Conventions and Abbreviations

A

amperes

mA

milliamperes

dB

decibels

A

microamperes

Gb

gigabits

Mb

megabits

GB

gigabytes

MB

megabytes

Hz

hertz

MHz

megahertz

in.

inches

mm

millimeters

k

1000

ms

milliseconds

K

1024

s

microseconds

KB

kilobytes

ns

nanoseconds

kg

kilograms

ohms

kHz

kilohertz

sec.

seconds

k

kilohms

V

volts

lb.

pounds

W

watts

ADC

Apple Display Connector

AGP

accelerated graphics port

ATA

advanced technology attachment

ATAPI

advanced technology attachment, packet interface

AV

audio visual

CAS

column address strobe

CAV

constant angular velocity

CD-ROM

compact disc read-only memory

CLV

constant linear velocity

DB-DMA

descriptor-based direct memory access

DDC

display data channel

DDR

double data rate, a type of SDRAM where data is clocked on rising and falling clock edges

DIMM

dual inline memory module

DIN

Deutsche Industrie Norm

DMA

direct memory access

DRAM

dynamic random-access memory

DVD

12 cm optical storage system with 4 GB capacity

DVD-ROM

DVD read-only memory

DVD-RAM

DVD that is both readable and writable

DVI

Digital Visual Interface

EDO

extended data out DRAM device type

EHCI

Enhanced Host Controller Interface, USB 2.0 specification

EIDE

extended IDE

EMI

electromagnetic interference

G5

Generation 5, the fifth generation of PowerPC microprocessors, incorporating Velocity Engine technology

GBps

data throughput rate — giga bytes per second

Gbps

data throughput rate — giga bits per second

HID

human interface device, a class of USB devices

I2C

same as IIC

I2S

same as IIS

IC

integrated circuit

IDE

integrated device electronics

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IEEE 1275

the official specification for Open Firmware

IEEE 1394a

the official specification for FireWire 400 (400 Mbps)

IEEE 1394b

the official specification for FireWire 800 (800 Mbps)

IIC

inter-IC (an internal control bus)

IIS

inter-IC sound bus

I/O

input/output

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

JEDEC

Joint Electronics Devices Engineering Council

L2

level 2 (refers to level of cache)

L3

level 3 (refers to level of cache)

LAN

local area network

MAC

media access controller

Mac OS

Macintosh Operating System

MBps

data throughput rate — mega bytes per second

Mbps

data throughput rate — mega bits per second

OFDM

orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing

OHCI

Open Host Controller Interface, USB 1.1 specification

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect

PHY

physical layer

PIO

programmed input/output

RADIUS

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service

RAM

random-access memory

RAS

row address strobe

RBC

reduced block commands

RGB

a video signal format with separate red, green, and blue components

RISC

reduced instruction set computing

rms

root mean square

ROM

read-only memory

S-ATA

serial ATA bus for hard disk drives

SBP

Serial Bus Protocol

SPD

Serial Presence Detect

SCSI

Small Computer System Interface

SCC

serial communications controller

SDR

single data rate

SDRAM

synchronous dynamic random access memory

SO-DIMM

small outline - dual inline memory module

SRAM

static random access memory

USB

Universal Serial Bus

TMDS

transition minimized differential signaling

VESA

Video Electronics Standards Association

VRAM

video RAM; used for display buffers

Wi-Fi

Wireless- Fidelity. Used by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance for certification of interoperability of 802.11 products