Glossary
A short list of words used on this site in relation to the internet (part 2):
- LAN
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Local Area Network. A linked set of computers in a limited area, such as a building.
- Line Noise
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Disruption of communication due to interference on the telephone line.
- Login
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The process of dialling your system and identifying yourself with a user name and password.
- Lurker
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Someone who reads messages in newsgroups, but doesn't contribute.
- Mailing List
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A discussion group where the messages are distributed by e-mail.
- Modem
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MOdulator-DEModulator. Connects your computer to the telephone system.
- Mosaic
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A WWW graphical browser.
- Netscape
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Another WWW graphical browser. They are both available for a wide variety of different platforms (PC, Apple etc.).
- Net Surfer
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Someone who 'wanders' from site to site, looking for interesting things.
- Newbie
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Someone who is new to the Internet.
- Newsgroup
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A message area. Part of USENET, superficially similar to a Mailing List.
- OLR
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Off Line Reader. It stores your messages, connects to your server, sends them and collects new ones ready to read after disconnecting.
- Public Domain
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Software that is freely available to anyone. (cf. Shareware.)
- Serial
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The port to which a modem (or mouse) is connected -- and the cable by which it is connected.
- Server
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A computer that has software to allow other computers to connect with it.
- Service Provider
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See ISP.
- Shareware
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Software that is freely available for you to try -- but which you are expected to pay for if you wish to continue to use.
- Site
-
Any one of the millions of individual networks that, together, comprise the Internet.
- Telnet
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An Internet system by which you can log in to other computer systems on the Internet.
- Thread
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A series of postings that are linked together.
- UART
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A controller chip in your serial port.
- Upload
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The sending of a file from your computer to someone else's.
- URL
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Uniform Resource Locator. The 'address' of an Internet resource.
- UUencode
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A method of translating binary code into ASCII data so that it can be sent as e-mail. The recipient will have to UUDecode to convert it back. Many mail packages will do this almost automatically.
- V.21-V.34
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A series of standards relating to modem speeds. You need V.32bis or V.34.
- V.42
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An error correction standard. V.42bis has data compression too.
- WAN
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Wide Area Network. A means of connecting computers sited further afield than you'd find in a LAN.
- WWW
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The World Wide Web. What a lot of this book is about.
- Zip
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The most common way of compressing (or archiving) a file, using the PKZip archiver.
Glossary A - I
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