Editor's Note: We often take for granted that people understand the jargon and terminology that's used so much on the Net. Following is a list of common (and not-so-common) words and their meanings. We thought you'd find it to be a good reference.
ASCII -American Standard Code for Information Interchange - a standardized 8-bit code which uses 7 binary bits for information and the eight bit for parity purposes.
Autoresponder - A program that automatically replies to incoming e-mail messages on your behalf by sending out prewritten text usually information about a company's products and services.
BANDWIDTH - the amount of information that can be sent through a connection measured in bits-per-second.
BAUD - the measurement of speed that a telephone or cable modem can transmit or receive in bits.
BBS - Bulletin Board System -a system that allows people to meet and leave messages, carry on discussions, and upload and download files without the people being connected to the computer at the same time.
BINHEX - Binary Hexadecimal - a method for converting binary files (applications) into ASCII format, this is needed because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII files.
BIOS - Basic Input-Output System - Computer software controlling input and output, e.g., the code stored in ROM (Read Only Memory) which allows the computer to communicate with the keyboard, monitor and disks drives as well as boot up an operating system.
BIT - Binary Digit - A single digit number in base-2, in other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerized data.
BPS - Bits-Per-Second - A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.
Browser - This is the program that allows you to visit all the various web sites. The two main browsers are the Microsoft Internet Explorer and the Netscape Navigator. Both of these can be purchased from most software stores.
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.
ASCII -CGI -Common Gateway Interface - A common way of communicating between processes on different machines.
DNS - (Domain Name Server) A program running on a server which automatically translates domain names into their correct TCP/IP addresses.
DOMAIN NAME - Each web site is physically housed in a computer connected to the Internet called a server. Servers owned and operated by Internet Service Providers (ISP's) have a certain number of assigned addresses, similar to street addresses for a home or office. When a name for a web site is selected, an address is assigned that is unique to that web site. In Internet language, site names are referred to as domain names.
DOS - Disk Operating System - preceded Windows, but has lessened in importance with each new version of Windows.
E-mail - Electronic Mail, Pictures, Files of all sorts can be sent instantly from your computer to anyone else with an e-mail address at no cost to either except for the monthly ISP connection fee.
ASCII -FTP - File Transfer Protocol - basic method for copying a file from one computer to another through the Internet.
Home Page - This is the first page that comes onto your computer screen when you enter the Internet. It is from this page that you search or travel to other points in the world wide web.
HTML - Document formatting language used to create pages on the World Wide Web.
ASCII -HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This tells your computer what language to use when searching for an Internet address or URL.
IP - Internet Protocol - protocol that governs how packets are built and sent over the network.
IP Address - groups of numbers used by Internet routers to direct packets. Individuals usually use the much easier to remember domain names.
ISP - Internet Service Provider, this is the subscription service needed to connect your computer with the Internet. Examples are American Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, AT&T. Most charge $20 per month for unlimited access.
Modem -A device that connects your desktop computer to a phone line to transfer data.
RS-232 - standard communications interface between a modem and terminal device.
Search Engine - These are web sites that will allow you to find just about anything on the Internet. They allow you to link to web sites of your choice and will tell you which web sites match your request for information. For example, say you enter "oceans" into your search engine, what will come up on your screen will be the number of web sites that match your request either exactly or approximately, then a listing of the individual web sites. Each listing will give you a description of the site and a percentage. The percentage is how close the site actually matches your request. Search engines will be your best friend and travel guide when searching or "surfing" the Internet. You may decide to make one of the search engines your home page.
Serial Output - sending only one bit at a time to and from interconnected devices.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator, this is the official name for a web site address, example http://workingfromhome2000.com
Web browser - The program used to search the World-Wide Web. Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer are the most popular, which require an Internet connection to use.
Web Site - A web site is a self contained area of text and graphical information that is owned by the person or organization that paid for its development. It is a collection of pages programmed for the World Wide Web. Though commonly thought of as an electronic brochure, a profitable web site goes beyond that to build one-to-one relationships with visitors.
World Wide Web -A rapidly growing, graphical Internet-based information system which gives easy, world-wide access to information. The "Web" is often used to refer to the collective network of web sites.
WWW - World Wide Web or the Internet This prefix is the beginning of most all web sites addresses.
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