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Beginner's Guide To Net Jargon And Computerese

  • 16 bit internet connection - not as good as a 32 bit connection but generally adequate.

  • 32 bit internet connection - a faster web connection that allows you to do some things you cannot do with a 16 bit connection (e.g. - ChessMaster On Line does not work with a 16 bit connection.)

  • attachment - a computer file that is sent by e-mail along with the typical text file or letter. The attachment could be a sound file, a long text file, a picture, a video clip, or ANY program - good or evil.

  • beta - a newly released program which needs to be tested. If you are willing to be a guinea pig, you can usually try out a beta program for free. In exchange you promise to notify the authors of any bugs or errors you encounter. There is risk in testing beta programs. If you do not have backups for your important files and programs, I suggest waiting for the final release of the program.

  • boot - start a computer.

  • browser - the computer program you use to surf the web, e.g.- Netscape Navigator 2.01, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.0, ...

  • bug - an inherent flaw in a program.

  • cache - your browser's folder that contains a copy of EVERYTHING from every web page you visit - text, images, sound files, etc. The advantage to keeping these items is that revisiting a page is faster. It is a good idea to purge your cache at least once a week. The disadvantages are numerous. The cache can take up quite a chunk of space on your hard drive. Your browser may only use the cache as a backup when a website is temporarily unavailable. Your cache may be limited in size and may become completely full.

  • cgi bin counter - visitors have been here.

  • channel - a chat room, a virtual place where people can talk (type) to one another.

  • chat - talk across the Internet by typing.

  • cheats - powerful hints for a computer game to make the game easier than the manufacturer ever intended.

  • cookies - computer files inserted into your computer when you visit certain websites and then updated when you revisit those sites. The site owner uses cookies to keep tabs on your visits. Cookie files are encoded so only the cookie owner can understand the contents. Cookies take up little space on your computer and can be deleted quite easily. However some cookies are useful. For example the New York Times password needed to view the paper is on a cookie.

  • copy - make an exact copy of a file or text fragment while leaving the original file or text fragment intact.

  • crash - cease to function. If your computer crashes, it must be turned off and restarted. Any work you were in the middle of that had not been saved is lost.

  • cut - remove a file or text fragment. That which has been cut may be pasted at a later time or even into a completely different section of your computer.

  • disk space - the amount of space available inside your computer to store information. Every computer allows you to check how much space is available. If you have Windows95, like me, double click on My Computer, right click on your hard drive icon (C:), and then click on Properties in the pulldown menu. Hopefully you have AT LEAST 10% Free space.

  • download - copy a file from another computer to your computer.

  • e-mail - e is for electronic.

  • FAQ - a Frequently Asked Question - e.g. - What is a FAQ?

  • freeware - computer programs that you may obtain free with no strings attached.

  • FTP - file transfer protocol is a means for getting files from other computers. This is what my primary FTP site looks like.

  • gopher - an older method for getting information through the Internet. (I have never used gopher.)

  • hard drive - the disk inside your computer where all of your information is saved.

  • hardware - all the physical components of your computer system. Floppy disks and CD roms themselves are hardware with software stored on them.

  • hints - a little help to get you through a difficult or inscrutable section of a computer game.

  • html - hyper text markup language - a computer language that all websites have agreed to follow. Without a common language there would be no World Wide Web. To view the html for this page - click on View at the top of the screen and then click on Source or Document Source in the pulldown menu.

  • http - hypertext transfer protocol - the current method for transferring information from other computers to yours.

  • hyperlink - a highlighted word or image that contains an invisible address. If you click on a hyperlink, you will go to that address. This could be a different part of the same web page, a different web page or a different part of your own computer.

  • icons - little pictures (on your computer screen) that are used instead of (or along with) words. When icons are clicked or double-clicked on, magical things can happen. Programs and files will open, or you could be whisked off to a new web page.

  • Inbox - a data folder that contains any e-mail that has been sent to you.

  • Internet - a worldwide interconnected network of computers.

  • IRC - Internet Relay Chat, a means of talking with more than one person in a chat room or chat channel. If you don't have a decent program for using IRC, download mIRC an excellent example of shareware at a reasonable price.

  • ISP - Internet Service Provider, a company that provides you with access to the Internet.

  • Java - a computer language that allows a web browser to run programs on the web. Java is compatible with virtually all kinds of computers and their operating systems.

  • link - a hyperlink. Also, as a verb, to join one web page to a different web page.

  • MB - megabyte, a million bytes (a measurement of data). A megabyte is quite a lot. This web page is about 6,500 bytes or 6.5 kilobytes (a kilobyte = 1000 bytes). The more bytes of data, the more time it takes a web page to load onto your computer. The little picture of the world is 1,255 bytes. The animated e-mail image is 15,503 bytes. This is why some websites take FOREVER to load onto your computer and also why I keep my graphics to a minimum.

  • mirror site - a clone of a web site that looks exactly the same and functions the same but has a different URL.

  • modem - your computer's telephone for talking to other computers.

  • multitask - chew gum AND walk, run more than one program at the same time. Windows95 is a common operating system that can do this.

  • off line - not connected to other computers, not connected to the Internet.

  • online or on-line or on line - connected to other computers, usually refers to being connected to all those interconnected computers on the Internet.

  • OS - operating system, the basic program that helps you to use your computer, e.g.- Windows95, Mac OS 7.x, Windows 3.1.

  • paste - place a cut or copied file into a different section of your computer or place a cut or copied text fragment into a different section of text.

  • RAM - random access memory, the active section of your computer where you actually do things.

  • reboot - restart a computer.

  • search engine - a computer (or network of computers) that is programmed to find specific words. Search engines are mindless automatons that look practically everywhere to find these words, BUT they are FAST !

  • server - a computer that serves many people in many locations at the same time, e.g. - a chat server allows you to use it to exchange messages with other people at other computers.

  • shareware - computer programs that you may try out for free but are expected to pay for or delete after the trial period (typically 30 days) is over.

  • software - computer programs that can be stored on your hard drive, floppy disks, or CD roms. Software may be transmitted to you over the Internet.

  • spam - electronic junk mail.

  • surf - explore the World Wide Web by jumping from website to website. (If you are reading this message, you are already a certified surfer!)

  • upload - send a copy of one of your files to another computer.

  • URL - Uniform Resource Locator - the web page's address.

  • Usenet - an enormous network of bulletin boards where everyone comments on everything. Personally I never use it.

  • virus - a program that has been created to systematically change or erase the contents of your hard drive. Viruses are created by asocial morons with personality disorders.

  • walkthrough - total beginning-to-end help for a computer game that has you stumped.

  • .wav file - extremely common file type for storing recorded sound. You cannot get a virus from a .wav file.

  • web page - what you are looking at now. Your browser will visit one web page at a time.

  • web ring - a group of web sites that agree to provide links to one another's web sites.

  • web site - a collection of web pages located in one computer and linked together. These web pages have a common theme, e.g. - NASA, Wal-Mart, Beginner's Guide To Life And The Internet, ...

  • World Wide Web or WWW - the entire collection of webpages stored in computers all around the world.

  • zip file - a computer file that has been squashed up to conserve space. It is unusable until it is unsquashed or unzipped. Programs that end in .exe can unzip themselves. To unzip programs that end in .zip you need to purchase an unzipping program like PKZip or WinZip.

    • If there are any other terms you think should be defined here,
    please send me an e-mail.

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