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- 56k Line Connection
- A phone-line connection capable of carrying 56,000 bits-per-second
using new technologies. This is twice as fast as a 28.8 modem connection,
(5.6kbs.)
- See Also: Bandwidth , T-1
- 33.6 Line Connection
- A popular phone-line connection capable of carrying 33,600 bits-per-second.
This is a slight improvement to the 28800 modems, (3.36kbs)
- See Also: Bandwidth , T-1
- 28.8 Line Connection
- A popular phone-line connection capable of carrying 28,000 bits-per-second.
This is twice as fast as a 14.4 modem connection, (2.8kbs.)
- See Also: Bandwidth , T-1
- 14.4 Line Connection
- An older phone-line connection capable of carrying 14,400 bits-per-second,
(1.4kbs.).
- See Also: Bandwidth , T-1
- 9600 Baud Line Connection
- An older, very slow phone-line connection capable of carrying 9600
bits-per-second, (.9kbs)
- See Also: Bandwidth , T-1
- Acronyms
- :-) : smiley (tilt head to left)
(c: : smiley (tilt head to right)
;-) : winking smiley (tilt head to left)
BRB : be right back
BTW : by the way
CU/Cya : see you
D/L : download
EOT : end of transmission
FAQ : frequently asked questions
FWIW : for what it's worth
FYI : for your information
GR&: grinning, running, &ducking
IAE : in Any Event
IMHO : in my humble opinion
IMO : in my opinion
JOOC : just out of curiosity
LOL : laughing out loud
L8R : later (usually goodbye) NRN : no Reply Necessary
OTFL : on the floor laughing
OTOH : on the other hand
PMFBI : pardon me for butting in
ROFL : rolling on floor laughing
ROTFL : roll on the floor laughing
RFC : request for comments
RTM : read The Manual (or Message)
RTFM : read the fun manual (or Message)
SITD : Still In The Dark
TIA : thanks in advance
TTFN : ta ta for now
U/L : upload
WRT : with regard to
XFER : transfer
- Anonymous FTP
- The proccess of logging on to an ftp server using anonymous as
your username and your email address as the password.
See Also: FTP
- Archie
- A tool for finding files stored on anonymous FTP sites. It is
used by entering the exact file name as the search criteria.
- See Also: Anonymous FTP
- ASCII
- (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) -- This is the
world-wide standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent
all the upper and lower-case 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.
- Backbone
- A high-speed series of connections that forms a major pathway within
a network. The term is relative as a backbone in a small network
will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
A backbone on the internet is a large data line capable of handling massive
amounts of internet traffic.
See Also: Network
- Bandwidth
- The amount of information capable of being sent through a connection.
Usually measured in bits-per-second (bps). A fast connection such as a
T-1 has a much higher bandwidth then a slower connection such as a 28.8
modem.
- See Also: 56K Line , Bps
, Bit , T-1
- Baud
- (Baud Rate) This is how many bits can be sent per second in a connection.
Baud is a word used to rate the speed of a modem or its connection.
- See Also: Bit , Modem
- BBS
- (Bulletin Board System) -- A computerized service which allows members
to transfer files, send internal E-mail, and carry on discussions. There
are thousands of BBS's around the world.
- Bit
- (Binary DigIT) -- The smallest unit of data. There are 8 bits in a
byte. A bit can contain the value of either 1 or 0, true or false.
- See Also: Bandwidth , Bps
, Byte , Kilobyte , Megabyte
- Bps
- (Bits-Per-Second) -- A measurement of how fast data is transferred
from one place to another. A "28.8 modem" can transfer
28,800 bits per second.
See Also: Bandwidth , Bit
- Browser
- A client program (software) that is used to looking at various
kinds of Internet resources.
See Also: Client , URL , WWW
- 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.
- CGI
- Common Gateway Interface. CGI is used to make programs for use on the
Internet.
- Chat
- To chat with other people on the Internet in real time. Users go by
nicknames and discuss various topics in chat rooms reffered to as channels.
Client
- A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a Server
software program on another computer, often across a great distance. Each
Client program is designed to work with one or more specific kinds
of Server programs, and each Server requires a specific kind
of Client.
See Also: Server
- Compression
- A technique used to take data and render it a smaller size. This is
usefull when transmitting files over the Internet so that they do not take
as long to send. The most common format of compression on the Internet
is zipping. This is most commonly performed with a utility called
Winzip.
- Cyberpunk
- Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking
place in a not-so-distant, utopian, over-industrialized society. The term
grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved
into a cultural label encompassing many different kinds of human, machine,
and punk attitudes. It includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well.
See Also: Cyberspace
- Cyberspace
- Term originated by author William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer",
the word Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information
resources available through computer networks.
