CLICK
ON ANY OF THE LETTERS BELOW TO GO TO THE AREA OF INTEREST
(OR YOU CAN SCROLL
THROUGH THE LIST)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[TOP]
WHEN YOU SEE THIS SIGN - CLICK ON IT TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE
A
[TOP]
Access
Provider - A company which provides its customers with
a service whereby they can access the internet. The user normally connects to
the internet via a modem. These companies are often referred to as ISP's
- Internet Service Providers.
Animated
GIF - A collection of GIF images,
each picture slightly different from the previous, shown one after another in
sequence to give the effect of an animated / moving image. Same principle as a film.
B
[TOP]
Bandwidth
- The bandwidth is basically the maximum speed that data can be transmitted between
computers.
BBS
- Bulletin Board
System. A computer that allows the people
who subscribe to it to download and upload files and collect mail. BBS's
are still around in abundance but have generally been superceded by the
Internet.
Browser
- This is an application such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator that is
used to display the WWW graphically on your PC.
C
[TOP]
Chat
Room - A facility available to users of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and
others.
Users can talk to each other on the internet by typing their messages via the
keyboard. They would use a chat room to take part in an online discussion on a
particular subject. This is virtually live communication without speech.
Cookie
- A file that is written to the hard drive from the WWW when you access web pages. The file contains
certain information, often information that you entered when you displayed the
page. The next time you access this page a check is done to see if the cookie
exists. The information contained within the cookie may well influence what
options you see. For example, if after entering a web site for the first
time you are asked to enter you first name and the county you live in, a cookie
will record this information on your HDD. The next time you visit this web site,
it will check you HDD to see if it has written a cookie there and access the
information. In this example, it would greet you with "Hello Susan,
thank you for visiting us again" and immediately show you relevant
information for the county you live in, thereby saving you time and
stream-lining your visit.
D
[TOP]
DNS
- Domain Name
Service, a two-column look-up table system of matching mnemonic
machine names such as boardwatch.com
to their numeric IP addresses (204.144.169.1).
The tables are maintained at local, regional, and global levels by various
organizations, making it easier for humans to find their way around the Internet
or their LAN.
Download
- This is how you transfer files from the internet, for example, to you're PC.
E
[TOP]
E-Mail
- Electronic Mail,
the system of sending notes and memos between computers via a modem and phone
line and ISP.
F
[TOP]
FAQ
- Frequently Asked
Questions - a list of frequently asked questions and
their answers. Specific topic
FAQ sections can also now be found in Magazines, User Guides, PC Manuals and on
the Internet on many Web-Sites.
Frames -
These are used on websites to segment content. One frame might contain a menu of
the website while the other displays the information that you're interested in.
FTP
- File Transfer
Protocol - an application program that uses TCP/IP internet works
as a medium for transferring files. You can logon to an ftp site
using an ftp program and transfer files from their site to your local desktop
using a GET command. Many sites allow ANONYMOUS ftp. At the login prompt, enter
ANONYMOUS as the login name, and at the password prompt enter your e-mail
address as password. You will have access to a limited number of public
directories from which you can retrieve files. Example: ftp boardwatch.com
G
[TOP]
Gateway
- A gateway is a device that connects different networks together - this handles
the transfer of data between the networks and any conversion that is required to
enable the data which has been extracted from one network to be read in the
other network.
Gopher
- An application whose purpose is to locate, retrieve and record information on
the internet. The word Gopher takes its name from the words "Go
for" - somebody who goes and gets anything that is asked of him or her.
H
[TOP]
Home
page or
Homepage
- the
top-level hypertext document in a collection of linked HTML
documents. Often, the document implied in a WWW
site's URL, eg. http://www.boardwatch.com/homepage.html or /index.html is generally rendered as
http://www.boardwatch.com
HTML
- Hyper Text
Markup Language, the programming language used to create
WWW pages and define the functions to be performed when one clicks
on a button, image, or hypertext link embedded in the page.
