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This page is designed to ease Internet newcomers into the swing of the online community. Here you will see defined the Internet and computer terms that you hear on the street, in the office, and on the news that make you scratch your head and wish for simpler times. So, if you have come here looking for something specific, you should have no trouble as everything is conveniently alphabatized. If you are truly an Internet newcomer, then you might want to browse through this repository from top to bottom, and check back as it grows.
ASCII:
An acronym for "(A)merican (S)tandardized (C)ode for (I)nformation (I)nterchange."
When someone figured out long ago that computers could be made to communicate
with each other across networks, they also discovered that a standard set of
symbols (i.e., letters, numbers and such) could greatly speed the process.
Thus, ASCII was born (it's pronounced "ask-e"). ASCII assigns
just about every character you could ever want to use on your keyboard a simple
number designation (including letters in other languages), so that computers can more readily understand one
another. ASCII is a concept best suited to eggheads, however, so you
probably don't need to become too enmeshed in it.
BIOS:
"BIOS" stands for "(B)asic (I)nput (O)utput (S)ystem" and is
pronounced "by-ose." When your computer first starts (or "boots" as it's sometimes called),
it needs some very basic instructions for it to get going (e.g., how to turn on
all your hardware and start your operating system). The BIOS in your
computer is what accomplishes this task. The BIOS actually resides in a
few tiny microchips inside of every computer, so it's not an actual part of the
machine with which you'll have much experience. You can fiddle with the
BIOS in your computer to change various settings, but it's generally not a good
idea to do so. Some people are fiddlers--they like to fiddle around with
things to see how much it takes to break them. If you are one of these
people, PLEASE do not fiddle with your BIOS. You can seriously muck things
up in the BIOS if you don't know what you're doing, so just let it do its job
in anonymity, and you and your computer will be a happy couple for years to
come.
Blue Screen (of Death):
The blue screen, or the "blue screen of death" as it is sometimes
called, is a warning screen that is associated with the Windows operating system,
although other operating systems have similar features. The blue screen
gets its name from the fact that it is, in fact, a blue-colored screen. When
you see a blue screen, it will be a warning that something is wrong with Windows
for whatever reason (and there are lots of reasons, believe me). The blue screen is usually a bit more specific, but
don't expect much. Generally, after seeing a blue screen, it is a good
idea to close all of your programs and reboot the computer.
Browser:
The word "browser" is an easy one. In fact, if you're viewing this page
right now, you're probably using a browser (unless, for some unfathomable reason, someone
printed this page out for you). A browser is a computer program that allows you to
view web pages on the Internet. To be truthful, however, browsers let you do much
more than just view web pages. They also let you download software, play
games, and just generally let you get the most out of the Internet. Some examples of
browsers are Microsoft's
Internet Explorer, Netscape,
and Opera.
Chat Room:
You've probably heard a lot about "chat rooms" by now, and how everybody but you
is having so much fun in them. Well, prepare to be disapointed :-) A chat
room is little more than a roped-off section of the Internet where a group of people can
gather and "chat" together. This involves people typing messages to each
other which are displayed to everyone in the room almost instantaneously. Generally,
chat rooms are differentiated by their topic of interest. For example, when
searching out a suitable chat room for your tastes, you will see rooms dedicated to
various subjects such as "cars," "movies," "flowers,"
"poetry," and many others ranging from the very general (e.g.,
"movies") to the very specific (e.g., "romance_movies_of_1949").
In fact, there are literally thousands of different chat rooms out there, so the trick is
to find one that you can stand. The activity in a chat room consists of typing in
messages/questions/annoying quibbles/etc to the other inhabitants of the room, and then
awaiting their responses. Activity in chat rooms can range from the maddeningly
boring (e.g., talking to someone named "Gunther" about the consistency of German
flapjack flour) to the insanely heated (e.g., talking to a room full of NRA members about
Clinton's new firearm legislation). Inside of any given chat room, the only people
who can hear/read what you say/type are the people actually in that room, so it's not like
you're talking to the entire Internet, but only the people you can see listed in the chat
room. Many chat rooms can be accessed through your browser, but for
some you may need a special program (e.g., one such program is called "mIRC," and it's free as of this writing).
