A
Address: Generally an address refers to the location
of a web page or an e-mail address. An email address generally
begins with a username separated by the at sign and then the e-mail
ending:
| Residential Customers |
| Username: |
myusername |
| e-mail ending: |
myVine.com |
| E-mail address: |
myusername@myVine.com |
| |
|
| Business Customers |
|
| Username: |
mybusinessusername |
| e-mail ending: |
myVine.com |
| e-mail ending for domains: |
mydomain.com |
| E-mail address without domain: |
mybusinessusername@myVine.com |
| E-mail address with domain: |
mybusinessusername@mydomain.com |
A web address looks something like
http://www.myvine.com or http://www.myVine.com
Add-in: A mini program which runs in conjunction with
a web browser or other application enhancing the functionality
of that program. In order for the add-in to run, the main application
must be running as well.
ADN: (Advanced Digital Network.) Due to the constant development
of additional technology Advanced Digital Network is not looked
to as a common solution. Generally this refers to a 56Kbps leased
or dedicated line.
ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, or Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Loop. A digital subscriber line
(DSL) technology in which the transmission of data from server
to client is much faster than the transmission from client to
server. Because of its relatively fast speed and low cost it is
a great high broadband solution for home use. Unfortunately, technical
limitations mean to qualify a customer must be within 17,000 feet
of their telephone central office. In addition, due to the technical
aspects of DSL qualifications are very specific to the region
you live in.
Alias:
A name, usually short and easy to remember, that is translated
into another name, usually long and difficult to remember.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
This organization is responsible for approving U.S.
standards in many areas, including computers and communications.
Standards approved by this organization are often called ANSI
standards (e.g., ANSI C is the version of the C language approved
by ANSI). ANSI is a member of ISO. See also: International Organization
for Standardization. [Source: NNSC]
Anonymous FTP: An anonymous FTP site allows Internet
users to log in and download files from the computer without having
a private userid and password. To login, you typically enter anonymous
as the userid and your email address as the password.
Applet: A Java program that can be downloaded over a
network and launched on the user's computer. The Applet is needed
to view different items embedded within the HTML of the accessed
web page.
Anchor: Either the starting point or destination
of a hyperlink, which is imbedded in the html code. These allow
you to click quickly to another document or place within a document.
ARPANet: (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) –
To whom we owe all of our Internet admiration to. The predecessor
to the Internet. This was developed in the late 60’s /
early70’s by the US Department of Defense. ARPANet was utilized
as an experiment in WAN (Wide Area Network.) It was created as
a way for secure communication to take place throughout several
locations.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange. The numbers 0-127 each represent a different alphanumeric
or special control character and are translated into 7-bit binary
code. ASCII files are also commonly known as plain text files
and are the easiest to transfer between systems.
ASP: 1.Application Service Provider. A third-party software
distribution and/or management service, which generally provides
software via a wide area network from a centralized data center.
This allows companies to outsource and more efficiently upgrade
software.2.Active Server Page. A specification for a Web page
that is dynamically created by the Web server and contains both
HTML and scripting code
AU: (.au) - a common audio file format for UNIX
systems, short for audio.
AVI: Audio/Video Interleaved - a common Microsoft video
file form used by Video for Windows. The quality is good at smaller
resolutions, but files tend to be large.
B
Backbone: This is a series of connections or high-speed line,
which forms a major pathway, or (backbone) within a network. The
term is relative as a backbone in a small network will likely
be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted over
a network at a given time, measured in bits per second (bps). Think
of a network as a water pipe - the higher the bandwidth (the larger
the diameter of the pipe), the more data (water) can pass over the
network (through the pipe).
Baud or Baud Rate: In common usage the baud rate of a modem
is figured by how many bits it can send/receive per second. Baud
is the number of times per second that the carrier signal shifts
value - for example a 1200 bit-per-second modem actually runs at
300 baud, but it moves 4 bits per baud (4 x 300 = 1200 bits per
second).
Binary: The system by which combinations of 0s and 1s are
used to represent the stored data.
Bitmap File: A common image format (.bmp) defined
by a collection of tiny colored squares known as pixels, which form
a pattern.
BPS: Bits Per Second – rate of data transfer. Modem speeds
are measured in kilobits per second. Typical modem speeds today
are 56k bps (56,6000 bits per second.) But due to the clarity of
phone lines being a major factor in BPS speed, most customers see
averages of 28k BPS. ISDN offers transfer rates of 64k (A channel
or one channel) or 128K bps (B channel or two channel.)
Bookmark: A pointer to a particular Web site. Within browsers,
you can bookmark interesting pages so you can return to them without
having to remember and retype the URL. It is important to remember
that bookmarks are stored locally on the computer, so if you log
in from somebody else’s computer or reformat your machine, you will
not be able to access your bookmarks.
Browser: A client program used for viewing and navigating
between World Wide Web pages. Examples include Netscape, Microsoft's
Internet Explorer and Mosaic. Most modern browsers are graphical,
although older computers and Unix systems may sometimes have text
browsers.
BTW: (By The Way) – A quick way to type
By the way. Commonly used on online games, in newsgroups, chat sessions
or through e-mail.
Byte: A set of Bits representing a single character. Usually
there are 8 Bits in a Byte, sometimes more, depending on how the
measurement is taken.
