208 Glossary
Icon One of those little “pictures” that represent fi les and
programs. Used by Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for operat-
ing systems such as the Mac OS or Microsoft Windows.IDE Integrated Drive Electronics. Computers accept
several kinds of circuit boards to control hard disks. The most
common standard was originally called IDE, but the more
commonly used current term is ATA (Advanced Technology
Attachment).IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Orga-
nization that’s involved in setting standards for computers and
data communications, such as the popular IEEE 1394 (a.k.a.
Apple’s FireWire, a.k.a. Sony’s i.LINK).
Imagebase Visual database program that keeps track of digital
photographs, video clips, graphics fi les, and even sounds.Image-editing program Broad term for software that allows
digital photographs to be manipulated and enhanced in order to
improve and change images, much as you would produce similar
effects in a traditional darkroom—and then some.
Indexed color To keep GIF fi le sizes small, the format’s
designers limited the number of colors to 256 and created a
palette of those colors; each image using the format draws from
that palette. There are two kinds of indexed-color images: those
that have a limited number of colors and pseudocolor images.
Pseudocolor images are really grayscale images that take varia-
tions in gray levels and display those variations in colors rather
than in shades of gray. Pseudocolors are typically used for sci-
entifi c and technical work.Initialize To set all values on a hard disk, removable media,
or fl oppy disk to zero; in other words, to erase all the data that’s
currently stored.Ink-jet Printer that works by spraying tiny streams of quick-
drying ink onto paper to produce high-quality output. Circuits
controlled by electrical impulse or heat determine exactly how
much ink—and what color—to spray. This creates a series of
dots that form a printed photograph.
Input (verb, noun) Information entered via keyboard or
other peripheral device. Data entered into a computer is said to
have been inputted. A photograph scanned into an image-
enhancement program is inputted into it.
Input device Any computer peripheral—such as a keyboard,
memory-card reader, or scanner—that converts analog data
into digital information that can, in turn, be handled by your
computer.