| A |
TOP |
ARPA |
Advanced Research Projects Agency |
ADN |
Advanced Digital
Network -
Most commonly referring to 56K line
lease |
Applet |
A small Java program
that can be embedded in an HTML page.
Applets differ from full-fledged Java applications in that
they are not allowed to access certain resources on the local
computer, such as files and serial devices (modems, printers,
etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other
computers across a network. The current rule is that an applet
can only make an Internet connection to the computer from
which the applet was sent. |
ASCII |
American Standard
Code for Information Interchange -
A standard of code numbers used
by computers to represent all the upper and lower case latin numbers,
letters, punctuation, etc. |
A3D |
A three-dimensional
sound technology, invented by a now-defunct company called Aureal. The
system creates the illusion of surround sound with just two speakers.
Creative Labs now owns all the rights to Aureal's intellectual property,
including A3D. |
ABSOLUTE REFERENCE |
A fixed pointer to a cell in a spreadsheet. An absolute reference will not alter even if a formula is copied to other areas of the sheet.
|
AC |
A transformer device which plugs into an electrical socket to provide the right amount of power to an appliance, like a notebook computer or answerphone. Some mains adapters are multi-voltage, meaning they can work in a variety of countries when used with a travel plug.
|
AGP |
Accelerated Graphics Port - An accelerated graphics port is the system bus specification that enables the quick display of 2 and 3D graphics on a PC.
|
ACCOUNT |
To access the internet
you need an Internet Service Provider or ISP. An example of an ISP include
VSNL, BSNL and Compuserve. Some providers allow your own online space and
multiple email addresses.
|
ACTIVE COMPONENTS |
Small software applications that download automatically to your PC when you visit certain websites, usually in order to create a special effect of some sort. When you encounter an active component for the first tme, your web browser will ask whether you wish to accept the download. ActiveX is an active component.
|
ACTIVEX |
Microsoft developed this programming language to run alongside its own Microsoft Inernet Explorer. It is designed to make web pages interactive and make them look and react like regular programs you can install on your machine, instead of the boring text only pages. Activex allows buttons, forms and other benefits on web pages.
|
ADDRESS |
In the context of the internet, an address is the information a web browser needs to locate a particular website. for example our address is http://www.baycomputers.co.uk/www.baycomputers.co.uk, it is needed by a webbrowser to locate a particular website.
|
AFAIK |
This is Shorthand for "As Far As I Know" this is one of the phrases often used on chatrooms, through either IRC, yahoo Instant Messanger or AOL Instant messenger. Such abbreviations are common on the net such as LOL "Laughing Out Loud" and BRB "Be Right Back".
|
ANCHOR |
A tool used in web designing, an anchor is used In HyperText Markup Language (HTML), it allows the designer to establish a link from one piece of text or image to another piece of text or image.
|
ANIMATED GIF |
Stands for Graphics Interchange FOrmat, a popular file format for storing graphics images, often for use on websites. An animated GIF is simply a string of these images, creating the illusion of moving pictures when played back.
|
ANNOTATION |
A comment or mark added to an image or a document, much like sticking a Post-it note on an office memo to highlight a point of interest.
|
ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE |
A application designed to protect PC's from malicious computer code.
|
API |
Stands for application programming interface, a standard used by computer programmers to allow operating systems and software applications to understand one another.
|
APPLET |
An applet is a java program than can be used within a HTML page.
|
ASP |
is another programming language developed by microsoft to make web sites more interactive.
|
APPLICATION |
A computer software program that enables the user to perform specific tasks. For example, Microsoft Word is used for word processing, while Paint Shop Pro is designed for image-editing requirements.
|
ATAPI |
Stands for Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface, which is a control technology for devices like CD-ROM and hard disk drives.
|
ATRAC |
Stands for Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding, which is Sony's proprietary audio file-compression system, similar to MP3 but with additional security features designed to prevent piracy of copyright material.
|
AUDIO FORMAT |
In the context of Windows' Sound Recorder program, the choice of storing recorded audio in one of three quality settings - CD, radio or telephone.
|
AUTOCORRECT |
A feature in a word processor that automatically corrects common spelling mistakes as they are typed.
|
AUTOPLAY |
A Windows feature that allows CD-ROM/DVD discs to launch or play as soon they're inserted into a drive.
