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Label
- Word or group of
words that identifies something such as hard drive, CD-ROM...
Lag
- Difference in time
between when a user performs a task and the result of that task appears,
such as the fraction-of-a-second pause that occurs between the time a key
on a keyboard is pressed and the time that the key character appears on
screen. Lag is also the type of speed getting on a modem / modem game.
LAN
- Refer to local-area network.
Landscape
mode - Horizontal
print orientation that describes printing across the longest length of
the paper. Which is usually taller then wider.
Landscape
monitor - Horizontal
computer monitor that is wider then it is tall. Most computer monitors
are landscape monitors.
Language
- Means of
communication that uses symbols and predetermined guidelines. In relation
to computers, the human language is a natural language, whereas the
language computers can understand.
Language-based
interface - Refer to
programmatic interface.
Language
Processor - Device
that translates directions written in one direction into machine
language. There are two types of language processors, interpreters and
compilers. Interpreters translate and act upon the directions they
receive; compilers simply translate the directions.
Language
translation program -
Computer program that translates statements from one language into
another.
LAPM
- Refer to Link Access
Procedure for Modems.
Laptop
computer - Portable
computer that has most of the abilities that a regular home desktop
computer would have however are small enough for easy mobility. Most
Laptop computers will run off either AC power or NiMH / NiCad battery
pack.
Large-scale
Integration - Computer
chip that contains between 100 and 5,000 circuit elements.
Laser
- An intensely focused
beam of light. Lasers have many uses, from reading stored optical data to
high quality printing. Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Laser
disc - 8" -
12" wide disc that can contain high-quality, full-motion, digitized
video and sound that is read with the Laser.
Laser
Printer - Laser
printers are Printer that uses laser technology to print images on the
paper. The laser recreates the image on a negatively charged drum which
will then collect ink that is positively charged to attract to the areas
of the image. The Paper is then negatively charged therefore the
positively charged ink is attracted to the paper and then is fused onto
the paper.
STEP
WHAT
IT DOES
Cleaning
Removes prior image information and toner from the drum.
Conditioning Applies
a uniform negative charge to the drum.
Writing
Light source such as lasers, LED, or LCS (Liquid Crystal Shutter)
write to
areas on the drum discharging the negative potential where it
hits.
Developing The
toner is ionized with a negative charge and is attracted to the areas
previously written (discharged) on the drum.
Transfer
The toner of the drum is transferred to the paper by either a
positively
ionized field (created by a transfer corona wire) or by a transfer
roller in
newer printers. The toner is not yet permanently set on the paper
and requires
the last stage.
Fusing Heat
and pressure are applied to the paper
and toner. The toner melts and then is pressed to the paper like
doing an
iron-on transfer to a T-shirt.
Laser
storage - Refer to
compact disc.
Latency
- The time difference
between when a computer issues a request for data from a hard disk, and
when the drive finds and delivers the information.
Launch
- To begin the operation of a program. Today's operating systems have the
ability to launch by them self when the computer is turned on.
LAWN
- Refer to Local-area wireless network.
Layering
- IN computer graphics layering involves working gone one of several
different layers of a document a time and then flattening the images to
combine them as one.
Layout
- Pattern in which the
user places text and graphics on a page when publishing a document, such
as a magazine. Layout usually determines which points of the page will
draw the readers eye.
LCC
- Refer to lead less
chip carrier
LCD
- Refer to
Liquid-crystal display
LCD
printer - Refer to
Liquid-crystal display printer.
LD
- Refer to Laser disk
Leader
- In typography, the
leader is a symbol that leads a reader's eye across the page. For
example, most tables of contents contain leaders, usually a line of
periods between a chapter title and the page number on which the chapter
begins.
Leading
- Pronounced
led-ding). In typography, the distance between two lines of type. To
determine leading, manliness of type. To determine leading, measure from
the baseline of one line to the baseline of the line above or below it.
Leadless
chip carrier (LCC) - A
method for placing a computer chip on a circuit board. Instead of forcing
users to push the chip into the board, the LCC allows the chip and its
contacts to sit in a specially designed socket.
