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Internet Terms Glossary This Internet terms glossary is in alphabetical order. To view the definition of a term,
Adobe Systems Inc. has created a software program called Acrobat which is extremely useful for Web publishing. According to Adobe: " Adobe Acrobat software lets you create electronic documents from a wide range of authoring tools for sharing across different computer platforms. " .aiff: A digital audio file format. .au: A digital audio file format. One of the more common digital audio file formats on the Internet. This format allows storing and downloading of music samples that can be played on all Macintosh computers and all PCs with sound cards. A public FTP site. You must use the word "anonymous" as your user ID, and your em ail address as your password. You can .then download software and files on that remote computer. A computer program, also known as a client or an "app." Netscape Navigator and Eudora are the most common Internet applications. A collection of files stored on an Internet machine. FTP sites are known as archives. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange ) Often used as a synonym for TEXT. The standard used by computers to represent all the letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation, etc. (See also: TEXT. ) Backbone: The high-speed portion of the Internet. There are many Internet backbones crisscrossing the US. Bandwidth: The amount of information and data that can be transferred over your Internet connection. Banner: Banner ads are often long rectangular graphics that are placed on the top or bottom of Web pages. They are currently the most popular form of paid Web advertising. In general, banners with tasteful GIF animation are more effective than banners with static text and images. Baud: Unit for measuring modem speed that is equal to one signal per second. BBS (Bulletin Board System): A computer which is connected to one or more phone lines that provides email, software archives, and discussions of interest to the bulletin board system's owner / operator (known as a SysOp). There are millions of BBS's around the world. More and more BBS's are being connected to the Internet to give users a very low cost way to get access. This is not a recommended way for businesses to connect to the Internet. Binary: Any file that contains information and data that is not text. Software applications, JPEG and GIF graphic files are binary files. Binhex (Binary Hexadecimal .hqx): A way of converting binary into text. This is necessary because most Internet email can only handle text. Eudora has a binhex option in the mail message window. Bit (Binary Digit Binary digit): The smallest component of computer data: zero or one. Bookmarks: A list of your favorite Web addresses (URLs). Bounce: When email does not go through, it bounces Bozo filter: Software that automatically deletes email that comes from the email address of someone that the user considers a "bozo " and doesn't want to be bothered with. BPS: (Bits Per Second) The speed of data through your modem (e.g. 28,800 bps). Browser: A Browser is the software program that you use to access and view information on the World Wide Web, as well as other kinds of servers (for example, gopher) on the Internet. Netscape Navigator is by far the most popular Browser software. Byte: Eight bits that represent a single character (such as a the letter "A") in a computer. BTW: Acronym for "By The Way." CGI: (Common Gateway Interface) Tekkie speak for the interface that allows a programmer to add almost any function to your Web site. Often used to automatically handle the information a customer enters on a form at your Web site. Client: Another term for a software application on your computer. Netscape Navigator and Eudora are the most common Internet client applications. When talking about client-server architecture, Netscape Navigator is the client and a Web site is the server. (See also: Server.) Click-through ratio: The number of times visitors click on a banner ad to the total number of impressions. A click-through ratio of 1 :20 is twice as good as the ratio of 1 :40. Commercial software: Commercial software is software that is not free. It has a cost and should not be downloaded or shared with others. Getting a copy of a commercial software program from a friend is called software piracy (or stealing). Compression: To shrink the size of a computer file. Compressed files transfer over the Internet more quickly. Common file name extensions for compressed files are .zip (PC) or .sit (Mac). CompuServe(CIS): The oldest and second largest commercial on-line service. CompuServe contains the most business information and best technical information of all the major on-line services. CompuServe is more expensive than AOL. Cyberspace: This term now loosely refers to the Internet. Database: 1) A large computer file that can contain any type of data. 2) The software to quickly and easily access that data. Dialer Software: Dialer software is the program that dials your phone and connects your computer to the Internet through your modem over the telephone lines. The most popular dialer software programs are: Trumpet Winsock on Windows 3.1, MacPPP, FreePPP and OT/PPP on the Macintosh and Win98/2000 has a dialer included in Jumpstart. Dialup: The most widely-used way to access the Internet. Your computer and modem will connect to the Internet using a dialup connection to another modem over telephone lines Domain Name: A domain name is what computers use to find each other on the Internet. The portion of an Internet address that identifies an Internet site. Domain names have two or more parts, separated by dots. (See also: Internet, IP number, InterNIC, site, World Wide Web.) Examples: www .svr.com, eff.org, com = US commercial DNS (Domain Name Server): Two servers at your Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you won't have to worry about except when you are setting up your account. Your ISP might have you type in the funny looking name and numbers to tell to your computer where it needs to look when accessing various parts of the Internet. Download: Make a copy of a file you find on the Internet and store it in your computer . Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): "A foundation that addresses social and legal issues arising from the impact of computers on society." E-mail (Electronic Mail): E-mail software is the software that allows you to send and receive email. Eudora is the most popular email software. More people use the Internet for email than for anything else. Email Address: An Internet email address is made up of three parts. A username, the @ character , followed by a domain name (also called a host name). Example: diseek@comboc.com. This is pronounced like " geek at zee pee dot com " " @ II is pronounced "at" " ." is pronounced " dot"Encryption: Encryption scrambles information traveling over the Internet to prevent anyone except the intended recipient from understanding the information. Internet security is based on encryption. Ethernet: Ethernet is the most popular way of networking computers in Local Area Networks (LANs). Ethernet can transfer information at 10 Megabit-per-second (Mb/s) or about 350 times faster than a 28.8 K bps modem, and can be used with almost any kind of computer. (See also: Bandwidth, LAN.) Eudora: The most popular Internet email program for Windows and Macintosh. It is available as freeware. A commercial version that allows filtering of messages and spelling checking is available. Explorer: Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the second most popular Web browser in use (Netscape is #1): Explorer is based on Mosaic which Microsoft licensed from Spyglass. (See also: Browser, Mosaic, Netscape, World Wide Web.) FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): FAQs are often written by experts in a subject. They answer questions that are typically asked. There are thousands of FAQs on almost every subject imaginable. Favorites: A list of your favorite Web addresses (URLs) (See also: Bookmarks, Hotlist.) Firewall network: For any company that is going to hook their local area network directly to the Internet, a firewall is the most popular group of methods to protect your network from outside intruders. Requires an expert on network security to set up and maintain. Flame: The sending of nasty or derisive email or news group messages to a person or company because an action taken by that person or company offended the flamer. Freeware: Free software! There is more freeware available for downloading on the Internet than anywhere else. Not to be confused with shareware. Forum: An area set up within the on-line services for companies to store their information, and interact with customers and prospects through email or through real-time discussions. FTP(File Transfer Protocol ): FTP software is the program that allows you to transfer computer files (such as software, word processing documents, etc.) to and from other computers on the Internet. WS-FTP on Windows and Fetch on the Macintosh are popular FTP software packages. Gateway: A special machine connecting two networks that can transfer email and data between them. GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): A graphic compression format developed in the mid-1980s by CompuServe to allow exchanging digital graphics between computers. Now used everywhere on the Internet. (See also: JPEG.) Gigabyte: Roughly a billion bytes. To be exact: one thousand and twenty four megabytes or (1,073,741,824) bytes. (See also: Byte, Bit, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Terabyte.) Gopher: Gopher is a type of search engine used widely on the Internet. Most Web Browsers can access gopher servers directly, so most people don't use separate gopher client software programs anymore. Gopher was developed at the University of Minnesota and is the school mascot. Hacker: A computer guru. Hackers are generally benign and should not be confused with " crackers. " Header: The top area in an email message (that looks strange) that contains useful information about a message: the sender, when it was sent, the subject, etc. Home Page: The first page of a Web site. Usually the first thing a user sees. Hotlist: A list of your favorite Web addresses (URLs) (See also: Bookmarks, Favorites.) Host: A computer that "host" services, such as Web or FTP server. HTML (H yperT ext Markup Language ): HTML is the programming language used to create, store and present pages on the World Wide Web. HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol): The first four letters of a Web Internet address (Web URL): http://www.svr.com/ HTTP is the protocol used by a Web Browser (Netscape) to talk to a Web server. Hypermedia: Where multimedia (digital video and sound) meets the World Wide Web. Hyperlink: Another name for the link from one Web page to another Web page or part of a page. Links are usually underlined and in blue. (See also: Link.). Hypertext: Hypertext is used to describe any Web page with links. Impression: An impression is every time a banner or other type of ad is displayed to a visitor of a Web site. Interactive: An interface that allows for an immediate response to information. The raw marketing power of the Internet is that it allows a customer to view businesses information and immediately interact with it in some way. Internet: The huge collection of computers all connected together at a very low cost. It is uncontrolled! InterNIC (Internet Information Center): The InterNIC is the organization you contact if you want to register an Internet domain name. Intranet: Running Internet software for private corporate access and use. IP (Internet Protocol): The software protocol that the huge collection computers all connected together uses to communicate with each other. IP Address (Internet Protocol Address ): Also called a TCP/IP address. A unique number defined by the Internet Protocol. It has four parts, separated by dots. Example: 192.60.75.3 Every computer on the Internet has a unique IP address if a computer does not have an IP address, it is not really on the Internet. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network ): Sometimes described as "faster modems." The basic ISDN service can run at 64K bps and some will run at 115 K bps or 128 K bps. ISP (Internet Service Provider ): An ISP is a company that sells (rents) connections to the Internet. The price depends upon how fast and how long you want to be connected. JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group): A graphic compression format that allows the exchange of digital graphics between computers. Often compresses the images smaller than alp. Now used everywhere on the Internet. Kilobyte: Roughly a thousand bytes. To be exact: one thousand and twenty four (1024) bytes. LAN (Local Area Network): Cables and software that hook computers together in the same building or campus. This allows users to send email and share printers, modems, files, etc. Ethernet is the most popular LAN. Leased Line: A phone line that connects one location to another 24-hours per day, seven-days-aweek. Higher speed Internet connections, except ISDN, require a leased line. Link: An area of a Web page usually underlined and in blue. When the user clicks on it, the Browser will jump to another Web page or to another part of that Web page. Linux: Linux is a free UNIX clone developed on the Internet. It is said to be the most popular version of the UNIX operating system on the Internet. Many of the smaller ISPs run their entire operation on Linux. Listserv: Listserv is software that runs an automated mailing list (list of email addresses) on a computer called a Listserver. Login: Connect to the Internet or to a computer system. Log off: Disconnect from the Internet or to a computer system. Mailing List: A list of email addresses used to automatically forward em ail messages to a group of people. You typically subscribe to a mailing list if you are interested in the discussion topic of the particular list. Megabyte: Roughly a million bytes. To be exact: one thousand and twenty four kilobytes or (1,048,576) bytes. (See also: Byte, Bit, Kilobyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte.) MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions): A method of attaching special audio, video, word processing, etc. files to email so that they can be easily decoded and viewed when sent to another person over the Internet. MIME does not yet work as well as it should, and with slow Internet connections, large attachments take a long time to send. Mirror Site: A computer that is a "mirror" contains an exact copy of the data on a FTP or Web site. When a site has many users and is busy, you can connect to a mirror site to get the same information. For example, Australia has "mirrors" or many popular US sites. Modem (Modulator, Demodulator): A modem allows your computer to attach to a phone line and connect to the Internet. MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group ): One of the most common digital video formats on the Internet. There are MPEG movie players for all popular computers. MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension): MUDs are role-playing simulations or games that are played over the Internet. The games can be based on action, fantasy, or adventure. MUD fans find the games extremely addictive. Netiquette (Net and etiquette ): Netiquette are the rules of etiquette for the Internet. Remember that real people are at the other end of your Internet connection. Netscape Navigator: Netscape Navigator is by far the most popular Browser software to access and view information on the World Wide Web, as well as other kinds of servers (for example, gopher) on the Internet. Newsgroups (News, Discussion Groups): Newsgroups are special interest groups which have a virtual message board where participants can read and post messages. This completely decentralized, worldwide network of discussion groups consists of hundreds of thousands of computers. Network: The software and connections that connect computers together and allow them to send email, transfer files, and share resources. The connections can be fiber optic cables, phone lines, or even satellites. (See also: Internet, LAN.) Node: A single computer connected to the Internet. Packet: The standard unit of data transmitted over any network. Packet switching: Packet switching is one of the reasons sending data around on the Internet is so inexpensive and yet reliable. It involves breaking the data into II chunks "or packets as it is transmitted and then put back together as it is received. Page: A small part of a Web document. Also called a "Web page " Password: A secret code used to access a computer system. It is good to use a number as part of your password. You should not use your name, or the name of a friend, family member, pet, or company, or any words that are found in a dictionary as your password. POP (Point Of Presence or Post Office Protocol): Point Of Presence (POP) The location where your Internet Service Provider has their modems and other telecommunications equipment. Post Office Protocol (POP). The popular protocol that Eudora and other email programs use to read your mail from a server. The only time you'll have to deal with it is when you setup or change your Eudora settings.