|
AUTOSUM |
A handy Excel feature that gives an at-a-glance total of a selection of figures.
|
AUTOTRACE |
A feature of some image-editing programs that identifies outline shapes in a bitmap graphics and attempts to trace them, resulting in editable vector paths.
|
AVATAR |
In computing context, a graphic or icon used to represent a person in an online chat-room or game. Avatars can usually be customised and range from simple images to complex three-dimensional shapes.
|
ATTACHMENT |
Refers to a fiule which can be included or "attached" to an e-mail.
|
AVI |
A type of video file used by windows and usually played using Windows Media Player.
|
| B |
TOP |
Backbone |
A high-speed line or
series of connections that forms a major pathway within a
network. |
Bandwidth |
How much stuff you
can send through a connection. Usually measured in
bits-per-second. |
Baud |
The rate at which a
modem can send or receive bits of information. |
BBN |
Bolt, Beranek, and
Newman, Inc. They were awarded the contract to build the
ARPAnet. |
BBS |
Bulletin Board System
- A text based meeting place usually housed on a small server with only a
modem connection. |
BGP |
Border Gateway
Protocol - an Internet protocol that enables groups of routers (called
autonomous systems) to share routing information so that efficient,
loop-free routes can be established. |
BITNET |
Because It's Time
NETwork - an educational network seperate from the Internet, but can
exchange email with the Internet. |
bps |
Bits Per
Second |
BCC |
Blind Carbon Copy.
Usually used when sending mail to more than one recipient without the
original recipient knowing what the others address are. |
Browser |
A client program that
parses HTML code to the end user. |
BTW |
By The
Way |
| C |
TOP |
CC |
Carbon Copy - sends
an identical copy of an email to someone else. |
CERN |
The European
institute for particle physics. It is located in Geneva,
Switzerland. |
CGI |
Common Gateway
Interface - Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from
a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a
form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database
query. |
cgi-bin |
Where most cgi
programs are stored on a web server. |
cookies |
Cookies might contain
information such as login or registration information, online "shopping
cart" information, user preferences, etc. |
Cyberspace |
Used to define a
whole range of information resources available through computer
networks. |
| D |
TOP |
DSL |
Digital Subscriber
Line - capable of 1.544 megabits per second and 128 kilobites per second
upload. |
Domain
Name |
The unique name that
identifies an Internet site. Domain names have usually two names seperated
by a dot. |
| E |
TOP |
e-commerce |
An online shopping
solution. |
e-mail |
Electronic mail.
Messages, most commonly text, that is sent by a person to another
computer. |
Emoticon |
An acronym for
emotion icon, a small icon composed of punctuation characters that
indicates how an e-mail message should be interpreted (that is, the
writer's mood). For example, a :-) emoticon indicates that the message is
meant as a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously. An emoticon is also
called a smiley. |
Ethernet |
A common way of
networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet can handle 10Mbps and some now can
handle 100Mbps. |
Extranet |
An intranet that has
partial authorized accessiblity to outsiders.
|
| F |
TOP |
FAQ |
Frequently Asked
Questions - documents that contain most common questions and answers to
them. |
FDDI |
Fiber Distributed
Data Interface - transmitting data across fiber cable capable of a rate of
100Mbps. |
Finger |
A tool used to locate
people on other Internet sites. |
Firewall |
A combination of
hardware and software that secures a LAN from outside unauthorized
access. |
Flame |
A searing e-mail or
newsgroup message in which the writer attacks another participant in
overly harsh, and often personal, terms. |
Flame
war |
When an online
discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks against the
debators, rather than discussion of their positions. A heated
exchange. |
FTP |
File Transfer
Protocol. A very common way of transferring files from one server to
another. |
FWIW |
For What It's
Worth |
| G |
TOP |
Gateway |
In networking, a
combination of hardware and software that links two different types of
networks. Gateways between e-mail systems, for example, allow users on
different e-mail systems to exchange messages. |
GIF |
Graphic Interchange
Format - A very common format for image files. |
Gigabyte |
1000 or 1024 bytes
depending on who is measuring.