- Domain Name
- The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always
have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most
specific, and the part on the right is the most general. A given machine
may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only
one machine. Usually, all of the machines on a given Network will
have the same thing as the right-hand portion of their Domain Names, e.g.
diamond.nb.net
www.nb.net
and so on. It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected
to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can
have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet
site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on
behalf of the listed Domain Name.
See Also: IP Number
- E-mail
- (Electronic Mail) -- E-mail is the most common use of the Internet.
It consists of messages, usually in the form of text, which is sent from
one person on the Internet to another. E-mail can also be sent to a large
number of addresses, which sometimes comes in the form of Spam.
Where an E-mail is traveling is decided by the E-mail address it is sent
to. Here is a typical E-mail address, this one being the E-mail address
of the president:
- [email protected]
- The above E-mail address has a few parts to it. The first is the username,
president. This designates which user will be receiving the letter.
The second part of the email address is the domain
name. In this case the domain name is whitehouse.gov. Your email
address will look something like this: [email protected]
- See also: Listserv , Maillist
- Emoticons
- Below are some of the common symbols people use to show emotion electronically.
You need to turn you head sideways to see most of them.
- :-) Smiling face. sometimes seen as
- <g> Grin
- :-( Sad face
- 8-) Smiley wearing glasses
- ;-) A wink
- :-o A look of shock
- :-p Tongue stuck out
- When communicating with a person via either E-mail
or Chat, if somebody uses all CAPITAL letters, they
are interpreted as shouting.
- Ethernet
- A very common method of connecting computers in a LAN. Just
about any computer can be hooked up to a LAN by using ethernet cards.
- See Also: Bandwidth , LAN
FAQ
- (Frequently Asked Questions) -- FAQs are documents that answer the
most common questions on a particular subject.
- Finger
- An Internet software tool for locating and retrieving informaton on
people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access
to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person
has an account at a particular Internet site. Fingering a user can give
you information about that user's account such as their email address,
shell type, and other information aswell.
- Fire Wall
- A combination of hardware and software that prevents attacks from outside
forces which try to hack their way into a computer system
- See Also: Network , LAN
- Flame
- A flame is a rude, or derogatory comment sent to a person on the Internet
meant to demean the other person(s).
- See Also: Flame War
- Flame War
- When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks
against the debators, rather than discussion of their positions. A heated
exchange.
See Also: Flame
- FTP
- (File Transfer Protocol) -- A common method of transferring files between
an Internet site and an Internet user. FTPing involves logging on to an
ftp server with a username and password, and then either retrieving or
sending a file.
- See Also: Anonymous FTP
- HTML
- (HyperText Markup Language) -- The coding language used to create Hypertext
documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML files are meant to
be viewed using a World Wide Web Client Program, such as Netscape
or Internet Explorer.
See Also: Client , Server ,
WWW
- HTTP
- (HyperText Transport Protocol) -- The protocol for moving hypertext
files across the Internet. HTTP is the most important protocol used
in the World Wide Web (WWW).
See Also: Client , Server ,
WWW
- Hypertext
- Generally, any text that contains "links" to other documents.
- IP Number
- (IP Address)
- Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP address. Amachine
must have an IP address in order to be on the Internet. Most machines also
have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember.
These domain names correspond to their IP address. For example, localconnect's
domain name is www.nb.net, while their IP address is 207.113.179.26
See Also: Domain Name
- IRC
- (Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically a huge multi-user live chat facility.
There are a number of major IRC servers around the world which are
linked to each other. Anyone can create a "channel" and anything
that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel.
Private channels can (and are) created for multi-person "conference
calls".
- See Also: Chat
- ISDN
- (Integrated Services Digital Network) -- Basically a way to move more
data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is rapidly becoming available
to much of the USA and in most markets it is priced very comparably to
standard analog phone circuits. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000
bits-per-second over regular phone lines. In practice, most people will
be limited to 56,000 or 64,000 bits-per-second.
- ISP
- (Internet Service Provider) -- An institution that provides access
to the Internet. localconnect is an Internet Service Provider.
- Kilobyte
- A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 bytes.
See Also: Byte , Bit
- LAN
- (Local Area Network) -- A computer network limited to the immediate
area, usually the same building or floor of a building. LAN's are usually
connected by ethernet.
See Also: Ethernet
- Listserv
- The most common kind of maillist.
- See Also: E-mail , Maillist
- Login
- The proccess of gaining access to a computer system by supplying your
username and password.
- See Also: Password
- Maillist
- (Mailing List) An automated system that allows people to send e-mail
to one address, which then forwards this letter to all of the other subscribers
on the Mailing List. Mailling lists usually focus on specific topics.
- Megabyte
- A unit of computer measurment. It equals amillion bytes, or
one thousand kilobytes.
See Also: Byte , Bit , Kilobyte
- Modem
- (MOdulator, DEModulator) -- A device that you connect to your computer
and to a phone line, that allows the computer to talk to other computers
through the phone system. Modems do for computers what a telephone does
for humans.
