Internet Glossary

National Information Infrastructure

The official U.S. government name for the Internet and other computer networks. Commonly known as the Information Superhighway.

Netiquette

The rules of conduct for Internet users. Violating netiquette could result in flaming or removal from a mailing list. Some service providers will even cancel a user's Internet account, denying him or her access to the Net, if the violation is severe enough.

Netscape

Internet navigation software that allows users to access information through a graphical, point-and-click interface rather than text-only screens or menus. Netscape is known as a Web browser because it accesses World Wide Web information formatted into special home pages using hypertext. Other graphical Web browsers include Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mosaic, and Opera.

Net surfer

Someone who browses the Internet with no definite destination.

Network

A group of computers that are connected in some fashion. Most school networks are known as LANs, or Local Area Networks, because they are networks linking computers in one small area. The Internet could be referred to as a WAN, or a Wide Area Network, because it connects computers in more than one local area.

Newsgroups

These are the bulletin boards of the Internet. There are around 20,000 groups covering every subject under the sun. Most IAPs have a newsgroup server which periodically takes all new messages from a newsgroup feed and adds the messages which have been posted by its own users. To access the newsgroups stored on your IAPs newsgroup server you need a newsreader program.

OCR

Optical Character Recognition. Software that translates a scanned image of printed or typewritten text into a plain text file that can be read by a word processor.

Online/Offline

When you are logged onto a computer through your modem, you are said to be online. When you are using your computer but are not connected to a computer through your modem, you're said to be working offline.

Operating System

The operating system or OS is a program, or a collection of programs, that manages all your computer's resources - disk drives, RAM, display screen - and controls how files are stored and retrieved.

Packet

A bundle of data transmitted across a network. It contains the source address (where the packet has come from) the destination address (where it's going to) a packet identifier (what sort of packet it is) and the data being sent.

PC card

Short for PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. It is a standard-sized module used in laptops for memory expansion and other peripherals, including modem cards.

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect. A type of connector on computer motherboards, used for expansion or adapter cards.

PDF

Portable Document Format - a file format developed by Adobe Systems for capturing formatted page layouts for distribution. Requires the proprietary Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is now given away free of charge.

Electronic Writing offers an introduction to new writing techniques using computers and the Internet. It covers word-processing, desktop publishing, and how to create better-looking documents. Simple guidance notes provide an explanation of digital text, electronic mail, and an introduction to hypertext, including the basics of writing for the World Wide Web. Clear explanations in non-technical language.

PHP

A scripting language used for developing dynamic Web pages and sites. It is typically used on Solaris and Linux platforms.

Plug-in

An extra bit of software which has to be added to a Web browser before a certain type of file can be viewed. Recent browsers come with the most popular plug-ins pre-installed.

Portal

A Web site that acts as a doorway or introduction to many other Web sites that are sometimes grouped into categories [Yahoo is a famous example].

Posts

Email messages sent to a mailing list or Usenet newsgroup to be read by subscribers or others on the Internet.

Program

Used as a noun - a series of instructions which tell a computer what to do. Used as a verb - the act of writing or revising a program.

Public domain software

Shareware programs that are free to use and modify, as the author has relinquished control over the code.