Roughly 1000 bytes |
Gopher |
A system that
pre-dates the World Wide Web for organizing and displaying files on
Internet servers. A Gopher server presents its contents as a
hierarchically structured list of files.
|
| H |
TOP |
Hit |
The retrieval of any
item, like a page or a graphic, from a Web server. Also can be referenced
to hits received from a search engine after a search. |
Home
Page |
The main page of a
Web site. Typically, the home page serves as an index or table of contents
to other documents stored at the site. |
Host |
A computer system
that is accessed by a user working at a remote location. Typically, the
term is used when there are two computer systems connected by modems and
telephone lines. The system that contains the data is called the host,
while the computer at which the user sits is called the remote
terminal. |
HTML |
Hyper Text Markup
Language. The authoring language used to create documents on the
Web. |
HTTP |
Hyper Text Transport
Protocol. This protocol defines how messages are formatted and
transmitted, and what actions web servers and browsers should take in
response to various commands. |
Hyper
Text |
Generally, any text
that contains links to other documents - words or phrases in the document
that can be chosen by a reader and which cause another document to be
retrieved and displayed. |
hyperlink |
An element in an
electronic document that links to another place in the same document or to
an entirely different document. Typically, you click on the hyperlink to
follow the link. |
| I |
TOP |
IMHO |
In My Humble
Opinion |
ICANN |
Internet Corporation
for Assigning Names and Numbers. Created to administer policy for the
Internet name and address system. |
Internet |
A global network
connecting millions of computers. Unlike online services, which are
centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by
design. |
intranet |
An intranet's Web
sites look and act just like any other Web sites, but the firewall
surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorized access. |
I2 |
Internet2 is a
testing-ground network for universities to work together and develop
advanced Internet technologies such as telemedicine, digital libraries and
virtual laboratories. |
IP
address |
An identifier for a
computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol
route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of
an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers
separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example,
1.160.10.240 could be an IP address. |
IPv6 |
An Internet Protocol
(IP) which is designed to be an evolutionary step from IPv4. It is a
natural increment to IPv4. It can be installed as a normal software
upgrade in internet devices and is interoperable with the current
IPv4. |
IRC |
Internet Relay Chat.
IRC has become very popular as more people get connected to the Internet
because it enables people connected anywhere on the Internet to join in
live discussions. |
ISDN |
Integrated Services
Digital Network - ISDN supports data transfer rates of 64 Kbps (64,000
bits per second). Basically it is a digital connection over standard
telephone lines. |
ISP |
Internet Service
Provider. A company that offers internet services usually for a
fee. |
| J |
TOP |
Java |
Java is a general
purpose programming language with a number of features that make the
language well suited for use on the World Wide Web. |
JDK |
Java Development
Kit |
JIT |
Just In Time compiler
- it is used to convert Java bytecode into machine language
quickly. |
Jpeg |
Joint Photographic
Experts Group - another image file format that is common on the
web. |
| K |
TOP |
Kilobyte
(K) |
A thousand bytes of
information. |
| L |
TOP |
LAN |
Local Area Network -
A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same
building or floor of a building. |
Leased
line |
A permanent telephone
connection between two points set up by a telecommunications common
carrier. Typically, leased lines are used by businesses to connect
geographically distant offices. Unlike normal dial-up connections, a
leased line is always active. |
Listserv |
An automatic mailing
list server that broadcasts a single message to everyone on that list.
Simular to a newsgroup, but the message is via email and only available
for those on the list. |
Login |
Can be used to refer
to the name you use to access a system or the act of accessing a
system. |
LOL |
Laughing Out Loud |
| M |
TOP |
Mailing
List |
A list of e-mail
addresses identified by a single name, such as [email protected].
When an e-mail message is sent to the mailing list name, it is
automatically forwarded to all the addresses in the list. |
Megabyte |
A Million
bytes.
1,000,000 bytes |
MIME |
Multipurpose Internet
Mail Extensions - The standard for attaching non-text files to standard
Internet mail messages. Non-text files include graphics, spreadsheets,
formatted word-processor documents, sound files, etc. |
Mirror |
To maitain an exact
copy of something. Web sites often do this in order to lessen the load on
their machines. |
Modem |
MODulator
DEModulator. A modem is a device or program that enables a computer to
transmit data over telephone lines. |
MOO |
Mud, Object Oriented.
