The Fonzies Internet Abbreviated Jargon Glossary :: Pt.1 - Pt.2.

ACM: Association for Computing Machinery .An international scientific and
educational organization dedicated to advancing the art, science, engineering,
and application of information technology. The ACM serves both professional
and public interests by fostering the open interchange of information and by
promoting professional and ethical standards.

ADC: analog-to-digital converter .A hardware device that converts information
from analog to digital.

ADN: Advanced Digital Network .Usually refers to a 56Kbps leased-line or
dedicated line.

ADO: ADO stands for ActiveX Data Objects.

ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A technology that allows more
data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines (POTS). ADSL supports
data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data
(known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data
(known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange.The world-wide
standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper
and lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard
ASCII codes, each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number:
0000000 through 1111111. This is also used to describe files that are
stored in clear text format.

APNIC: APNIC is one of three Regional Internet Registries currently operating
in the world. It provides allocation and registration services which support the
operation of the Internet globally. It is a not-for-profit, membership-based
organisation whose members include Internet Service Providers, National
Internet Registries, and similar organisations. APNIC represents the
Asia Pacific region, comprising 62 economies.

AUP: Short for acceptable use policy. Also known as TOS (Terms of Service).
A contract specifying what a subscriber can and cannot do while using an ISP's
service. Contains things like liability disclaimers, lists of actions or behavior that will
result in the termination of a customers account, definition of terms such as
"unlimited use," billing policies, SPAM clauses, etc.

BBS: (Bulletin Board System) -- A computerized meeting and announcement
system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files,
and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer
at the same time. There are many thousands (millions?) of BBS’s around the world,
most are very small, running on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines.
Some are very large and the line between a BBS and a system like CompuServe
gets crossed at some point, but it is not clearly drawn.

BIT: The basic unit of information in a binary numbering system. The electronic
circuitry in computers detect the difference between two states
(high current and low current) and represents these two states as one of two
numbers 1 or 0. This basic high/low, either/or, yes/no units of information are
called bits. Eight bits comprise what is called an octet, sometimes referred
to as a byte. The word bit derives from the phrase Binary digit.

BMP: A Microsoft Windows image format. The images you see when Windows
starts up and closes, and the wallpaper that adorns your desktop, are all in
BMP or bitmap format.

BPS: (Bits-Per-Second) -- A measurement of how fast data is moved from one
place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.

BTW: (By The Way) -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum.

BYTE: A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 Bits in a Byte,
sometimes more, depending on how the measurement is being made

CBT: Computer Based Training.

CDF: Short for channel definition format, a specification developed by Microsoft that
allows Web publishers to push content at users. The Channel Definition Format is
an open specification that permits a web publisher to offer frequently updated
collections of information, or channels, from any web server for automatic delivery
to compatible receiver programs on PCs or other information appliances. .

CERN: CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's
largest particle physics centre. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was one of Europe's
first joint ventures, and has become a shining example of international collaboration.
From the original 12 signatories of the CERN convention, membership has grown to
the present 20 Member States.CERN explores what matter is made of, and what forces
hold it together.The Laboratory provides state-of-the-art scientific facilities for researchers
to use. These are accelerators which accelerate tiny particles to a fraction under the
speed of light, and detectors to make the particles visible.

CLEC: In the United States, a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) is a company
that competes with the already established local telephone business by providing its
own network and switching. The term distinguishes new or potential competitors from
established local exchange carriers (LEC) and arises from the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, which was intended to promote competition among both
long-distance and local phone service providers.

CRM: Acronym for Customer Relationship Management. CRM entails all aspects
of interaction a company has with its customer, whether it be sales or service related.
Computerization has changed the way companies are approaching their CRM strategies
because it has also changed consumer buying behavior. With each new advance in
technology, especially the proliferation of self-service channels like the Web and WAP
phones, more of the relationship is being managed electronically. Organizations are
therefore looking for ways to personalize online experiences (a process also referred to
as mass customization) through tools such as help-desk software,
e-mail organizers and Web development apps.