Leaf
- A file at the bottom
of a hierarchical file system that can have nothing below it. Using a
tree structure analogy, the leaves connect to the branches, which connect
to the roots.
Leapfrog
test - Self-copying
diagnostic check that tests the capacity of storage media such as disks
and magnetic tape.
Learn
mode - Format that
allows the computer to learn how to do various instructions by recording
the order that the steps needed for instructions are done.
Leased
line - A telephone
line leased by a private individual or company from a telephone company.
Least
significant bit -
Lowest bit in a series located at the far right of a string.
Least
significant character -
Lowest character in a string, located at the far right of a string.
Least
significant digit -
Lowest digit in a number, located at the far right of a string.
LED
- Refer to
light-emitting diode.
LED
printer - Refer to
light emitting diode printer.
Legend
- Small symbols that
are used to represent a certain object, the legend defies what those
symbols represent.
Letter
quality - Quality of
print equal to or better than what a standard electronic type writer can
produce. Laser and ink printers produce letter-quality type.
Letter-quality
printer - Printer that
produces a print quality that can be used in a professional capacity,
such as for a resume.
Level
1 caching (L1) - In
advanced microprocessors, frequently accessed data and machine
instructions that can be held internally in cache memory until no longer
needed. L1 caching makes microprocessor operation much more efficient.
Level
2 caching (L2) -
Because only a small amount of level 1 memory is available on a
microprocessor (CPU), additional external cache memory, called level 2
(L2) cache, is located on the motherboard near the CPU to supplement its
L1 cache. Because of performance and engineering reasons, this external
memory cache is separate from a system's RAM, which is used to run the
computer's operating system and programs. The amount of memory used for
microprocessor caching varies from the microprocessor caching varies used
for microprocessor caching varies from vendor to vendor and by
microprocessor. Generally, 8KB or 16KB or L1 cache is found in 486 and
Pentium microprocessors. These microprocessors usually have about 256KB
or more of L2 cache.
Lexicographic
sort - Alphabetical
listing of items. Numbers appear in a lexicographic sort according to
their spelling.
Lexicon
- Relation to
computers, the words and definitions that make up a programming language.
LF
- Refer to linefeed.
Library
- Collection of files,
programs, routines, or functions.
License
agreement - Packet of
legal paperwork that allows users to purchase the use of a software
company's product. When user opens the package usually this is an
indication that the user is agreeing to the license agreement.
Ligature
- Combination
character used with some fonts when two regular characters appear next to
each other and bump against each other.
Light
bar - Highlighted item
on a computer screen that will appear with a different color to make it
stand out to the other items on the screen.
Light-emitting
diode (LED) - Special
type of semiconductor that illuminates when an electrical charge passes
through it. LED's are usually red; manufactures often use them for
readouts of electronic devices such as alarm clocks.
Light-emitting
diode (LED) printer -
Printer that produces high-quality images using a method similar to laser
printing that replaces the laser with a light-emitting diode panel. The
LED panel recreates the image on a negatively charged drum. The areas
where the light hits the drum become less charged, which attracts toner.
The printer then transfers the toner from the drum to the paper and
applies intense heat to fuse the toner to the paper.
Light
guide - Piece of
equipment that can transmit light from one point to another.
Light
pen - Light-sensitive
pointing device that allows users to select objects by pointing to them.
Lightwave
system -
Communications system that transmits pulse of light from one location to
another. For example, some telephone companies have fiber-optic cables
that transmit information-laden light pulses from one user to another.
Li-Ion
- Refer to Lithium-Ion
battery.
LIM-EMS
- The Lotus Intel
Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification. The three computer industry
giants worked together to come up with this software solution to DOS
early memory limitations. It lets DOS use more then 1MB of RAM by
swapping pages between expanded memory and memory that's accessible to
the operation system.
Limiting
operation - Single
process that slows the larger operations of which it is a part. For
example, a slow spell checker can slow down an entire word processor.
Line
- A connector between
two points. A line can be also a term used with communications referring
to a wire that connects two devices and allows a signal to pass between
them.