One of several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments, so far only
text-based. |
Mosaic |
The first Web browser
that was available for the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX all with the same
interface. Mosaic really started the popularity of the Web. |
MUD |
Multi-User Dungeon or
Dimension. A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some
are purely for fun and flirting, others are used for serious software
development, or education purposes and all that lies in
between. |
MUSE |
Multi-User Simulated
Environment - a kind of MUD without violence. |
MUSH |
Multi-user Shared
Hallucination - Another text based type of MUD. |
| N |
TOP |
Netiquette |
The etiquette
guidelines for posting messages to online services, and particularly
Internet newsgroups. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility
in discussions (i.e., avoiding flames), but also special guidelines unique
to the electronic nature of forum messages. |
Netizen |
Derived from the term
citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet, or someone who uses
networked resources. |
Netscape |
Mainly known for its
web browser, it also makes web server software. Netscape is recognized as
the best and most popular web browser. |
Network |
Any time two
computers are connected so they can share resources, it is called a
network. |
Newsgroup |
On the Internet,
there are literally thousands of newsgroups covering every conceivable
interest. To view and post messages to a newsgroup, you need a news
reader, a program that runs on your computer and connects you to a news
server on the Internet. |
News
reader |
Sometimes spelled as
one word, a news reader is a client application that enables you to read
messages posted to Internet newsgroups, and to post your own
messages. |
NIC |
Network Interface
Card. Most are designed for a particular type of network, protocol and
media, but some can serve in multiple networks. |
NNTP |
Network News
Transport Protocol - the protocol used to post, distribute, and retrieve
USENET messages. |
Node |
Any single computer
connected to the network. |
NRN |
No Response
Necessary |
| O |
TOP |
Online |
Having access to the
Internet. Often people will say they are online meaning they have access
to the Internet and have an e-mail address, but may not necessarily be
connected to the Internet at that moment. |
OIC |
Oh, I See (alana's
new vertion |
OC-1,3,12,24,48 |
Optical Carrier -
fiber optic transmission.
OC-1 transmission speed of 51.85 Mbps
OC-3
transmission speed of 155.52 Mbps
OC-12 transmission speed of 622.08
Mbps
OC-24 transmission speed of 1.24 Gbps
OC-48 transmission speed
of 2.48 Gbps
|
OTOH |
On The Other
Hand |
| P |
TOP |
Packet |
A piece of a message
transmitted over a packet-switching network. |
Packet-switching |
Refers to protocols
in which messages are divided into packets before they are sent. Each
packet is then transmitted individually and can even follow different
routes to its destination. Once all the packets forming a message arrive
at the destination, they are recompiled into the original message.
|
Password |
A secret series of
characters that enables a user to access a file, computer, or
program. |
Parse |
To break up a text
into useful chunks (used in programming languages). |
PDF |
Portable Document
Format. Platform independent file format created by Adobe. |
PGP |
Pretty Good Privacy -
a program that protects files from being read by others. You can also PGP
sign a document to prove that you are the sender. |
Ping |
Packet InterNet
Groper - A program that tests network connections. |
Plug-in |
A small piece of
software, usually by a third party, that adds features to another larger
software application. |
PoP |
Point of Presence -
Local phone service area where your ISP provides dial up access to the
Internet. |
POP |
Post Office Protocol
- Internet protocol used by your ISP to handle email for its subscribers.
