172
Glossary
TFT
Thin Film Transistor
USB
Universal Serial Bus
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
WAN
Wide Area Network
www
World Wide Web
Terms
The following terms may appear in this User’s Guide.
A
active-matrix display
—A liquid crystal display (LCD) made
from an array of liquid crystal cells using active-matrix
technology. Also known as a “TFT display,” in its simplest
form there is one thin film transistor (TFT) for each cell. This
type of display works well with computers because of its
shallow depth and high-quality color. Active-matrix displays
are viewable from wider angles than most passive-matrix
displays.
adapter
—A device that provides a compatible connection
between two units. For example, the computer’s internal
display adapter receives information from the software and
translates it into images on the screen. An adapter can take
a number of forms, from a microprocessor to a simple
connector. An intelligent adapter (one that is capable of
doing some processing) may also be called a controller.
Alternating Current (AC)
—The type of power usually
supplied to residential and commercial wall outlets. AC
reverses its direction at regular intervals. Compare
Direct
Current (DC)
.
application
—A computer program that you use to perform
tasks of a specific type. Applications include word
processors, spreadsheets, and database management
systems. See also
program
.
B
backup
—A copy of a file, usually on a removable disk, kept in
case the original file is lost or damaged.
Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)
—See
BIOS
.