Toshiba Satellite 110 Series, User Manual

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Part III: Appendixes
391
operating system: A collection of computer programs that control how
the computer works. Operating system functions include creating
programs and data files, and controlling the flow of information
between the processor, memory and devices. Examples of operat-
ing systems used by Toshiba computers include Windows 95,
MS-DOS and OS/2.
operating system diskette: The disk containing the operating system.
This is also known as a system diskette.
output: The results of a computer operation. Familiar forms of output
are information 1) printed on paper, 2) displayed on a screen, 3)
sent through the serial port or internal modem, or 4) stored on disk.
See also input/output (I/O).
P
palette: In some programs, a palette is a collection of drawing tools,
brush widths, line widths, and colors. In other programs the palette
determines the number of colors that can be displayed on the
screen.
parallel: Things that happen at the same time without interfering with
each other.
parallel interface: A type of information exchange that simultaneously
transmits characters along seven or eight data lines. In contrast, a
serial interface transmits characters along one data line, making it
much slower than a parallel interface.
parity: A method in serial communications of making sure that the
information received is the same as the information that was sent.
When you’re using a modem to connect to another computer, you
can set parity to none, odd or even. In general, you should set par-
ity to none, unless you’re requested to do otherwise.
password: A unique string of characters used to identify a specific
user. A password is usually used for security purposes, to prevent
unauthorized persons from using the computer.
pel: A single pixel (dot), or multiple contiguous pixels. A pel is the
smallest area of a display that a computer program can control
directly.