Well, enough talk. Check out some chat rooms yourself, and you'll see what I
mean. Follow this link for a bunch of
'em.
Client:
Believe it or not, you, right at this moment, are a client. A client, as
this term applies to Internet usage, is someone (or rather, some computer) who
requests a service from another computer. So, by viewing this web page
right now, you are requesting the information from our servers, which then send
the information to your computer, which then displays the information to you
through your browser. As you will probably agree, the client-server
relationship on the Internet is vitally important and truly massive.
Cookie:
No, it's not full of chocolate chips. This kind of cookie is a small file that
resides on your computer and contains some information about you. There has been a
lot of talk in the recent past about how cookies can either destroy your computer, steal
your credit card number, or just generally muck up your life. Most of this talk is greatly
exaggerated. Cookies do store information about either you or your computer, but
they do so only to facilitate your on-line browsing experience. For example, cookies
are sometimes used on those on-line shopping stores that you may have seen around the
'net. It may be that when you surf to one of these stores on the Internet, they will
create a cookie on your computer that tells them what you bought. Then, the next
time you return to the store, their web page will read that cookie, see what you have
bought in the past, and perhaps inform you of any special new deals that coincide with
your tastes. And by the way, cookies are "site specific," which means that
only the web site that put the cookie on your computer can actually read it again, it's
off limits to anyone else. Still, some people don't like cookies. If you are
one of them, you can tell your browser that you do not wish to accept any cookies.
Here's a site that can help protect your privacy on the Internet: The
Anonymizer. To learn more about cookies, check out this link.
Cyberspace:
"Cyberspace" is the term used to describe the virtual world of the
Internet. Generally speaking, whenever you're interacting with the
Internet, you are in cyberspace. When you're surfing the 'net, you're in
cyberspace. When you're sending e-mail, you're in cyberspace. When
you're racking up the frags in a wicked Quake deathmatch, you're in cyberspace
(don't worry if you don't understand this last one--I'm just a geek :-).
The term "cyberspace" was actually first coined by a man named William
Gibson in his most excellent novel entitled Neuromancer. If you
haven't read it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
Download:
To "download" a file is to transfer it from another computer to
your computer across a network. This can be done through a standard web or
browser interface, or sometimes it is done with an FTP program.
Emoticon:
Are you happy? Well, I am, so I think I'll express myself :-) Now, what's all
that junk at the end of the last sentence, you say? That's an emoticon. Yes,
that's right, the colon, hyphen, and right-parenthesis form a figure known as an emoticon.
If you can't tell what it depicts right off the bat, just tilt your head to the
left and look again. Do you see a smiley face? I hope so, because that's what
it is, and there are many more varieties from which to choose. Cyber geeks use emoticons
to attach some emotional significance to their words (usually in e-mail, but also in chat
rooms, etc.). You can use an emoticon to let someone in on your general emotional
state. If you're happy, you might want to use a smiley face like the one above.
There are, however, many more to choose from. Take a look at some of these to
get an idea-- ;-) :-] :^) 8o) :-D and so forth.
If you're sad or angry, you might use one of the following-- :-( :-/
8-< and so forth. There are many many others, however. To learn more
about emoticons, follow this
link.
FAQ:
FAQ stands for "(F)requently (A)sked (Q)uestions" and it's
pronounced like "fak" (it rhymes with "back"). This
whole section of definitions, for example, is part of a FAQ.
FTP:
"FTP" stands for "(F)ile (T)ransfer (P)rotocol." As you might
guess, FTP is a way for computers to transfer information back and forth.
If you're just a casual Internet user, you may never have cause to learn about
FTP, but if you've been on the 'net for a while, you've most likely had some
experience with FTP. At its core, FTP is just a simplified way to upload
and download files across networks.