PostScript: Adobe's page description language, us~d by most laser printers. Port: A port is the place where data goes in and out of a computer. Often you will hook up a modem to a serial port so you can connect to the Internet. Post: To send (post) a message to a mailing list or newsgroup. PPP (Point to Point Protocol): PPP is the most popular software for connecting to the Internet with your modem. Trumpet Winsock for Windows has PPP built into it. Trumpet and MacPPP/FreePPP on the Macintosh are the most popular PPP / dialer software programs. Prodigy: The commercial on-line service that used-to be owned by IBM and Sears. Protocol: The language that networked computers use to communicate with each other. Provider (Internet Service Provider): A Provider is a company that sells (rents) connections to the Internet. The price depends upon how fast and how long you want to be connected. Public domain: Free software with no restriction on its use or distribution. QuickTime: A popular digital video format on the Internet developed by Apple computer . Software to play QuickTime movies is available for Windows and the Macintosh. Netscape now bundles QuickTime software with their Browser. RealAudio: A commercial software program that works with Netscape (and other Web Browsers) to play audio on demand. Many radio stations are putting some of their broadcasts on the Internet. Router: A special machine connecting two networks that transfers (routes) data between them. Search engines: Software programs that allow a user to search for Internet information by entering in keywords. Server: A computer that is dedicated to running a service such as a Web site or ftp site. When talking about client-server architecture, Netscape Navigator is the client and a Web site is the server. SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language): An International standard for creating textual information. HTML started as a subset of SGML. (See also: HTML.) Shareware: Shareware is software that you may download at no charge and try for free, hut you should send the shareware fee to the author if you like the software and intend to use it. The price for the shareware is usually stated at the site where you download it. SIG (Special Interest Group ): A group of people interested in a specific (usually technical) topic. Signature (Sig file ): Signature files are your signature or electronic business card. They are automatically added to the end of each of your email and discussion group messages with many email and newsreader programs. Create your sig file and always use it! Site: The location of any Internet resource. Example: Web site, ftp site. Snail mail: Regular mail. Derived from calling the "US Mail Service" the "US Snail Service." It is a comment on the length of time it takes to send a letter vs. email. System administrator: The person responsible for running your Internet Service Provider's computers. Treat them nicely or your Internet connection might not work very well. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol): TCP/IP is the communications protocol that all the Internet (the huge collection of computers all connected together) must use to talk to each other. Terabyte: Roughly a trillion bytes. To be exact: one thousand and twenty four gigabytes or (1,099,511,627,776) bytes. Terminal: A separate device that sends commands to another computer that pre-dates the personal computer. Most business users may never see a terminal today, but they will sometimes use terminal emulation software. Text: The standard used by computers to represent all the letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation, etc. (See also: ASCII.) TIFF (Tag Image File Format): A file format used for storing scanned image files. Not as common on the Internet as GIF and JPEG. Token Ring: Token Ring was developed by IBM to network computers on Local Area Networks (LANs). Token Ring can transfer information at 4 or 16 Megabit-per-second (Mb/s) and can be used with almost any kind of computer. Ethernet is more popular and less expensive than Token Ring. .txt: A file extension for a text file. UNIX: UNIX is the most common computer operating system for servers on the Internet. Example: Web server software often runs on computers running UNIX. Upload: Make a copy of a file from your computer and put it on the Internet. Example: Upload a Web page to your Web server. URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The tekkie name for an Internet Address. Pronounced 'earl' by insiders. The easiest way to use a URL is to enter it into the address field of your Web browser program, such as Netscape. Userid aka Username: The name you use when you logon to the Internet. You will have to enter your userid when you setup or change your dialer or Eudora settings. WAN (Wide Area Network): Connections and software that hook computers together in a larger area than a building or campus. The Internet is the ultimate WAN. Web: Shorthand for World Wide Web. The Web today is the hottest part of the Internet. The Web can be thought of as one huge document with chapters residing on Web servers around the world all connected by the Internet. You publish and control your own part of that document (your own Web pages). Those pages can contain text, graphics, and sound files. Web Page: Individual units of a Web site. Each Web page is a text file. Web Site: A Web site is a collection of related Web pages. Webmaster: The person who maintains a Web site. .zip: File name extension used for PC files compressed using the ZIP format.
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