| Computer Terminal | Any input/output device connected by telecommunications links to a computer.
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| Direct Access | A method of storage in which each storage position has a unique address and can be individually accessed in approximately the same period without having to search through other storage positions. Same as Random Access. Contrast with Sequential Access.
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| Graphical User Interface | A software interface that relies on icons, bars, buttons, boxes, and other images to initiate computer-based tasks for users.
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| Information Appliances | Small Web-enabled microcomputer devices with specialized functions, such as handheld PDAs, TV set-top boxes, game consoles, cellular and PCS phones, wired telephone appliances, and other Web-enabled home appliances.
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| Magnetic Disk | A flat, circular plate with a magnetic surface on which data can be stored by selective magnetization of portions of the curved surface.
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| Microcomputer | A very small computer, ranging in size from a “computer on a chip” to handheld, laptop, and desktop units, and servers.
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| Minicomputer | A type of midrange computer.
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| Moore’s Law | A theory advanced by Gordon Moore that suggests that computing power will double every 18 to 24 months at a given price point.
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| Network Computer | A low-cost networked microcomputer with no or minimal disk storage, which depends on Internet or intranet servers for its operating system and Web browser, Java-enabled application software, and data access and storage.
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| Off-line | Pertaining to equipment or devices not under control of the central processing unit.
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| Online | Pertaining to equipment or devices under control of the central processing unit.
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| Optical Disks | A secondary storage medium using CD (compact disk) and DVD (digital versatile disk) technologies to read tiny spots on plastic disks. The disks are currently capable of storing billions of characters of information.
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| Pointing Devices | Devices that allow end users to issue commands or make choices by moving a cursor on the display screen.
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| Secondary Storage | Storage that supplements the primary storage of a computer. Synonymous with auxiliary storage.
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| Semiconductor Memory | Microelectronic storage circuitry etched on tiny chips of silicon or other semi conducting material. The primary storage of most modern computers consists of microelectronic semiconductor storage chips for random-access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM).
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| Sequential Access | A sequential method of storing and retrieving data from a file. Contrast with Random Access and Direct Access.
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| Speech Recognition | Direct conversion of spoken data into electronic form suitable for entry into a computer system. Also called voice data entry.
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| Supercomputer | A special category of large computer systems that are the most powerful available. They are designed to solve massive computational problems.
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