Hardware:
The actual physical components of a computer system. For example, your
monitor, your video card, your printer, your mouse, and your processor are all
hardware. Your operating system, and your word processor would be
software.
HTML:
"HTML" stands for "(H)yper(T)ext (M)arkup (L)anguage."
HTML is the programming language in which most Internet Web pages are
written. The page you are reading now was made with HTML. As far as
programming languages go, HTML is very simplistic and English-like. To get
a look at some raw HTML, go to the top of your browser,
choose "View" and then choose "Source." This will open
up another window displaying the HTML used to create this page.
HTTP:
This is a weird one. "HTTP" is a part of almost every
Internet address you will ever use. You can look up in the address bar of
your browser right now and probably see "HTTP" up there in front of
the "www.gwe.net." What "HTTP" stands for is this: (H)yper(T)ext
(T)ransfer (P)rotocol. What this actually means is not really important to
your everyday Internet usage. Just think of it as a way for servers to
transfer information to browsers.
Internet Service Provider (or "ISP" for short):
An Internet service provider is an organization that allows you to connect
to the Internet and utilize all it has to offer. We, for example, are an
ISP (and GWE.Net is our name). Other examples
of ISPs are plentiful, but alas, my memory seems to be failing . . . :-)
Link:
A link, when referring to the Internet, is a section of a web page you can click
on, which will then take you to another site or another section of the same
site. Most links (or "hyperlinks" as they are sometimes called)
will be underlined in an easily recognizable color. For example, this link will take you back to the top of this page,
but it could just as easily take you to another site entirely. Links need
not be just simple text, however, they can also be pictures.
Megabyte:
A megabyte is a unit of measurement. Now before I get started, it's probably not a
good idea to place too much significance on megabytes. It's good to know what the
term means, but you don't really need to know the specifics (unless you're a real geek :-)
Ok, on with the show. A megabyte is a standard way to measure memory used by
computers and electronic media. For example, the hard drive in your computer (i.e.,
the thing that stores all the programs) is rated in megabytes. Your hard drive might
be 200 megabytes, 400 megabytes, or even higher. When you hit 1000 megabytes, the
terminology changes slightly. Just like 1000 millimeters is equal to 1 meter, 1000
megabytes is equal to 1 gigabyte. So, when hard drives get up into the 1000 megabyte
range, they are often called 1 gigabyte hard drives or 1.5 gigabyte for 1500 megabytes,
for example. The ram in your computer is rated in the same
manner. You might have 4 megabytes of ram (blah!), 16, 32, 64, 128, or even 256
megabytes of ram, the more the better. It used to be that 1 megabyte was a big chunk
of memory, but nowadays it's chickenfeed. If all you're doing is writing text files
and storing them, or dealing with other non resource-intensive programs, then 1 megabyte
will probably still go a long way. But when you start dealing with some of the
graphics intensive programs of today, you may need hundreds and hundreds of
megabytes. Just like the metric system is a decimal scale based on 10, so too is the
megabyte system (well, sort of--keep reading). Check this out:
8 bits = 1 byte
1000 bytes = 1 kilobyte
1000 kilobytes = 1 megabyte
1000 megabytes = 1 gigabyte
1000 gigabytes = 1 terabyte
That's the basic and streamlined version of the "byte" system. You'll notice that this scale is not really the same as the metric scale. This is because the memory scale above is actually based on 8 rather than 10. I guess 10 was just a more convenient number for human beings to use than 8. Taking this into account, we get the following octal scale, which is the true scale for memory:
8 bits = 1 byte
1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte
1024 kilobytes = 1 megabyte
1024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte
1024 gigabytes = 1 terabyte
Therefore, 1 megabyte is actually equal to 1,048,576 bytes (g'head, do the math).
Like I said earlier, don't place too much significance on all these numbers. The important thing to remember about megabytes and memory in general is that it follows a fairly linear scale, and as with most things in life, more is better.