HTTP
- Hyper Text
Transport Protocol. The method by which the World Wide Web provides
hypertext links between web pages - often located on entirely different
machines.
Hyperlinks
- A text or image Link which lets you jump quickly between pages, objects,
documents or web sites simply by clicking on it.
I
[TOP]
Internet
- An international network that links computers worldwide using telephone and
cable links.
IP
- Internet Protocol. - The underlying packet protocol used to connect
networks over the Internet.
ISP's - Internet
Service Providers.
These are the companies such as Freeserve, AOL, Demon and TescoNet, and the rest
who provide you with a connection via you're modem to the internet and via the
internet to the WWW (World Wide Web).
ISDN
- Integrated Services
Digital Network, an all-digital telephone system
specification. Basic Rate Interface (BRI) consists of two 64 Kbps bearers or
"B" data channels and one 16 Kbps supervisory "D" channel,
leading to the designation "2B+D." BRI ISDN can deliver data to the
home at speeds up to 128 Kbps by combining the two B channels. A popular choice
for a
digital telephone solution capable of using existing copper wire to the home.
J
[TOP]
JAVA
- Java
is a modern Programming Language,
first seen in 1995 and is used to bring Web
Pages to
life. Java programs are referred
to as applets. Java is an interpreted, object-orientated program language with a
syntax and structure similar to C++, designed specifically for the internet by
Sun Microsystems. One huge plus for Java is that Java programs can run on many
different types of computer (e.g. IBM PC, Apple Macintosh). Java Applets are
always small in size and can be downloaded from the Internet and executed as
part of the Web page being displayed. Once a programmer has completed the Java
program it is compiled to produce an executable module. This executable module
has instructions written for the "Java virtual machine" - this is
designed for the platform on which the module is to be executed. These
instructions are interpreted on the platform where the program is being
executed. The "Java Virtual Machines" are available for a number of
operating environments e.g. Windows, OS/2.
Javascript
- JavaScript
is a Programming Language for
developing Client Internet applications.
The WEB Browser interprets
JavaScript statements embedded in an HTML page. Livewire is the Server based
equivalent that enables you to create applications similar to Common Gateway
Interface (CGI programs).
K
[TOP]
Kbps
- Kilo Bits
Per Second - a measure of data transmission speed indicating 1024
bits transmitting in one second.
L
[TOP]
Login
- (or log-on) This is the term for the process of actually gaining access to the resources
on a particular computer - normally this is done by entering a User ID and a Password.
M
[TOP]
Mail
Server - The computers at your ISP that handle the e-mail coming into
your account and all the e-mail that you send from your account.
MP3
- MPEG Layer 3. A standard for digitally compressing music, meaning music
files created using MP3 aren't nearly as big as other types pf music files. CD
Audio can be compressed by a factor of 10 for example.
Mbps
- Mega Bits
Per Second - a measurement of data transmission speed indicating
1024 kilobits per second or 1048576 bits per second.
Mb
- Megabyte - technically 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes - but often applied
to the more rounded term of one million bytes as well.
N
[TOP]
Newsgroups
- collections of e-mail messages arranged in a hierarchical topic structure
and distributed to computers all over the Internet. Users of sites that receive
newsgroups can elect to receive particular newsgroups, add messages to the
shared message base, and thus join several global special interest groups. There
are currently over 12,000 USENET newsgroups available.
Null
modem cable - a cable whose connectors are wired so as to permit
serial port transfers of data between computers as if they were communicating
via modems. Data transfer speeds may reach 115 Kbps
over null modem cables between IBM compatible PCs.
O
[TOP]
- Suggestions
please
P
[TOP]
Ping
- an application program that will tell you if a particular entity is presently
connected to the Internet. Useful in diagnosing connection problems or checking
up on employees who should be working instead of playing live internet games.
POP
- Point Of
Presence - in the telephone world this is the geographic location of
a particular switch or service.