A POP account is just a synonym for an email account. |
Port |
Related to the
Internet, a port is a part of a Web server that handles requests for
particular services (FTP, Telnet, WWW). Each of those services has its own
port number, where it "listens" for requests. |
Portal |
Usually used as a
marketing term to described a Web site that is or is intended to be the
first place people see when using the Web. Typically a "Portal site" has a
catalog of web sites, a search engine, or both. |
Posting |
A single message
entered into a network communications system. |
POTS |
Plain Old Telephone
Service |
Protocol |
A set of rules and
conventions that describes the behavior that computers must follow in
order to understand each other. |
Proxy |
Form of security on
the Internet. When you use a proxy or proxy server, you send a request to
a server on the Internet via this proxy. For the server on the Internet it
looks like the request is coming from the proxy, not from your
machine. |
PPP |
Point to Point
Protocol - Most well known as a protocol that allows a computer to use a
regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections and thus be
really and truly on the Internet. |
PSTN |
Public Switched
Telephone Network - just the regular phone system. |
| Q |
TOP |
Query |
Request for specific
information from a database. |
| R |
TOP |
Redirect |
By using particular
HTML-code in a Web page, one can redirect the visitor seamlessly to
another Web page. |
Redundancy |
Form of protection
against system failures. For example, if you want to be sure that you'll
always have power supply, you can set up two power supplies so that one
takes over if the other one fails. |
RFC |
Request For Comments
- The name of the result and the process for creating a standard on the
Internet. |
ROFL |
Roll On the Floor
Laughing |
Router |
A special-purpose
computer (or software package) that handles the connection between 2 or
more networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the destination
addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to
send them on. |
RPG |
Role Playing Game -
also a programming language. |
RTFM |
Read
The Freakin' Manual |
| S |
TOP |
Search
Engine |
Web site that allows
users to search for keywords on Web pages. Every search engine has its own
strategy for collecting data, so it's no wonder that one particular search
produces different results on different search engines. |
Server |
A computer, or a
software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client
software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular
piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the
software is running. |
Shell
account |
An account that gives
access to a UNIX based host computer. |
SLIP |
Serial Line Internet
Protocol. A standard for using a regular telephone line (a serial line)
and a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet site. SLIP is being
replaced by PPP. |
SMTP |
Simple Mail Transport
Protocol. Main protocol to send and receive email between servers on the
Internet. |
Snail
Mail |
Refers to regular
postal mail. |
SNMP |
Short for Simple
Network Management Protocol, a set of protocols for managing complex
networks. |
Socket |
One end of a two-way
connection. A socket is composed of the IP address of the server and a
port number. |
Spam |
Electronic junk mail
or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as
any unsolicited e-mail. |
SQL |
Structured Query
Language - A specialized programming language for sending queries to
databases. |
SSL |
Secure Socket Layer -
Protocol that allows to send encrypted messages across the
Internet. |
SysOp |
Systems Operator -
Anyone responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or
network resource. |
| T |
TOP |
T-1 |
High speed, high
bandwidth leased line connection to the Internet. A T-1 line can deliver
information at 1.544 Mbps. |
T-3 |
High speed, high
bandwidth leased line connection to the Internet. A T-3 line can deliver
information at 44.736 Mbps (the equivalent of 28 T-1 lines). |
TCP/IP |
Transmission Control
Protocol/ Internet Protocol. A suite of communications protocols that
defines the basic workings of the Internet. |
Telnet |
Internet protocol
that lets you connect your machine as a remote terminal to a host computer
somewhere on the Internet. |
Terabyte |
About one thousand
gigabytes (one million megabytes). |
Throughput |
Measure of data
transmission speed |
TIA |
Thanks In
Advance |
TWAIN |
Comes from the saying
"Ne'er the twain shall meet" because the Data Source Manager sits between
the driver and application, is the de facto interface standard for
scanners. |
| U |
TOP |
UDP |
User Datagram
Protocol. A connectionless protocol that, like TCP, runs on top of IP
networks. |
URL |
Uniform Resource
Locator. Address of any resource on the World Wide Web. |
USB |
Definition |
Usenet |
World-wide
decentralized distribution system of newsgroups. Newsgroups (discussion
groups would be a more accurate name) cover almost every known
subject. |
UUCP |
Unix to
Unix Copy. A Unix utility and protocol that enables one computer to send
files to another computer over a direct serial connection or via modems
and the telephone system. |
| V |
TOP |
Veronica |
Acronym for "Very
Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives."
(Prehistoric!) searchable database of documents on Gopher
servers. |
VPN |
Virtual Private
Network. Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are
connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet
is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. |
VRML |
Virtual Reality
Modeling Language. Method for creating 3D environments on the
Web. |
| W |
TOP |
WAIS |
Wide Area Information
Server. Distributed information retrieval system that allows you to search
huge amounts of information using keywords. |
WAN |
Wide Area Network.
Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building
or campus. |
Whois |
Program that queries
the InterNIC's database of domain names. |
WWW |
World Wide Web. An
Internet client-server system to distribute information, based upon the
hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Also known as WWW, W3 or the Web.
Created at CERN in Geveva, Switzerland in 1991 by Dr. Tim
Berners-Lee. |
WYSIWYG |
What You See Is What
You Get. A WYSIWYG application is one that enables you to see on the
display screen exactly what will appear when the document is
printed. |
