Bandwidth
Blog
Broadband
Browser
Cyberspace
Dial-up Connection
Document
Download
FAQ
Firewall
FTP
GIF
Home Page
HTML
HTML Document
HTTP
JPEG
Links
MPEG
POP
Protocol
QuickTime
Search Engine
Static IP
Tags
URL
Web Browser
Web Document
Web Page
World Wide Web

 
 

Bandwidth
The range of transmission frequencies a network can use. The greater the bandwidth the more information that can be transferred over that network at one time. The term bandwidth also broadly includes throughput, meaning the amount of data sent.

Blog
A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in cronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominantly.

Broadband
A general term for different types of high-speed, high-bandwidth connections to the Internet, including DSL and cable.

Browser
A type of software that allows you to navigate information databases; examples are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Cyberspace
A term coined by William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer" to refer to a near-future computer network where users mentally travel through matrices of data. The term is now used to describe the Internet and the other computer networks.

Dial-up Connection
The most popular form of Net connection for the home user, this is a connection from your computer to a host computer over standard telephone lines.

Document
When used in reference to the World Wide Web, a document is any file containing text, media or hyperlinks that can be transferred from an HTTP server to a client program.

Download
To transfer to your computer a copy of a file that resides on another computer.

FAQ
This is the acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. A common feature on the Internet, FAQs are files of answers to commonly asked questions. Read FAQs before wasting electrons asking obvious questions. Saves you from receiving flames.

Firewall
This term refers to security measures designed to protect a networked system from unauthorized or unwelcome access.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a protocol that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another. FTP is also the verb used to describe the act of transferring files from one computer to another.

GIF
This acronym stands for Graphic Interchange Format, a commonly used file compression format developed by CompuServe for transferring graphics files to and from online services.

Home Page
The document displayed when you first open your Web browser. Home Page can also refer to the first document you come to at a Web site.

HTML
An acronym for Hyper Text Mark-up Language, HTML is the language used to tag various parts of a Web document so browsing software will know how to display that document's links, text, graphics and attached media.

HTML Document
A document written in Hyper Text Mark-up Language.

HTTP
The abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, HTTP is used to link and transfer hypertext documents.

JPEG
The acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is an image compression format used to transfer colour photographs and images over computer networks. Along with GIF, it's one of the most common ways photos are moved over the Web.

Links
These are the hypertext connections between Web pages. This is a synonym for hotlinks or hyperlinks.

MPEG
The acronym for Moving Pictures Expert Group, MPEG is an international standard for video compression and desktop movie presentation. A special viewing application is needed to run MPEG files on your computer.

POP
An acronym for Point of Presence, POP is a service provider's location for connecting to users. Generally, POPs refer to the location where people can dial into the provider's host computer. Most providers have several POPs to allow low-cost access via telephone lines.

Protocol
A set of standards that define how traffic and communications are handled by a computer or network routers.

QuickTime
This is a digital video standard developed for Apple Macintosh computers. Special viewing applications are needed to run QuickTime movies.

Search Engine
This term refers to a program that helps users find information in text-oriented databases.

Static IP
An IP address which is the same every time you log on to the Internet.

Tags
These are formatting codes used in HTML documents. Tags indicate how parts of a document will appear when displayed by browsing software.

URL
This is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator, the addressing system used in the World Wide Web and other Internet resources. The URL contains information about the method of access, the server to be accessed and the path of any file to be accessed.

Web Browser
This is the software that allows a user to access and view HTML documents. Examples of Web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mosaic, Cello and Lynx.

Web Document
An HTML document that is browsable on the Web.

Web Page
An HTML document that is accessible on the Web.

World Wide Web
Also known as WWW or W3, the World Wide Web is a hypertext-based Internet service used for browsing Internet resources.