- Netiquette
- The etiquette on the Internet. Netiquette includes simple things
such as not sending spam, no flamming, and not using capital letters when
communicating.
See Also: Spam , Flame
- Netizen
- Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet.
- Network
- Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can
share resources and information.
- Newsgroup
- The name for discussion groups on the Usenet. Newsgroups enable to
you post messages and read other people's messages concerning a specific
topic.
See Also: Usenet
- Password
- A code used to gain access to a computer system. Good passwords contain
the combination of letters and numbers and should not contain any personal
information such as a maiden name, birthday, or other easily guessable
combinations.
See Also: Login
- POP
- Two commonly used meanings: "Point of Presence" and "Post
Office Protocol". A "Point of Presence" usually means a
city or location where a network can be connected to, often with dialup
phone lines. So if an Internet company says they will soon have a POP in
Pittsburgh, it means that they will soon have a local phone number in Pittsburgh
and/or a place where lines can connect to their network. A second meaning,
"Post Office Protocol" refers to the way e-mail software such
as Internet Mail gets mail from a mail server.
- See Also: SLIP , PPP
- Posting
- A single message entered into a network communications system.
EX: A single message "posted" to a newsgroup or message
board.
See Also: Newsgroup
- PPP
- (Point to Point Protocol) -- Most well known as a protocol that allows
a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP
connection and thus be really and truly on the Internet.
See Also: IP Number, SLIP
, TCP/IP
- Router
- A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection
between 2 or more networks. Routers spend all their time looking
at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them
and deciding which route to send them on.
See Also: Network
- Server
- A computer that provides a specific kind of service to client
software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular
piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which
the software is running. localconnect has multiple servers with many different
purposes. ruby.nb.net is the address of the mail server, while www.nb.net
is the address of the web server.
See Also: Client , Network
- SLIP
- (Serial Line Internet Protocol) -- A standard for using a regular telephone
line (a "serial line") and a modem to connect a computer
as a real Internet site. SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP.
See Also: PPP
- Spam (or Spamming)
- An inappropriate attempt if sending the same message to a large number
of people who didn't ask for it. The term probably comes from a famous
Monty Python skit which featured the word "spam" repeated over
and over. The term may also have come from someone's low opinion of the
food product with the same name, which is generally perceived as a generic
content-free waste of resources.
See Also: Maillist , Usenet
, E-mail
- Sysop
- (Systems Operator) -- Anyone responsible for the physical operations
of a computer system or network resource.
- Windows 95 "System Tray"
- The system tray is the "tray" on the taskbar containing system
related icons representing system controls. The clock is located here (unless
it is turned off) as well as icons such as volume control (if you have
a sound card installed.) Depending on your version of Windows95 (revision
A or B, plus upgrades) you may also see small icons representing your internet
connection and screen resolution settings here. Click here
for an image of the system tray.
- T-1
- A connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second.
At maximum theoretical capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte
in less than 10 seconds. T-1 is the fastest speed commonly used to connect
networks to the Internet.
See Also: 56K , Bandwidth
, Bit , Byte , Ethernet
, T-3
- T-3
- A connection capable of carrying data at 45,000,000 bits-per-second,
which is much faster then a T-1 connection.
See Also: 56K , Bandwidth
, Bit , Byte , Ethernet
, T-1
- Windows 95 "Taskbar"
- The Windows 95 Taskbar is the bar on your screen that contains icons
representing all running applications as well as the START button. Depending
on your specific setup, the taskbar may be on any of the four sides of
your monitor, and may be hidden (recovered when the mouse is moved over
the side of the screen on which the taskbar is located.) Click here for a image of the taskbar.
- TCP/IP
- (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) -- This is the suite
of protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for
the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now available
for every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet,
your computer must have TCP/IP software.
See Also: IP Number , UNIX
- Telnet
- The command and program used to login from one Internet
site to another. The telnet commmand/program gets you to the "login:"
prompt of another host.
- UNIX
- A computer operating system. UNIX is designed to be used by many people
at the same time (it is "multi-user") and has TCP/IP built-in.
It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet
and is the operating system used on localconnect's machines.
- URL
- (Uniform Resource Locator) -- The standard way to give the address
of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW).
A URL looks like this:
http://www.nb.net
or telnet://diamond.nb.net
- or news://pgh.forsale
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program,
such as Netscape, or Internet Explorer.
See Also: Browser , WWW
- Usenet
- A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among
hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all Usenet machines are on the Internet,
maybe half. Usenet is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion
areas, called newsgroups.
See Also: Newsgroup
- WWW
- (World Wide Web) -- This is one of the most common side of the Internet.
The WWW involves pictures, text, sound, and videos in the form of HTML.
- See Also: Browser , FTP ,
HTTP , Telnet , URL
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