Line
adapter - Feature that
converts a digital signal into a form for transmission over a line. A
modem is one type of line adapter; it transforms the digital signal from
a computer into an analog signal for the phone line.
Line
analyzer - Device used
to test the quality of a communications line.
Linear
- Refers to anything
that occurs in a specific order.
Linear
inferences per second (LIPS)
- Measurement tool that identifies just how fast an artificial
intelligence program can think.
Linear
search - Computing
search method that examines each item, one at a time, in sequence, until
it locates the specified element.
Line
art - Graphic created
only by lines with no shading.
Line
caps - The way the
ending of a line segment appears when printer there are several styles of
line caps, such as rounded and square.
Line
conditioning - An
improvement made in a communications line to increase the quality of its
transmission. Conditioning reduces the degree of distortion in a line and
boosts week signals.
Line
driver - Device that
boots the strength of a signal before sending it down a line. A line
driver increases the transmission distance, which helps to ensure the
signal reaches its destination.
Line
editor - Refer to
editor.
Linefeed
- Computer code that
tells the on-screen cursor to advance to the same location on the next
line down. In some operating systems or programs, this indicates the end
of line text and will sometimes represent it by a arrow pointing down and
to the left, indicating next line.
Line
frequency - Number of
times a signal travels over a communications line in one second. Also
used as another term for lines per inch.
Line
level - Measure of a
signal's strength as it's carried on a communications line, gauged at a
specific point on that line.. Line levels are given in decibels or nepers.
(a decibel is the volume or the strength of a signal, and a neper is a
ratio that represents roughly 8.86 decibels.)
Line
printer - A high-speed
printer, usually connected to a large computer system, that has the
ability to print an entire line of text at one instance instead of one
character at a time.
Line
printer terminal (LPT)
- Used by some operating system to identify the parallel port such as
LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3.
Line-side
T1 - A T1 that
undergoes at least one analog-to-digital conversion in the path between
the x2 server modem and the PSTN.
Line
spacing - Refer to
leading.
Line
speed - The amount of
data you can send through a communications line at one time. Usually
called bits per second (BPS).
Lines
per inch - In
printing, this number of lines that appears within a vertical inch in a
grayscale or color image. A higher number of lines per inch the image
will be smoother, just as a higher number of dots per inch means a
clearer resolution on a monitor.
Lines
per minute (LPM) - The
number of lines of text a printer can output in one minute. Depending
upon the quality this can change.
Line
surge - Large,
unexpected increase in the amount of energy carried in a power line. A
surge is created usually by lighting and can damage unprotected computer;
and sometimes even protected computers. Surges will also go over the
phone line.
Link
- As a noun, refers to
a connection between two objects in data management, a link allows
information sharing between a source document and a destination document.
When documents are linked, information a user changes at the source also
changes at the destination. IN communications, a link is the line
programming, a link is a connection to another program. On the Internet /
World Wide Web, a link is referred to a reference pointing to another web
page.
Link
Access Procedure for Modems (LAPM) - An error control protocol defined in ITU-T recommendations V.42. Like
the MNP protocols, LAPM uses cyclic redundancy checking (CRC) and
retransmission of corrupted data (ARQ) to ensure data reliability.
Link
time - The time it
takes a program to link to another program see link.
Liquid-crystal
display (LCD) - Flat,
lightweight display technology used in laptops and calculators. Special
molecules in the screen have the ability to bend and twist light to
create desired images. There are monochrome LCD displays, which appear
gray, and there are color LCD's . There basic types of LCD displays are
passive-matrix, dual-scan, and active matrix, Active matrix displays look
the best, but they are much more expensive than dual-scan an passive
matrix displays.
LIPS
- Refer to linear
inferences per second.
LISP
- Refer to list
processing.
List
- As a noun, data that
appears in a logical, linear formation. As a verb, it means to set data
in this logical, linear format.
List
box - List contained
in a pop-up window or dialog box. Also called pick list.
List
processing (LISP) -
List processing is a type of high-level programming used in artificial
intelligence research.