C++: A programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie at AT&T Bell Labs ca.
1972 for systems programming on the PDP-11 and immediately used to
reimplement UNIX. It was called "C" because many features derived from an earlier
compiler named "B" in commemoration of *its* parent, BCPL. In fact, C was briefly
named "NB". Before Bjarne Stroustrup settled the question by designing C++, there
was a humorous debate over whether C’s successor should be named
"D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL").

CFML: Cold Fusion Markup Language. An extension of HTML. A proprietary markup
language developed by the Allaire Corporation and for use with Allaire’s Cold Fusion
Application Server. CFML tags link HTML pages to database servers. CFML goes beyond
database management to fill some important gaps in HTML, including session variables,
branching logic, loops, and other constructs that programmers are accustomed
to using, such as error trapping and debugging tools.

CGI: Common Gateway Interface .An HTTP server is often used as a gateway to a
legacy information system; for example, an existing body of documents or an existing
database application. The Common Gateway Interface is an agreement between HTTP
server implementors about how to integrate such gateway scripts and programs.It is
typically used in conjunction with HTML forms to build database applications.

COM: Although it’s in all capital letters, COM is not an acronym. It’s a contraction of
communications, and it’s used to describe the serial port on a PC. COM is generally
used in conjunction with a number, as in COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4
(for exampe, a printer port).

CPU: Abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. The main component in a computer's
microprocessor which performs calculations and executes instructions.

CRC: Cyclical Redundancy Check. A mathematical technique used to check for errors
when sending data by modem. Because some phone lines are notoriously crackly and
can cause breaks in transmission, this is a crucial step. If the CRC fails to add up, the
receiving end of a data transmission sends a NAK (negative acknowledgement or
"say that again") signal until it does add up. CRCs are also used in tape
backups and other streaming communications.

CTS: Clear To Send. One of the nine wires in a serial port used in modem
communications, CTS carries a signal from the modem to the computer saying,
"I’m ready to start when you are."

DHTML: dynamic HTML.The W3C may not have an official definition for it, but dynamic
HTML combines HTML, style sheets, and scripts to make Web pages more interactive.
It sounds great. But while both Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Communicator
4.0 support dynamic HTML features, they do so in different--and incompatible--ways.
The companies say they will work to make their browsers compatible with whatever
specification the W3C finally decides upon. However, the browsers may be in their fifth
generation before users see a concrete standard.

DLL: Dynamic Link Library.A Windows platform file that is actually an executable
mini-program itself that is NOT executed directly by a user but by a running
program or application.

DPI: Dots Per Inch. Metrics used to measure print and screen resolution.

DSS: Digital Signature Standard. Digital signature technology is used to confirm
the identity of a sender of electronic information and to verify that the data has
not been altered. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently
ended a 10-year battle between the federal government and commercial digital
signature makers when it announced that agencies may begin using the most
popular commercial digital signature technology on the market.

DNS: The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed Internet directory service.
DNS is used mostly to translate between domain names and IP addresses, and
to control Internet email delivery. Most Internet services rely on DNS to work,
and if DNS fails, web sites cannot be located and email delivery stalls.

DOM: The Document Object Model is a platform- and language-neutral interface that will
allow programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure and
style of documents. The document can be further processed and the results of
that processing can be incorporated back into the presented page.

EBPP: On the Internet, electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is a process
that enables bills to be created, delivered, and paid over the Internet. The service has
applications for many industries, from financial service providers to telecommunications
companies and utilities. Although buying products over the Internet with a credit card
has become a common occurrence, viewing the credit card bill itself - and making
payments to settle the bill electronically - has not. This is expected to dramatically
change as new EBPP products are introduced that include features such as secure
e-mail delivery, and also as EBPP technology becomes more common in
business-to-business e-commerce.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol.The common procedure used for downloading and
uploading files over the Internet. With FTP you can login to another Internet site
and transfer (meaning, send or receive) files. Some sites have public file
archives that you can access by using FTP with the account name
"anonymous" and your e-mail address as the password.

