Acrobat - Document exchange software from Adobe Systems, Inc. Acrobat provides a platform-independent means of creating, viewing, and printing documents using the Portable Document Format (PDF) which can be displayed on any computer with an Acrobat reader.The Acrobat reader can be downloaded free from Adobe.

Ad Click - A user’s click on an ad banner.Some ads are paid by the number of user clicks they receive.

Anarchie - A shareware application which provides fast FTP (file transfer protocol) and Web connections.

Applet - A little application. On the World Wide Web, there are many applets written in Java language which are attached to HTML documents.

Audio Streaming - Playing audio immediately as it is downloaded from the Internet, rather than storing it in a file on the receiving computer first. Streaming is accomplished by way of Web browser plug-ins, which decompress and play the file in real time; a fast computer and fast connection are necessary.

Avatar - A pictorial representation of a participant in a chat environment. The avatar is chosen by the user
and may look like a person, an object, or some other colorful character.

B2B - Business to business electronic commerce. Businesses conducting transactions with one another via the World Wide Web.

Backward-Compatible - A version of software that is able to coexist with older versions that may have been installed on the machine previously, and able to read files of the older version. Also called downward-compatible.

Bandwidth - The amount of data that can be sent through a network connection, measured in bits per second.

Benchmark - A standard test which is run on a computer, device, or program to give a measure of its performance.

Bit - Short for binary digit.The smallest unit of information a computer can hold.The value of a bit is 1 or 0.

Bit Rate - The speed at which bits are transmitted, in bits per second. Also called data rate.

Broadband - A transmission medium that can carry signals from multiple independent network carriers on a single coaxial or fiber optic cable, by establishing different bandwidth channels.This technique is called frequency-division multiplexing.

Byte - The smallest addressable unit of storage; the amount of memory space used to store one character, which is 8 bits.

Cable Modem - An external device that hooks up to your computer and instead of getting an internet connection through your telephone wire (or another system), you get a connection through your cable network (same place your cable TV connection comes from).

Cache - A temporary storage area for frequently-accessed or recently-accessed data. Having certain data stored in cache speeds up the operation of the computer. There are two kinds of cache: internal (or memory cache) and external (or disk cache).Internal cache is built into the CPU, and external cache is on the motherboard.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - A style sheet mechanism that has been specifically developed for Web page designers and users. Style sheets describe how documents are presented on screens, in print, and even in spoken voice. Style sheets allow the user to change the appearance of hundreds of Web pages by changing just one file.

Click Rate - The percentage of ad views that result in a user clicking on the ad.

Color Depth - The number of bits per pixel, which determines the number of shades of gray or variations of color that can be displayed by a computer monitor.

Column - A vertical set of data, as in a table or spreadsheet.The horizontal set of data is called a row.

Computerese - Technical jargon used by computer enthusiasts.

Cookie - A set of data that a Web site server gives to a browser the first time the user visits the site, that is updated with each return visit.The remote server saves the information the cookie contains about the user and the user's browser does the same, as a text file stored in the Netscape or Internet Explorer system folder.

Cyber Cash - (Electronic cash) a way of transferring funds in online transactions.

Cyber Space - A term coined by author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer. Cyberspace refers to the electronic space created by computers connected together in networks like the Internet.

Database - A large collection of data organized for rapid search and retrieval.

DHTML - Dynamic HTML. HTML documents with dynamic content; the three components of DHTML pages are HTML, JavaScript, and cascading style sheets.The three components are tied together with DOM, the Document Object Model.

Dial Up - A type of Internet connection, you dial up the Internet service provider using a standard phone line and a modem.

Domain Name - An Internet address in alphabetic form.Domain names must have at least 2 parts: the part on the left which names the organization, and the part on the right which identifies the highest subdomain, such as the country (fr for France, uk for United Kingdom) or the type of organization (com for commercial; edu for educational, etc.).