Netiquette:
The Internet form of etiquette. Just like you wouldn't start shouting at
someone for no reason in real life, you also would not do this to someone in
cyberspace by way of typing your message IN ALL CAPS! There are many other
forms of courtesy that could/should be extended to all those you meet in
cyberspace. Check out this
link for more about netiquette.
Network:
A "network" is the term used to define two or more computers that
are connected by means of a common program language. For example, the
Internet is the largest network the world has ever seen, and when you are
connected to the Internet, you are also a part of this network. Smaller networks
are also common in many organizations in which more than one computer is needed
to do some hefty work. Here at GWE, for instance, we have a network of
computers (also called "servers") that keep the place running.
Newbie:
Slang term for a newcomer to the Internet or to computers in general.
Newsgroup:
A particular section or interest group of the Usenet. Newsgroups cover the
gamut of human interests, so no matter what you're into, you should be able to
find a newsgroup dedicated to it. Basically, a newsgroup is a large
message board on which users can post their thoughts on particular subjects so
that other users can then read them and post responses. If you have a
fairly new browser, then you should be able to access newsgroups
directly through
it. If, however, you're using an older browser, then you might need some
special third-party software to access the newsgroups (one that comes to mind is
"Free Agent.")
Operating System:
Your operating system is the program that makes your software run and your hardware work. You've probably
heard of a few of them: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, DOS, Linux, Unix, MacOS, etc.
All of these are operating systems, and they are the programs that let you
manipulate files, run your own programs, etc. Think of an operating system as the
backbone of your computer; without one, your computer would be helpless/worthless.
POP:
This stands for "(P)ost (O)ffice (P)rotocol." It's the part of
an email server that allows you to download your mail. The counterpart to
a POP server is an SMTP server.
Processor:
The microchip inside of your computer that does all of the actual
computing. When you buy a computer, a sizable chunk of what you shell out
is for the processor. There are a number of processors on the market, some
faster than others, some cheaper than others. Some examples are Intel
Corporation's "Pentium" and "Celeron" line of processors, AMD's "K6" line
of processors, and the venerable 286, 386, and 486 processors from Intel.
Ram and Rom:
"Ram" stands for "(R)andom (A)ccess (M)emory," while "Rom" stands for
"(R)ead (O)nly (M)emory." The most important of these two terms by far is ram.
When someone asks, "How much ram do you have?" what they mean is, "How many
megabytes of memory does your computer have?" Most computers being sold today
come standard with at least 32 megabytes of ram, but you might also have 64, or 128
megabytes, it just depends on the kind of computer you have and how fast you want it to
run. The more ram you have, the faster your machine will run. The term
"Rom" will generally only be heard or seen in connection with CD-ROMs, and we
all know what they are. As you can probably tell from the name, CD-ROMs use Read
Only Memory, and can therefore only be read from, not written to. So don't try
saving your work to a CD-ROM, it just won't work--unless, of course, you have a
special piece of hardware known as a CD-R (short for "Compact Disc-Recordable")
or a CD-RW (short for "Compact Disc-ReWritable").
Reboot:
To "reboot" a computer is to shut it down, and then to restart it
a few seconds later. Reboots are normally done to fix some problem with
the operating system, or to free up some system memory, or to reconfigure your
system settings after adding new hardware. There are two kinds of reboot,
a warm and a cold reboot. A warm reboot is achieved by hitting the Control
(Ctrl), Alternate (Alt), and Delete (Del) keys on your keyboard
simultaneously. A cold reboot is achieved by actually switching off the
power supply to the computer, and then switching it back on. If you need
to reboot, the warm variety is better for your computer because this puts less
stress on the actual processor than would a cold reboot.
Server:
A server is just another name for a computer that performs some kind of function
for you over the Internet. For example, the computers that you connect to here at
GWE are called servers because they perform a service for you (i.e., they allow you to
access the Internet). Servers (as this term applies to computers on the Internet)
typically hold information about where web sites are located and the actual content these
sites provide. So, for example, when you go to www.amazon.com,
your computer is actually querying amazon's server(s) for a web page that will then be
displayed on your monitor. When you make a request to a server, you are
what is known as a client.