FAQ: Pronounced as separate letters or as fak, and short for frequently asked questions,
a FAQ is a document that answers questions about some technical topic. Frequently,
FAQs are formatted as help files or hypertext documents

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. Most color images and backgrounds on the Web are
GIF files. This compact file format is ideal for graphics that use only a few colors, and it
was once the most popular format for online color photos. However, GIF has lost ground
to the JPEG format when it comes to photos. GIF images are limited to 256 colors, but
JPEGs can contain up to 16 million colors--and they can look almost as good as a
photograph.CompuServe developed GIF in 1987, calling it GIF87, and two years later
added new features such as interlacing, transparency, and animation to create the format
known as GIF89a. People don't usually distinguish between the two GIF versions, so if
someone refers to an image as a "GIF89" rather than simply a "GIF," it's probably animated.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. As its name suggests, HTML is a collection of
formatting commands that create hypertext documents--Web pages, to be exact.
When you point your Web browser to a URL, the browser interprets the HTML
commands embedded in the page and uses them to format the page's text and
graphic elements. HTML commands cover many types of text formatting
(bold and italic text, lists, headline fonts in various sizes, and so on),
and also have the ability to include graphics and other nontext elements.

HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol .The protocol used to transmit and receive all
data over the World Wide Web. When you type a URL into your browser, you're
actually sending an HTTP request to a Web server for a page of information
(that's why URLs all begin with "http://"). HTTP1.1, the latest version, is currently
undergoing revisions to make it work more efficiently with TCP/IP.

ICANN: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a
technical coordination body for the Internet. Created in October 1998 by a broad
coalition of the Internet's business, technical, academic, and user communities,
ICANN is assuming responsibility for a set of technical functions previously
performed under U.S. government contract by IANA and other groups.

ICQ: I Seek You. A user-friendly Internet program that tells you who's online at all
times. No longer will you search in vain for friends and associates on the Net. ICQ
does the searching for you, alerting you in real time when friends or colleagues
sign on. With ICQ, you can chat, send messages and files, play games,
or just hang out with your fellow citizens as you surf the Net.

ILEC: An ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) is a telephone company in the
U.S. that was providing local service when the Telecommunications Act of 1996
was enacted. ILECs include the former Bell operating companies (BOCs) which
were grouped into holding companies known collectively as the regional Bell
operating companies (RBOCs) when the Bell System was broken up by a 1983
consent decree. ILECs are in contradistinction to CLEC
(competitive local exchange carriers).

IRC: Internet Relay Chat .IRC is a way of hooking up with other Net users to
exchange written comments--live and in real time. To do this, you need an IRC
client and an IRC server. Once connected to the server, you join a channel, or
discussion group, which can include people from all over the world. IRC channels
may hold discussions about anything under the sun (and some topics that
shouldn't see the light of day).

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is comprised of digital telephony
and data-transport services offered by regional telephone carriers. ISDN involves
the digitalization of the telephone network, which permits voice, data, text, graphics,
music, video, and other source material to be transmitted over existing telephone.
The emergence of ISDN represents an effort to standardize subscriber services,
user/network interfaces, and network and internetwork capabilities. ISDN
applications include high-speed image applications (such as Group IV facsimile),
additional telephone lines in homes to serve the telecommuting industry,
high-speed file transfer, and video conferencing.

JPEG: JPEG (pronounced "jay-peg") is a standardized image compression mechanism.
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the original name of the committee
that wrote the standard.JPEG is designed for compressing either full-color or gray-scale
images of natural, real-world scenes. It works well on photographs, naturalistic artwork,
and similar material; not so well on lettering, simple cartoons, or line drawings.
JPEG handles only still images.

LAN: A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that
share a common communications line and typically share the resources of a single
processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building).
Usually, the server has applications and data storage that are shared in common by
multiple computer users. A local area network may serve as few as two or three users
(for example, in a home network) or many as thousands of users
(for example, in an FDDI network).