DSL - Digital Subscriber Line or Digital Subscriber Loop. A technology which enables high-speed transmission of digital data over regular copper telephone lines.

DVD - Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc. An optical storage medium which has greater capacity and bandwidth than a CD.DVDs can be used for multimedia and data storage. A DVD has the capacity to store a full-length film with up to 133 minutes of high quality video in MPEG-2 format, plus audio.

e-Business - Business conducted using electronic media such as the Internet, computer networks, wireless transmissions, etc.

Edutainment - Material (such as an interactive CD-ROM) that is both educational and entertaining.

Emoticons - Typewritten pictures of facial expressions, used in e-mail and when communicating on the Internet, to indicate emotion. They are also called smileys :-) .

Extranet - The part of a company or organization's internal computer network which is available to outside users, for example, information services for customers.

File Transfer Protocol - (FTP) A protocol for exchanging files with a host computer, or from one computer to another.

Firewall - An electronic boundary that prevents unauthorized users from accessing certain files on a network; or, a computer used to maintain such a boundary.

Flame - An angry message on a newsgroup or mailing list, often a personal attack instead of a remark relevant to the subject under discussion.Also, to post such a message.

GIF - Graphics Interchange Format. A format used for displaying bitmap images on World Wide Web pages, usually called a "gif" because .gif is the filename extension. Pronounced correctly with a hard "G". These files use lossless compression and can have 256 colors. JPEG and GIF are commonly used for online images; JPEG is considered best for photos, GIF for graphic images.

Gigabyte - One billion bytes. Abbreviated GB, Gbyte or G-byte. (One thousand twenty four megabytes.)

Graphical User Interface - (GUI) An interface that has pictures as well as words on the screen. Originally invented by Xerox, the idea was made hugely successful by Apple Computers. With windows, icons, pull-down menus, and the mouse, the graphical user interface is easier to learn and work with. Microsoft followed Apple's lead with the release of Windows 3.1.

Hacker - 1. An expert programmer who finds special tricks for getting around obstacles and stretching the limits of a system. 2. To some people it means an unconventional programmer or one who is not formally trained, or one who jerry-rigs programs, (making temporary fixes that are not well-done).

Handshaking - The exchange of signals back and forth over a network to establish a valid connection between two computers.

HTML - HyperText Markup Language.The language used to create World Wide Web pages, with hyperlinks and markup for text formatting (different heading styles, bold, italic, numbered lists, insertion of images, etc.).

HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol.The protocol most often used to transfer information from World Wide Web servers to browsers, which is why Web addresses begin with http://. Also called Hypertext Transport Protocol.

Inference - A process of deriving new facts from facts already known, by means of the rules of logic.

Interactive - A term for computer programs that accept input from the user while they are running; for example, a game that waits for the user to take an action, then responds to that action.The interaction between computer and user may take place through typed commands, voice commands, mouse clicks, or other means of interfacing.

Internet - This worldwide information highway is comprised of thousands of interconnected computer networks, and reaches millions of people in many different countries. The Internet was originally developed for the United States military, and then became used for government, academic and commercial research and communications. Contrary to myth, Al Gore had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Intranet - A localized area network which may or may not be connected to the Internet, but which has some similar functions. Some organizations set up World Wide Web servers on their own internal networks so employees have access to the organization's Web documents.

IP Address - The Internet Protocol address; a numeric address such as 123.231.32.2 that the domain name server translates into a domain name.

ISP - Internet Service Provider.A company that provides Internet accounts.

Jargon - The specialized or technical language of a trade; for example, computerese.

JAVA - A cross-platform programming language from Sun Microsystems that can be used to create animations and interactive features on World Wide Web pages. Java programs are embedded into HTML documents.

JFIF - JPEG File Interchange Format.

JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group.A format for storing high-quality color and grayscale photographs in bitmap form; also the group that developed the format.JPEG provides lossy compression by segmenting the picture into small blocks which are divided to get the desired ratio; the process is reversed to decompress the image.JPEG uses the JPEG File Interchange Format, or JFIF.

