Glossary 9
parallel interface
Interface that communicates eight bits at a time.
parallel printer
A printer with a parallel interface.
parameter
A characteristic of a device or system.
password
A string of characters that the user must enter before the system allows ac-
cess or system privileges.
PC Card
A credit card sized peripheral interface standard for portable devices. Types
of PC cards currently offered by major vendors include fax/modems, LAN,
storage cards, and wireless communications devices. Also called PCMCIA
Card.
PCI local bus
The 32-bit industry-standard PCI bus is a highly integrated input/output
(I/O) interface that offers the highest performance local bus available for the
Pentium-based processor.
PCMCIA
A credit card sized peripheral interface standard for portable devices. Types
of PCMCIA cards currently offered by major vendors include fax/modems,
LAN, storage cards, and wireless communications devices. Also called PC
Card.
peripheral
Input or output device not under direct computer control. A printer is a pe-
ripheral device.
pixels
Picture elements. Tiny dots that make up a screen image.