POP3
- Post Office
Protocol - an alternative mail protocol used to service
intermittent dialup connections to the Internet whereby mail is held until the
caller makes the connection and requests mail. Most SLIP or PPP dialup account
users will receive mail from a POP3 account using a programme such as MS-Outlook
Express, Netscape Messenger or Eudora.
PPP
- Point to Point
Protocol - a type of Internet Protocol used via serial
connections by modem. A dialup connection providing IP connectivity. Developed
later than Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) to accomplish the same
intermittent dialup connection function.
Protocol
- A system of rules and procedures governing communications between two devices.
File transfer protocols in your communications program refer to a set of rules
governing how error checking will be performed on blocks of data.
Q
[TOP]
- Suggestions
please
R
[TOP]
Router
- A communications device which routes data between Networks.
S
[TOP]
Server
- a computer dedicated to providing specific services to client computers. Print servers, for example, do nothing but accept,
store, and print out jobs sent to them by other computers. An FTP server is
dedicated to file-users everywhere.
Shareware
- computer software which users are encouraged to copy and distribute to others,
and to evaluate for a specified or indefinite period of time. The author gives
the user a license to "try before you buy," and requires voluntary
payment of a specific sum of money if the user continues to use the software.
Failure to pay the requested fee is a legal violation of the author's copyright
rights. Another version of this type of software is called
"Freeware" and as the name suggests, differs because no payment is
required at any time.
SMTP
- Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol - the most common method for relaying electronic
mail over the Internet.
T
[TOP]
TCP/IP
- Transmission Control
Protocol / Internet
Protocol. The basic packet protocol
used to connect machines globally on the Internet is referred to as the Internet
Protocol or IP. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) interacts with IP to
provide an application protocol interface. The term has come to generically
refer to a family of protocols used to connect local area networks to one
another, forming an internet, and more specifically the global internet work
referred to as The Internet.
TELNET
- An application program that allows users to interactively logon to menued
services provided at TCP/IP Internet sites. Example:
telnet boardwatch.com.
U
[TOP]
URL
- Uniform Resource
Locator - a system of references to different Internet sites
indicating the both the site and type of protocol or application program used to
reach it: e-mail, ftp, http, gopher, etc. Example: http://www.boardwatch.com
indicates a Hyper Text Transport Protocol address on the World Wide Web (WWW)
with location www.boardwatch.com.
USENET
- Users Network, one of the earliest networks of computers which exchange e-mail
conferences via the Internet using UUCP
and NNTP. Properly capitalized in
full but often rendered as "Usenet." Estimated to include over 70,000
nodes, 12,000 newsgroup conferences, and 2 million readers.
V
[TOP]
Virus
- A malicious programme that can harm your PC. They spread via shared resources,
like floppy disks or by email.
W
[TOP]
WAP
- Wireless Access
Protocol. A system for sending condensed, simplified internet
pages to the screen of a mobile phone.
Web
- See WWW.
Web
Camera
- A small camera that plugs into your
computers parallel port or USB connector. It sits on top of your monitor and is
able to record small movies or take still shots. It's often used to record
images for websites or for two people to chat 'face to face', as in video
conferencing.
Web
Space - The amount of hard drive space allocated to you by your ISP
for you to build your own website. The more space you have the bigger you're
site can be.
WINSOCK
- A Dynamic Link Library (DLL) program for Microsoft Windows that
provides a simple program interface to TCP/IP services. Originally developed by
Net-Manage, Inc., it has become the model for most Windows based Internet
application programs. The most widely used WINSOCK.DLL would be the shareware
program TRUMPET Winsock. Internet application programs then use WINSOCK for
TCP/IP services.
WWW
- World Wide
Web - a network of graphical hypertext servers linked by The
Internet offering graphics, sound, text, and in some cases video clips providing
information.
X
[TOP]
XML
- EXtensible Mark
up Language - a
subset of SGML aimed at Web Site developers.
Gives more flexibility than the original standards in HTML.
Y
[TOP]
- Suggestions
please
Z
[TOP]
ZIP
- File extension for files catalogued and compressed using "PKZIP"
and "WinZip" compression utilities.