Screensaver:
A program that displays an image or series of images on your monitor after a
set period of inactivity. Screensavers are designed to, believe it or not,
save your screen. If a single, repetitive image is displayed on your
monitor for too long (e.g., hours and hours), it can actually cause damage to
your monitor. This is why screensavers are handy little programs to
have. The way they work is this: after your computer detects that it has
been sitting idle for a certain amount of time (e.g., 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1
hour, etc.), it will engage the screensaver to prevent any images from
"burning" themselves into your monitor. The screensaver will
then run until you do something with the computer such as hit a key on the
keyboard or move the mouse. At this point, your computer will return to
its normal working state. To learn a little more about screensavers, and
perhaps to download a few for your own use, check out this
page.
SMTP:
This stands for "(S)imple (M)ail (T)ransfer (P)rotocol." It's
the part of an email server that allows you to upload, or send, your mail.
The counterpart to an SMTP server is a POP server.
Software:
The electronic media (i.e., programs or applications) that you run on your
computer. For example, your accounting program, your operating system, and
your screensaver are all pieces of software. Your keyboard and your
scanner would be hardware.
Spam:
In the computer world, spam is unsolicited, commercial e-mail. I believe "spam"
was dubbed so because of the unidentifiable meat-product of the same name.
If they have anything in common, it's that nobody wants either one. When
you get offers that you did not request in your e-mail for free vacations to the
Bahamas/XXX porno/unbelievable business opportunities, this is spam.
Surf:
To "surf" is definitely not to wax up your board and hang ten.
When talking about the Internet, to "surf" means to fire up your
browser, visit some web pages, and maybe even download some software. So,
to recap, someone who is surfing the 'net is basically exploring the Internet to
their heart's content. Right now, you are surfing the 'net just by reading
this page.
Three Fingered Salute:
Slang term for a warm reboot.
Upload:
To "upload" a file is to transfer it from your computer to another
computer across a network, usually by means of some sort of FTP program.
URL:
Acronym for "(U)niform (R)esource (L)ocator," or in English, an
"address." If you look at the top portion of your browser right
now, you will probably see a place in which you can type in an address. To
computers on the Internet, this address is known as a URL. For example, http://www.gwe.net
is a valid URL because when you click on the link, an actual web page is
displayed. Here is an example of an invalid URL: http://www.gwe.com.
Note the difference between the two. It's not a large difference, but it's
large enough to confuse a computer, so be careful when typing in URLs: they need
to appear exactly as they are given.
Usenet:
The term used to refer to the entire collection of newsgroups on the Internet.
Virus:
A computer "virus" is a hidden and usually very small program that can wreak
havoc with your computer and potentially all the programs you have stored on it.
Viruses are dangerous, but they're probably not as dangerous (or common) as you might
think. I have personally been on the Internet for years, and I have never been
infected by a computer virus. However, I also know of people who have been on the
Internet for 2 weeks before they caught their first virus. If you take some
reasonable precautions, and exercise some common sense when downloading from the 'net and
when reading e-mail, you will most likely never have to deal with a computer virus.
The troubles a virus can create on your computer are varied. It can be something as
serious as an erasure of your hard drive, to something as trivial as an annoying beep
every time you hit the "Q" key on your keyboard. If you are worried about
viruses, probably the best things you can do are to, #1: Be informed, and #2: Invest in a
good virus scanner. To learn more about viruses, follow this link (this is a
FAQ about viruses). To learn
more about virus scanners, follow this
link.
WYSIWYG:
An acronym for "(W)hat (Y)ou (S)ee (I)s (W)hat (Y)ou (G)et" and it's
pronounced "whiz-e-wig." And I bet you thought this term was
uttered only in the used car business :-)