printer that uses a light beam to transfer images to paper. Laser printers print a full page at a time. A laser is used to ‘paint’ the dots of light onto a photographic drum or belt. The toner is applied to the drum or belt and then transferred onto the paper.
Load
To transfer programs or data from secondary to primary storage. For example, when a program is started, the information contained in its files are copied from the hard drive to the RAM.

© 2002. Onramp to Online Instruction Project for UBC: ETEC 510
Tanya Bezzasso, June Kaminski, Christine Marin, Hazel Prince
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