Live
Script - The beginning
language for what we now know as JavaScript renamed in 1995 after Sun
endorsed the language.
Liveware
- Slang used to
describe a person who uses a computer. A computer is the hardware,
programs are the software, and the user is liveware.
Literal
- Number or
instruction that remains constant and unchanged, even when translated
into the machine language used by computers.
Lithium-Ion
battery (Li-Ion) -
Batters that are able to produce considerably more charge than comparable
sized Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. Li-Ion batters often are used in
quality portable computers and are usually more expensive.
Load
- To begin the
operation of a program by moving the necessary information from a
diskette or hard drive into a computer's memory. When referring to
electronics any circuit or device opposing electrical current.
Loader
- Program utility that moves a program from storage into memory, where it
can begin operation.
Loadhigh
- DOS utility (5.0 and
higher) that lets you place some DOS functions into upper memory to
preserve space in conventional memory.
Load
point - Area on a
magnetic tape where information storage begins.
Local
- Describes an
operation or system that is close by. A user does not have to access a
local system through a network or other communication line; all the
necessary files and operations are within the system. This is different
from local-area networks (LANs), which use communications lines, but are
located near each other.
Local-area
network (LAN) - Group
of computers, usually in one building that are physically connected in a
manner that lets them communicate and interact with each other. Some of
the major benefits of a network connection include the ability to share
documents, files, and printers. Networks can be connected using many
different combinations of topologies, protocols, software, and hardware.
Local-area
wireless network (LAWN)
- Network that uses radio transmissions instead of cables to connect
computers. A LAWN shares many compatibility's with a local area network
(LAN).
Local
bus - Bus (pathway) on
a computer motherboard that allows a more direct access path to the
processor for a limited number of devices. For example, a video card
plugged into a slot in the local bus should produce good video playback,
because it has a more direct connection.
Local
bypass - Telephone
connection that does not require a transfer through a telephone company.
Local
Echo - A modem feature
that enables the modem to display keyboard commands and transmitted data
on the screen.
Local
memory - Memory
located on the same bus or card as a given processor in a system with
more than one processor.
Localization
- Change in a program
made so it will work better for a specific group or function. For
example, localization might include changes that take into account a
different language, such as Japanese.
Location
- Refer to address.
Locked
file - computer file
that cannot be altered. Normal users of such files cannot alter the
information they contain, change their location, or alter their names.
Locking
- Process that allows
only one person at a time full access to files contained in a network
database. Locking prevents two people from trying to make changes to the
same file at the same time.
Lockout
- Quality that
protects a file fin a network database from being altered by more then
one person by denying the second party access to it.
Lock
up - When a program
has stopped working correctly, or causes the computer to stop
functioning, making the mouse, and or the keyboard not being able to
operate.
Log
- Detailed list of a
systems or application's activities. A log can be useful for keeping
track of computer use and emergency recover or data.
Logic
- List of instructions that tells a program or circuits in a piece of
hardware how to operate.
Logical
- Computer solution based upon true or false answers, instead of numeric
values. Logical can also refer to "virtual" devices, which are
devices that aren't real. For example a hard drive partitioned into two
areas created two logical drives on one physical drive.
Logical
decision -
Computer-related decision that can have one of only two possible results.
Logical
device - Device's
name, as given by the operating system in which it functions. One
physical device may be more than one logical device. In other words, one
physical device may have more than one name to the operating system.
Logical
operator - Binary
operator that deals with yes / no and true / false values.
Logic
bomb - An error in the
logic of a program routine that results in the destruction of the data.
Unlike a virus logic bombs do their damage right away, then stop. Also,
logic bombs are unintentional and can be the result of a simple corrupt
file.
Logic
chip - Processing
chip. A logic chip is different than a memory chip.
Logic
circuit - Circuit that
performs a processing or controlling function in a computer. This type of
circuit carries out logical operations on information to process it
Logic
error - Problem in a
program that causes it to operate incorrectly, but not to fail. Because a
logic error will not cause the program to stop working, it can produce
incorrect data that may not be immediately recognizable.
