See local area network.
The laser in a CD-ROM drive that's responsible for reading the information on the disk. The laser pickup assembly reflects coherent laser light off the disk's reflective layer and senses its reflectivity. A microscopic pit in the surface does not reflect light, and represents a binary 1. A lack of pits reflects light and represents a 0. The laser pickup is analogous to the read head in magnetic disk drives.
To load and start a program or application.
A display technology used in laptop computers, digital watches and other electronic devices. Low power consumption is one of its advantages, though the need for backlighting in most applications increases its power requirement. On the other hand, LCD displays are unlikely to be washed out by bright light, as is the case with some other display technologies, including CRTs. LCDs are also incorporated into LCD projectors and LCD panels (the latter used in conjunction with an overhead projector), tools that are commonly used to project computer-driven presentations onto a screen.
The computer process of reading a program from a disk into RAM and preparing to run it.
A network of interconnected workstations sharing the resources of a single processor or server within a relatively small geographic area. Typically, this might be within the area of a small office building. However, FDDI extends a local area network over a much wider area. Usually, the server has applications and data storage that are shared in common by multiple workstation users. A local area network may serve as few as four or five users or, in the case of FDDI, may serve several thousand.
A type of compression in which all of the original information is retained. Files compressed with lossless compression will be identical to the original when decompressed. Lossless compression can reduce a file down to about one-third of its original size.
A type of compression that allows some of the data to be "lost." More accurately, lossy compression schemes strategically remove certain data using complex algorithms designed to achieve the greatest reduction with the least degradation of quality. For example, JPEG graphics files present a respectable image from relatively little data.
One who rejects and wants to destroy new technology out of fear or rage. Neo-Luddites are often born after their first head crash swallows the project they have been working on for the past three weeks.
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