Toshiba C55-C5243 Owner's Manual

166

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.