Kilobyte - One thousand bytes (103) or 1024 (210) bytes. A unit of measurement used for computer file sizes.

Kiosk - A small, stand-alone structure found on college campuses, in shopping malls, etc., which provides directories and other public information by means of a computer display and keyboard or touch screen.

LAN - Local Area Network.A network that connects computers that are close to each other, usually in the same building, linked by a cable or a series of cables.

Latency - The time lag between the beginning of a request for data and the moment it begins to be received.

Link - A pointer in an HTML document that leads to another World Wide Web site, or to another place within the same document; also called a hyperlink.

Megabyte - (MB, mb, Mbyte, M-byte) 1,024 kilobytes. Used to measure computer memory.Sometimes used to mean 1 million bytes or 1,024,000 bytes (1,000 kilobytes).

MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A way of communicating instructions for playing music from one electronic device to another.

MIME - (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). Extensions to the Internet mail format that allow it to carry multiple types of data (binary, audio, video, graphics, etc.) as attachments to e-mail messages.

Mnemonic - A memory aid; a word or expression which isdesigned to be easier to remember than what it represents. Mnemonics are used in programming; for example, assembly language instructions are mnemonics for the binary patterns of machine code.

MP3 - Stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3. A popular music download format.MP3 produces CD-quality music in a compressed file that can be transferred quickly, and played on any multimedia computer with MP3 player software.

Multicast - Two-way communication between multiple sites, as in videoconferencing; or sending a communication from one site to a group of selected receivers.

Multimedia - Communication that uses any combination of different media, and may or may not involve computers. Multimedia may include text, spoken audio, music, images, animation and video.The large amounts of data required for computer multimedia files makes CD-ROMs a good option for storage; but there are other ways of receiving multimedia communications, such as the World Wide Web. Multimedia programs are often interactive, and include games, sales presentations, encyclopedias, and more.

Nanosecond - (ns) One billionth of a second (10^-9).The speed at which a computer performs logical operations is measured
in nanoseconds.

Net2Phone - A technology developed by IDT Corporation which makes it possible to place domestic and international calls from a personal computer to any telephone in the world.

Netiquette - The rules of etiquette on the Internet.

Netizen - A citizen of the Internet community: a worldwide, instantaneously linked, and organically egalitarian population.

Network - A group of interconnected computers, including the hardware and software used to connect them.

Newsgroup - A discussion group on the Internet which is focused on a particular topic. Discussion takes place by posting messages for everyone to read, having online conversations, and sending email messages to individuals or the group. There are thousands of newsgroups on different subjects.

NTSC - National Television Standards Committee. Or National Television Systems Committee. A committee of the Electronics Industries Association.NTSC is the standard television video signal format used in the U.S.and Japan.

Object-Oriented - (OO) Having to do with or making use of objects; an object in this sense is a component containing both data and instructions for the operations to be performed on that data.In object-oriented programming, these reusable components are linked together in various ways to create applications.

Offline - Not online. Not connected to the computer or peripheral devices, or not connected to a computer network.

Omnidirectional - In all directions.

Palm OS - An operating system specifically engineered for handheld devices and the small amount of memory they use.

PDA - Personal Digital Assistant.A pocket-sized personal computer.PDAs usually can store phone numbers, appointments, and to-do lists.Some PDAs have a small keyboard, others have only a special pen that is used for input and output.

Peer to Peer Network - A communications network in which any computer on the network can be a client and/or a server. Any computer can access files on any other computer in the network.

Ping - Packet Internet Groper. A program used to test whether a particular network destination is online, by sending an Internet control message protocol (ICMP) echo request and waiting for a response.

POP - (web) Post Office Protocol. A protocol used by mail clients to download messages from a mail server on the Internet.

Portals - Web pages that serve as gateways to the Internet. A user can set up a browser to open on a favorite portal page, which is a starting point for web surfing. Common portals are Search Engines, Link Rings and Web directories.

