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Term |
Details |
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Bandwidth |
A term used to express data transmission speed. A "bandwidth of 10 megabits" means the line can transfer data at the rate of 10 million bits per second. The more bandwidth there is, the faster web pages load.
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Bit |
A bit is the smallest unit of information a computer can hold. |
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Bookmarks / Favorites |
It's a way of remembering frequently-used web pages so that you can return to them later without knowing their actual address. In Internet Explorer this is called a 'favorite' as in the phrase 'Add to Favorites'.
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Bps |
Bytes per second. See also bit. |
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Broadband |
High speed Internet access. |
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Cache |
Pronounced "cash". Temporary storage space within the web browser, used to store the most recently visited web pages. Also refered to as 'Temporary Internet Files'. |
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Cookie |
Cookies are a way of storing and retrieving information from your browser. They can make surfing easier, faster, more personal and more efficient. You can set your browser so that it warns you before you accept a cookie from a web site - or even refuses to accept them at all. Bear in mind, though, that some secure sites won't work if you don't accept their cookies.
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Domain Name |
An internet address. Used for the web, email and other applications such as ftp. For example, our internet address is co.otter-tail.mn.us which means our web address is www.co.otter-tail.mn.us. Often the origins of a country can be determined by the ending of a domain. For example, most UK organisations end in .uk, France .fr and Japan .jp. The American standard for business is .com, for state and local government it's .us, for federal government its .gov and for educational facilities it's .edu. |
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Download |
To receive information from another computer. The Internet is often used for downloading files from other users or websites. Download files may include any kind of format from text files to sound, video or images.
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Dpi |
Dots per inch. A description of an image's resolution. Most web design is optimised for 72dpi, the typical resolution of a computer screen. |
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DSL |
'Digital Subscriber Line' high speed internet access - more than ten times faster than a standard modem - over a standard telephone line.
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Email or e-mail |
Electronic mail carried on the web. |
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Encryption |
It's a method of ensuring that you can send information across the Internet without anyone else being able to read it. |
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Ethernet |
A common TCP/IP local area network for high-end Internet connectivity. |
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Extranet |
Part of an intranet that is opened to selective external viewers. For example, an inventory-driven intranet system may also have an extranet area for suppliers only to access. See also, intranet. |
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FAQ |
Stands for 'Frequently Asked Questions'. |
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Firewall |
It's a network security system which prevents fraudulent attacks from hackers.
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Flash |
A Macromedia product for enhancing web pages with animations and interactivity. Viewers must have the flash plug-in installed to their browser to be able to view the page. |
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FTP |
Stands for 'File Transfer Protocol'. A method of allowing computers access to download files on the internet. |
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GIF |
'Graphics Interchange Format'. It's the way many images are loaded into web pages. |
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Giga Byte (GB) |
1,024 megabytes or 1 billion bytes. |
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GUI |
It's pronounced 'gooey' and stands for 'Graphical User Interface'. Both the Windows and the Macintosh opperating systems have a GUI. |
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Hotlink or Hyperlink |
An object on a web page (text, image, button etc.) that, when clicked, jumps the user to another area of the site or another site. |
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HTML |
'Hypertext Mark-up Language' - used to create web pages. |
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HTTP |
It stands for 'Hypertext Transfer Protocol' and tells computers how to communicate with each other over the Internet.
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Internet Explorer |
Microsoft's web browser. A program used to surf the world wide web. |
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ISDN |
'Integrated Services Digital Network'. Another faster way to transmit data over telephone lines which is faster than a modem but not as fast as DSL.
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ISP |
Internet Service Provider. A company which connects you to the Internet. |
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Java |
A programming language invented by Sun Microsystems. The key idea being that the language is completely cross-platform; some entire applications have even been re-written in Java. Commonly used within web pages for interactive features. Small applications written in Java are referred to as applets. |
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JPEG or JPG |
Joint Photographers Experts Group. An image file format named after the aforementioned group who invented it. Jpg is a compression internet standard that is useful for storing full-color images, such as photographs, in bitmap format. |
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Kb |
Kilobit. 1024 bits. See also, bit. |
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LAN |
Local Area Network. A group of computers all hooked together in close proximity to one another (such as an office). |
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Modem |
A modem allows a computer to transmit information to another over a standard telephone line. |
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Net |
Short for 'Internet'. |
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on-line (online) |
Being connected to the Internet. |
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Protocol |
An agreed way for two computers to talk to each other. |
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Snail Mail |
Physical (not electronic) mail delivered by the post office. |
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Spam |
Internet junk mail - the same unrequested message sent to a large number of users. |
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Surfing |
The process of "looking around" the Internet. |
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TCP/IP |
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A language which computers use to communicate with each other over the Internet. |
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URL |
'Uniform Resource Locator' Sometimes pronounced 'Earl'. The unique address of any website, such as http://www.otter-tail.mn.us or http://www.google.com. |
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User ID |
Your unique way of identifying yourself on a computer. |
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Web Browser |
Or simply 'browser' for short. A program that allows you to surf the web. The most popular ones right now are Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. |
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World Wide Web |
The portion of the Internet that a web browser allows us to see. Sometimes used synonymously in place of 'the Internet'. |
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www or web |
A very short version of 'World Wide Web'. |
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Zip |
If you see a file with a name ending in .zip, they've been compressed using special software (like Winzip). This is usually done to reduce a file(s) size for transfer or storage. Confusingly, there are also disks with the same name which are used for transferring and storing files. |
