Secondary Storage

Compression is an act of condensing matter in attempt to reduce space. Hence, file compression simply means condensing files in the form of data in order to save space. This also helps to reduce the time taken for file transmission. File compression can be ranging from removing all extra space characters to replacing smaller bit strings with more frequently used characters.

A head crash in terms of the computing world refers to the collision that happens between the read-write head and the magnetic recording surface of any hard disk. This phenomenon is also sometimes referred to as disk crash. Such incident occurs when there is a physical destruction made to the hard disk. The collision between the two surfaces can also happen when there is misalignment or contamination with dust particles. Unfortunately, stored data in the hard disk will usually be destroyed and both the disk platter and the read-write head have to be replaced when there is a head crash.

An Internet hard drive is basically a virtual online data storage. Its allows end users to access computer files such as pictures, documents, audio and videos from any computer as long as there is access to the Internet. The good thing about Internet hard drive is that there are some such storage that offer unlimited disk space compared to the local hard drives which have limited space.

An optical disk drive functions somewhat like an optical disc processor. It reads or writes data to and from optical discs by using laser light or electromagnetic waves. Optical discs are composed of millions of small bumps and dips. To be enable to read these bumps and dips, optical drives contain lasers than can turn them into ones and zeros in order to be read by the computers.

A solid-state storage is a nonvolatile and removable form of storage that uses integrated circuits (ICs) instead of the usual magnetic or optical media. It is almost similar to the large-capacity and nonvolatile memory. An example of such storage is the flash memory Universal Serial Bus (USB) device which is very commonly used today. The absence of mechanical parts makes it possible for transmission of data to and from solid-state storage at a much higher speed.

Input and Output

An ergonomic keyboard resembles a keyboard that has been split into half. This type of keyboard has its keys separated because it is specially designed to relieve sometimes painful conditions to the users that may have been resulted from overuse of keyboard. It has a 'split hands' design which is the main element that provides a more natural hand positioning while typing. 

An ink-jet printer is the most commonly used type of consumer printers. This type of printer works by spraying ionized ink onto a sheet of paper. One thing good about this printer is that it is capable of producing high quality print almost compatible to those produced by laser printers. A typical ink-jet printer can provide a 300 dots per inch resolution.

A laser printer is different from an ink-jet printer in a way that the former applies a focused beam or light to transmit text and images onto a piece of paper. Due to the fact that laser printers are free from ink, they encounter less image smearing problems and hence able to print pages faster. Also, laser printers are sometimes known as page printers. Besides, they are also capable of producing high quality print as well as printing an almost unlimited variety of fonts.

MICR, short for magnetic-ink character reader, as a character recognition system that utilizes special ink and characters that can be magnetized and read automatically. It is more commonly used on bank checks and deposit slips. The function of MICR is to detect certain characters and then convert them into digital form. However, the problem with this recognition system is that it has its limitation in terms of the its accuracy.

Optical character recognition (OCR) is another recognition system whereby a software is used to convert non-editable letters and numbers into an editable form. It technically involves the reading process of texts from papers and then translating them into a form that the computers can understand. OCR is typically used in processing checks, archiving library materials and also sorting letters by postal offices.

OMR, the abbreviation for Optical-Mark Recognition is a form of technology that electronically extracts data from marked areas onto printed forms. It functions by scanning a printed form and reading areas that have been marked. It is especially useful when there is a large number of hand-filled forms that need to be processed in a short time frame with high accuracy.

System Unit

A flash memory is a form of 'electrically erasable programmable read-only memory', also known as EEPROM. Its design as a section of memory cells allows files to be erased in a single action or in a 'flash', hence flash memory. It is extremely durable and widely used for storage medium such as the USB drive and digital camera memory cards.

A graphic card is basically an expansion card that reads instructions sent by the CPU, processes them with a graphics processor and later writes the resulting frame data to a frame buffer. It actually performs the dual roles of sending pixels to the display unit and then providing a certain type of processing using the GPU (graphical processing unit).

A sound card is also known as an audio card. It is a computer expansion card that enables the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the commands of certain computer programs. It allows output sounds from the computers to the speakers, input of sound recording from a microphone to the computer and to manipulate sound stored in a disk.

A network interface card (NIC) is a computer circuit board or card installed in the computer's system in order for it to be able to connect to a network. NIC is very useful in the sense that it provides a full-time connection to the surrounding networks. This hardware is becoming very common as it is usually embedded within computers especially laptops that mostly depend on wireless technology for network access. 

Plug and play, usually shortened to PnP, refers to devices that function with a computer system once they are connected to computers. These devices will be automatically recognized and hence begin to work with the computers. For example, if a Plug-and-Play mouse is connected to the USB port on the computer, it will start to work almost immediately.

Bus line in terms of computing refers to a collection of wires through which data is transmitted from one point to another in a computer system. It is a connecting line between the microprocessor to the motherboard in expansion slots such as hard disk drives and CD-ROM drives.

HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. It is a specified system whereby it combines video and audio files into one single digital interface. This in turn allows usage with digital versatile disc (DVD) players, digital television (DTV) players and other audiovisual devices.

Cache memory is a tiny block of high-speed memory that is wedged between the CPU and the main memory. Its specially designed usage is to store frequently requested data and instructions in order to improve the computer's system performance by reducing the need to access the system's main memory for any transactions.