Login
- Process users must
complete to gain control to a computer, network, bulletin board or other
service that requires authorization.
LOGO
- (Pronounced Low-go) A high-level programming language known for its
graphics capabilities, created by Seymour Paper in the mid-1960's. Also
known as turtle graphics.
Logoff
- Process of ending
the session with the computer, or network that you are connected too. Can
also be referred to as logout.
Logon
- Refer to Login.
Logic-seeking
printer - Printer with
the ability to "think ahead" to the next line it will print so
it can operate as efficiently as possible. For example if the next line
is empty it will just skip the next line without trying to print it.
Long
file names - Widely
introduced with the release of Windows 95, long file name support allows
PC computers using Windows 95 and or Windows 98 to save and use files
stored up to 255 characters in length.
Structure
of long file names, and how converted to the original DOS 8.3 character
length for backwards compatibility.
·
First three characters
after the last dot become the extension of the file.
·
The first six characters
of the long file name become the alias of the file and or directory.
·
The remaining 2 characters
are changed to ~1. If the above alias already exists the remaining
characters would change to ~x, where x represents the number of the file.
·
Exceptions to the above
structure. If the long file name includes a space within the first six or
the last three characters it will be ignored and the next character
thereafter will be used. If the character uses + ; = , [ or ] this will
be represented as a underscore because these characters are not supported
in the DOS 8.3 file format.
Your
Windows CD will contain a file called LFNBK.EXE which is not installed by
default when installing Windows however will strip long file names from
the VFAT volume and store them in a text file called LFNBK.DAT.
Long-haul
- Communications
device, such as a modem, that can transmit and receive signals from
distances of more then one mile.
Longitudinal
redundancy check (LRC)
- Process used for verifying the accuracy of stored or transmitted data.
LRC uses a parity bit to check to make sure all data is present .
Look-and-feel
- Describes the way an
application appears and functions.
Loop
- The process in which
a program repeats the same instructions over and over until it received
the order to stop.
Loop
configuration -
Communications link that transmits data from one link station to the
next, conferring the entire loop.
Loophole
- Programming mistake
often caused by the programmer's inability to anticipate every situation
that might occur.
Lo-res.
- (Pronounced low-rez.)
A slang term for Low resolution.
Lossless
compression - Method
of file compression that loses no data during the compression or
decompression that loses no data during the compression or decompression
process. lossless compression is most often used for executable and other
files that require all of their data to function correctly.
Lossy
compression - Data
compression method that sacrifices some information to achieve greater
compression. Lossy compression methods are used most often for graphics
and audio files.
Lost
cluster - Part of an
information cluster (a unit of storage) that has broken loose from its
chain, usually during a hardware crash. Lost clusters take up space on
the disk and make the computer think they are in use when they are not.
Lowercase
- Letters that take
the form of a,b, c rather then A, B, C.
Low
frequency - The range
of radio frequencies between 30 kilohertz and 300 kilohertz in the
electromagnetic spectrum.
Low-level
format - Initial
formatting of a hard drive, when the drive creates physical tracks in the
surface or the internal disks. The drive manufacturer usually performs
the low-level format.
Low-level
language - Basic
programming language such as assembly and machine languages.
Low
resolution - Computer
screen or printed page that appears rough, with very little fine detail.
Low resolution on a display is the result of two few pixels; low
resolution on the printed page is the result of too few dots per inch.
LPI
- Refer to lines per
inch.
LPM
- Refer to lines per minute.
LPT
- Refer to Line
printer terminal.
LRC
- Refer to
Longitudinal redundancy check.
LSB
- Refer to Least
significant bit.
LSC
- Refer to Least
significant character.
LSD
- Refer to least significant character.
LSI
- Refer to Large-scale
integration.
Luggable
computer - Early
generation of transportable computers that usually had a CRT display and
weighed 15 to 30 pounds.
Luminance
- Brightness of a
computer screen controlled by part of a composite video signal.
Lurking - Reading online messages or chat room conversations
without taking any part in the messages, or conversation.
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