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A
B C D
E F G
H I J
K L M
N O P
Q R S
T U V
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| B |
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Bandwidth:
A measurement of the volume of information that can be transmitted over a
network at a given time. Think of a network as a water pipe - the higher
the bandwidth (the larger the diameter of the pipe), the more data (water)
can pass over the network (through the pipe). Bandwith is usually measured
in bits-per-second (bps). |
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BPS:
Bits Per Second - a measurement of the volume of data that can be
transmitted over a network at a given time. |
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Bookmark:
A pointer to a particular Web site. Within browsers, you can bookmark
interesting pages so you can return to them easily. |
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Browser:
A program run on a client computer for viewing World Wide Web pages.
Examples include Netscape, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mosaic. |
| C |
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Cache:
A region of memory where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid
access. |
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Client:
A program (like a Web browser) that connects to and requests information
from a server. |
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Cookies:
The collective name for files stored on your hard drive by your Web
browser that hold information about your browsing habits, like what sites
you have visited, which newsgroups you have read, etc. |
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| D |
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Dial-up
Connection: A connection to
the Internet via phone and modem. |
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Direct
Connection: A connection made
directly to the Internet - much faster than a dial-up connection. |
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Domain:
The Internet is divided into smaller sets known as domains, including .com
(business), .gov (government), .edu (educational) and others. |
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Domain
Name: Allows you to reference
Internet sites without knowing the true numerical address. |
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Download:
The process of copying data file(s) from a remote computer to a local
computer. |
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| E |
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E-mail:
Electronic mail. |
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| F |
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FreeWare:
Software that is available for download and unlimited use without charge.
Compare to shareware. |
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FTP:
File Transfer Protocol - a set of rules for exchanging files between
computers via the Internet. |
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Gateway:
Computer hardware and software that allow users to connect from one
network to another. |
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Home
Page: The first page of a Web
Site. Also, the Web site that automatically loads each time you launch
your browser. |
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Host:
The name of a specific machine within a larger domain. |
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HTML:
HyperText Markup Language - a collection of tags typically used in the
development of Web pages. |
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HTTP:
HyperText Transfer Protocol - a set of instructions for communication
between a server and a World Wide Web client. |
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Hyperlink:
A connection between two anchors. Clicking on one anchor will take you to
the linked anchor. Can be within the same document/page or two totally
different documents. |
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| I |
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ISDN:
Integrated Services Digital Network - a system of all digital, high
bandwidth telephone lines allowing for the simultaneous delivery of audio,
video and data. Data travels at 128K bps. |
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ISP:
Internet Service Provider - the company which provides you with a
connection to the Internet via either a Dial-up Connection or a Direct
Connection. |
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IP
Address: Internet Protocol
Address - every computer on the Internet has a unique identifying number,
like 191.1.24.2. |
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Internet:
The worldwide network of computers communicating via an agreed upon set of
Internet protocol. |
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| K |
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KBPS:
KiloBits Per Second. The unit used
to measure how fast data is transferred between devices on a network. One
kilobit is 1024 bits. |
| L |
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LAN:
Local Area Network - a network of computers confined within a small area,
such as an office building. |
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Link:
Another name for a hyperlink. |
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MIME:
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a protocol for allowing email
messages to contain various types of media (text, audio, video, images,
etc.). |
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MPEG:
Motion Picture Experts Group - a video file format offering excellent
quality in a relatively small file. Video files found on the Internet are
frequently stored in the MPEG format. |
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| N |
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Network:
A system of connected computers exchanging information with each other. A
LAN is a relatively smaller form of a network in comparison to the
Internet, a world wide network of computers.
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| O |
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Online:
When you connect to the Internet, you are online. |
| P |
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Pixel:
Short for picture element - the smallest unit of resolution on a monitor.
Commonly used as a unit of measurement. |
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Plug-In:
A small application which extends the built in capabilities of your Web
browser. Examples include Macromedia's Shockwave, providing animation, and
RealAudio, offering streamed sound files over the Internet. |
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POP:
Post Office Protocol - a method of storing and returning email. |
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Provider:
An Internet Service Provider, or ISP. |
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| S |
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Search
Engine: A tool for searching
information on the Internet by topic. Popular engines include Yahoo,
Netscape, MSN and Google. |
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Server:
One half of the client-server protocol, runs on a networked computer and
responds to requests submitted by the client. Your World Wide Web brower
is a client of a World Wide Web server. |
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Shareware:
Software that is available on a free limited trial basis. Sometimes this
is a fully featured product, other times it lacks some of the features of
the commercial version. If you find the product useful, you are expected
to register the software, for which in return you will receive the full
featured commercial version. |
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SMTP:
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - a protocol dictating how email messages
are exchanged over the Internet. |
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| T |
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T1:
A category of leased telephone line service, allowing transfer rates of
1.5 Mbps (megabytes per second) over the Internet. |
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T3:
A category of leased telephone line service, allowing transfer rates of 45
Mbps (megabytes per second) over the Internet. |
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TCP/IP:
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - this protocol is the
foundation of the Internet, an agreed upon set of rules directing
computers on how to exchange information with each other. Other Internet
protocols, such as FTP, Gopher and HTTP sit on top of TCP/IP. |
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| U |
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URL:
Uniform Resource Locator - the method by which Internet sites are
addressed. An example would be "http://www.sfcn.org", the
address of the this web site. |
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| W |
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WAN:
Wide Area Network - a system of connected computers spanning a large
geographical area. |
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WWW:
World Wide Web, or simply Web. A subset of the Internet which uses a
combination of text, graphics, audio and video (multimedia) to provide
information on most every subject imaginable. |
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