Preemptive Multitasking - A type of multitasking where the computer or operating system can interrupt a currently running task in order to run another task, as needed.

Query Language - A language used for querying a database or other type of file.

QuickTime - A multi system application that allows the user to integrate full motion video and / or audio into applications.

Rasterize - To convert images into raster (bitmap) form for display or printing. Vector graphics, and vector and outline fonts must be rasterized for printing or display; all output of a display screen or printer is in raster format.

Retrocomputing - Emulation of outdated technology using more modern computers, sometimes done humorously.

Rich Media - Presentations that communicate their messages using a combination of media; a rich media presentation may include text, graphics, animation, sound, video, etc.

ROTFLOL (Chat Expression) - Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Load.

Scalability - Ability to easily change in size or configuration to suit changing conditions.

Scrollable Window - A window that is not fully displayed on screen but can be scrolled in a direction to reveal its contents.

Search Engine - A program on the Internet that allows users to search for files and information.

Secure Sockets Layer - (SSL) A protocol from Netscape Communications Corporation, which is designed to provide secure communications on the Internet.

Server - The computer in a client/server architecture that supplies files or services.The computer that requests services is called the client.The client may request file transfer, remote logins, printing, or other available services.

SGML - Standard Generalized Markup Language. A generic language for writing markup languages. SGML makes possible different presentations of the same information by defining the general structure and elements of a document. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is based on SGML.

Shockwave - A program, available as a plug-in, which enables a browser to view files, presentations or multimedia applications created with Macromedia Director or Macromedia Freehand.

Sneakernet - A means of moving a file from one computer to another by putting it on removable media and carrying it across the room manually.

Social Engineering - Breaking an organization’s security by interactions with people; for example, tricking someone into giving out a password.

Stuffit - A file compression utility from Aladdin Systems, available as shareware. Files downloaded from the Internet often are in Stuffit format, and can be decompressed with Stuffit Expander.

Teleconferencing - Interactive communication among several people at different locations ("tele-" means long distance). It may involve audioconferencing, videoconferencing, or data conferencing.

TCP/IP - The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) on top of the Internet Protocol (IP). These protocols were developed by DARPA to enable communication between different types of computers and computer networks.The Internet Protocol is a connectionless protocol which provides packet routing.TCP is connection-oriented and provides reliable communication
and multiplexing.

Typography - The art of choosing and combining styles, and sizes of type and arranging them to create an attractive layout.

Unpack - To open a file which has been compressed with a data compression program, returning it to its original size.

Upload - To transfer files or data from one computer to another.To download means to receive; to upload means to transmit.

Uptime - The time during which a computer system is operational, in contrast with downtime.

Usenet - Users' Network.A giant public bulletin board system on the Internet for news and electronic mail.

Vapoware - Software that is announced long before it is ready for sale, and that sometimes never materializes. A tactic used by Microsoft to combat products in markets where they are behind or non existent.

Vector Graphics - A way of representing pictures by designating coordinates and drawing lines or geometric shapes in relation to them.Vector graphics are different from raster graphics, in which an image is stored as a collection of pixels. In vector graphics, the image is saved as a file containing instructions for drawing it. One advantage of vector graphics over raster graphics is that a picture can be enlarged or reduced without losing quality.

W3C - W3 Consortium (World Wide Web Consortium); also called W3O. The main body that creates standards for the World Wide Web.Based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), it also produces reference software.

Web Browser - A program such as Mosaic, Netscape, Internet Explorer, and others that are used to view pages on the Web.

Webcast - Broadcasting information over the World Wide Web.

XML - Extensible Markup Language. A programming language developed by the World Wide Web Consortium; essentially a simplified version of SGML that allows Web developers to create customized tags that will organize and deliver content more efficiently. Microsoft is a huge proponent of XML, claiming it will replace HTML and become the next industry standard.