ARPANet
Advanced Research Projects Administration Network. ARPANet was developed by the US Department of Defense in the late 1960's and early 1970's as an experiment in wide area networking that would survive a nuclear war. |
Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be sent through a connection, measured in bits per second. |
Baud
The rate at which a modem can send and receive data. |
BBS (Bulletin Board System)
A place where people can meet (through their computers), hold discussions, exchange files, and announce virtually anything. |
Browser
Software that is used to look at Internet resources. The most popular are Netscape and Internet Explorer. |
Domain Name
This is a unique identifier of an Internet Site (the sites address). Example: mycompany.com |
E-mail
Electronic mail. Message sent from one person to another (or many) through their computers. |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions. FAQ's are lists that answer the most common questions on a particular subject. |
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. A method of moving files between two Internet sites. This a special way of telling (logging in) the computer you wish to send or retrieve files. |
HTML
HyperText Markup Language. The scripting language used to create Web documents. HTML commands specify the layout of a document as it appears on a Web browser. |
HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol. The protocol for transferring hypertext files across the Internet. |
Hypertext
Text that contains a link to another document. A word or phrase that the user can click on and another document will be sent to his screen. |
Internet
The large networks that developed from ARPANet. The Internet, using TCP/IP protocols, connects tens of thousands of independent networks. |
IP Number
All computers on the Internet have a unique IP number. The IP number is how each computer is found across the net. Because of the difficulty in remembering IP numbers (208.141.156.1), Domain names are used by most people to find particular Web sites. Each Domain name is cross referenced to an IP number, so the computer which hosts that particular Domain name can be located. |
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN is just a method to move data over existing phone line at a rate of 128,000 bits per second. |
ISP
Internet Service Provider. The provider who gives you access to the Internet. |
Kilobyte
1024 bytes. The name would imply 1000 bytes, but 1024 is more accurate. |
Modem
Modulator, Demodulator. A device to move data from one computer to another over phone lines. It converts the data to analog for transmission. The modem on the other end will convert the data back to digital. |
Netiquette
Net etiquette |
Netizen
A citizen of the Internet. The term denotes good qualities. |
Network
Connecting two or more computers together so that resources are shared is a network. |
Newsgroup
Discussions groups |
POP
Post Office Protocol. The protocol by which many mail readers use to retrieve email. |
PPP
Point to Point Protocol. The protocol which allows computers and modems to make TCP/IP connections over regular phone lines. |
Search Engines
Search engines are essentially large directories where locator information is stored. By querying a keyword or phrase, the search engine can display its resources that pertain to the keywords. |
Server
A Computer running "server software". The software can be for a mail server, a web server, or a variety of other servers. Each server supplies a particular service to clients running on other computers. |
Spam/spamming
To do something many, many times, usually in an inappropriate manner. Strange definition, but it works. Extracting email addresses from Newsgroups, to send them unwanted email (usually "how to make money quick schemes") is the worst form of Spamming. Search engines refer to Spamming as repeating the same keyword over and over again. |
T-1
A connection capable of moving data at 1,544,000 bits per second. Many networks use a T-1 to connect to the Internet. |
T-3
Faster than the T-1, it moves data at a rate of 45,000,000 bits per second. |
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This is a set of communication protocols, which allow different types of computers to communicate with each other over the Internet. |
Telnet
Software which will allow you to get to the login prompt of another computer, via your own. Also the command used to initiate the software. |
UNIX
A multi-user operating system. Most Internet servers use UNIX. |
URL
Universal Resource Locator. The standard address of any resource on the Internet. i.e. http://www.internic.net |
WWW
World Wide Web. |
