Users Guide

Glossary: Dell OptiPlex 320 User's Guide
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Glossary
Dell™ OptiPlex™ 320 User's Guide
Terms in this Glossary are provided for informational purposes only and may or may not describe features included with your
particular computer.
A
AC — alternating current — The form of electricity that powers your computer when you plug the AC adapter power cable in
to an electrical outlet.
ACPI — advanced configuration and power interface — A power management specification that enables Microsoft®
Windows® operating systems to put a computer in standby or hibernate mode to conserve the amount of electrical power
allocated to each device attached to the computer.
AGP — accelerated graphics port — A dedicated graphics port that allows system memory to be used for video-related tasks.
AGP delivers a smooth, true-color video image because of the faster interface between the video circuitry and the computer
memory.
AHCI — Advanced Host Controller Interface — An interface for a SATA hard drive Host Controller which allows the storage
driver to enable technologies such as Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and hot plug.
ALS — ambient light sensor — A feature that helps to control display brightness.
antivirus software — A program designed to identify, quarantine, and/or delete viruses from your computer.
ASF — alert standards format — A standard to define a mechanism for reporting hardware and software alerts to a
management console. ASF is designed to be platform- and operating system-independent.
B
battery life span — The length of time (years) during which a portable computer battery is able to be depleted and
recharged.
battery operating time — The length of time (minutes or hours) that a portable computer battery powers the computer.
BIOS — basic input/output system — A program (or utility) that serves as an interface between the computer hardware and
the operating system. Unless you understand what effect these settings have on the computer, do not change them. Also
referred to as system setup.
bit — The smallest unit of data interpreted by your computer.
Bluetooth
®
wireless technology — A wireless technology standard for short-range (9 m [29 feet]) networking devices that
allows for enabled devices to automatically recognize each other.
boot sequence — Specifies the order of the devices from which the computer attempts to boot.
bootable CD — A CD that you can use to start your computer. In case your hard drive is damaged or your computer has a
virus, ensure that you always have a bootable CD or floppy disk available. Your Drivers and Utilities (or ResourceCD) is a
bootable CD.
bootable disk — A disk that you can use to start your computer. In case your hard drive is damaged or your computer has a
virus, ensure that you always have a bootable CD or floppy disk available.
bps — bits per second — The standard unit for measuring data transmission speed.
BTU — British thermal unit — A measurement of heat output.
bus — A communication pathway between the components in your computer.