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Term
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Definition
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| Bootstrap |
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Bootstrap
is a specific area on a primary hard drive or floppy diskette
that contains information to tell the computer where to
find and start the operating system.
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| Computer
Virus |
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A computer virus is an executable file that replicates
itself and executes itself in an unsolicited manner. Many
viruses are designed to damage data or other components
within a computer system.** (For details, refer to www.symantec.com/avcenter)
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| File
Sharing |
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Multiple
computers accessing the same information, residing in
the same location, over a network. Some types of access,
such as the ability to chang or delete a file, may be
limited to certain users through the use of passwords
or other protection schemes.*
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| Multitasking |
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When
a computer performs multiple tasks simultaneously. During
multitasking, some tasks (such as sending faxes or calculations)
can be performed in the background while you work on another
program.*
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| Multithreading |
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Multithreading,
an extension of multitasking, is the ability of a single
application to multitask. When you give a multithreading
application a task, it immediately begins performing the
task in the background and opens a new thread, so the
mouse and keyboard regain focus and you can continue with
your next action, rather than waiting, with an hourglass,
until the first task is complete.
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| Operating
System |
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An
operating system is the software that starts your computer
and prepares it to run applications, like your word processor,
your web browser and your spreadsheet software. It presents
the interface (everything you see on your screen before
you run your applications) and accepts your input through
the keyboard and mouse, and launches your applications.
It is the software that is running when nothing else is
running on your computer. Operating systems also provide
the applications with standardized modules to handle common
tasks, such as loading and saving files, printing, drawing
and erasing dialog boxes and drawing tool bars. As an analogy,
an operating system is like a toolbox that contains tools
that are used by you and the software applications you run.
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| Plug
'N' Play |
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A
standard protocol that gives PC the ability to detect
and configure a new piece of hardware automatically, without
your having to physically reconfigure hardware elements.
Windows 95 and 98 support it. NT 4.0 effectively does
not. Windows 2000 supports it, though for fewer peripherals
than Windows 98.
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| Print
Driver |
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A
program that allows a PC to communicate with a printer.
A print driver will translate commands from the computer
into instructions the printer understands.*
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| Shell |
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A
program that provides an interface between the operating
system and the user.* It launches applications and runs
when nothing else is running.
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| Virtual
Memory |
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A
type of hard drive space that mimics actual memory (RAM).
When actual memory space is limited, the use of virtual
memory can let users work with larger documents and run
more software simultaneously. When a program needs information
that is held in virtual memory addresses, the information
is moved to actual memory addresses. This process of moving
sets of virtual addresses (or pages) into actual memory
is known as paging or swapping. When virtual memory is
used, it appears to the user as if actual memory is in
use. The process is much slower, however, because of the
time required to swap information between virtual and
actual memory.*
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