C
Cache:
A region of memory where frequently accessed data can be temporarily
stored for rapid access. This speeds up the operation of the computer.
However, sometimes error messages and WebPages will cache when you
do not wish them to, and you may need to restart the computer or
browser in order to view the updated version.
Certificate
Authority: The party that issues a Secure or Security Certificate.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface - the specification
for how an HTTP server should communicate with server gateway applications
so that a website can offer interactive sites rather than only static
texts or images.
Generally a CGI program is a small program that takes data from
a web server and performs a function, like putting the content of
a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database
query.
Many times you can see that a CGI program is being used by seeing
“cgi-bin” in a URL, but this is not always the case. cgi-bin:
Refers to the name of a directory on a web server where CGI
programs are stored. The “bin” part of “cgi-bin” is an abbreviated
version of the word “binary”, because once upon a time, most programs
were referred to as “binaries”. In real life, most programs found
in cgi-bin directories are text files -- scripts that are executed
by binaries located elsewhere on the same machine.
Chat:
A system that allows for real-time online communication between
Internet users. There are several different programs that provide
chat features, such as IRC, ICQ, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) or
MSN Messenger Service. Despite the names, these are not service
provider specific.
Client: A program (like
a Web browser) that connects to and requests information or services
from a server. This can also refer to the requesting computer itself.
Co-location: or Colocation Services: This solution allows
for a server belonging to a customer to be stored within a facility
that is directly connected to the Internet. Meaning, rather than
the machine being attached to a modem, it is connected through generally
an ISP, which allows the co-location a high-speed connection to
the Internet. Mostly commonly this solution works very well for
clients running web servers or transferring large amounts of data.
This is also a great solution for customers backing up or storing
database information.
Cookies: The name for files stored on your
hard drive by your Web browser that collect information about your
browsing habits. They compile information as to what sites you have
visited, which newsgroups you have read. The first time you visit
a site; it may give you a cookie, which it then updates on any subsequent
visits. Not all browsers support cookies, and most offer a way to
disable them, as many people view 'cookies' as an invasion of privacy.
Client-Server Protocol: A communication protocol
between networked computers, in which the services of one computer
(the server) are requested by the other (the client).
Compressed:
Data files available for download from the Internet are typically
compacted in order to save server space and reduce transfer times.
Most text files can be compressed to half their normal size, while
graphics files can be compressed to about 10% their original size.
These files must usually be uncompressed before they able to be
used. Typical file extensions for compressed files include zip (DOS/Windows)
and tar (UNIX).
D
DHCP:
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Windows NT Server software
that assigns an IP address to each node in a network dynamically.
Dial-up Connection: A connection to the Internet
via a POTs (plain old telephone) line and modem. Connection types
include PPP and SLIP. PPP is a much more standard dialup connection
whereas SLIP was more commonly used in the beginning of the Internet.
Direct Connection: A connection made directly
to the Internet - much faster and more expensive than a dial-up
connection.
Discussion Group: Traditionally,
a particular section within the USENET system typically, though
not always, dedicated to a particular subject of interest. Also
known as a newsgroup. The term is sometimes expanded to include
other forms of online group communication, such as bulletin boards
or mailing lists.
Domain: The Internet
is divided into smaller sets known as domains, the most common endings.
The more common of those endings are displayed below:
Domain
Name: An Internet address in alphabet form, which allows
you to reference Internet sites without knowing the true numerical
address the site, is hosted on.
Download:
The process of copying data file(s) from a remote computer to a
local computer. The opposite action is uploading where a local file
is copied to a server.
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line
or Digital Subscriber Loop. A technology,
which enables high-speed transmission of digital data over regular
copper telephone lines. See also SDSL and ADSL
E
E-mail:
Electronic mail.
Emoticon: A combination
of characters that form a facial expression. For example, if you
turn your head sideways, the characters :) make a smiley face, and
the characters 8) make a four-eyed smiley. Frequently used in email
messages to convey a particular tone. If you wanted to jokingly
insult somebody, without starting a flame war, you could write,
"I think you are as goofy as an AOL user :)".
Ethernet: A very common method of networking computers in a
LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second
and can be used with almost any kind of computer.
Eudora: A popular freeware and commercial email management
program from Qualcomm, Inc.
Exchange: Common name for Microsoft's
integrated fax and email program designed for Windows 95 and later
Operating Systems.
F
FAQ:
Frequently Asked Questions - a collection of common questions and
answers on a particular subject. Many newsgroups, mailing lists
and websites have FAQs available, and it’s usually a good idea to
check out FAQs before asking questions in many online ‘communities’.
Don’t forget to check our FAQ’s and Online
Support Tools for answers to many of your questions.
Fire Wall: A combination of hardware and software that separates
a LAN (Local Area Network) into two or more parts for security
purposes. This is particularly useful for customers utilizing Broadband
connectivity; such as Cable or DSL.
Flame: An insulting message exchanged via email or within
newsgroups. A series of flames are known as flame wars.
Flames are usually personal attacks rather than actually relevant
to the subject under discussion.
FreeWare: Software that is available for download and unlimited
use without charge, but is still copyrighted to the developer, who
has the rights to control its distribution and to sell it if they
wish in the future. Compare to shareware.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol - a set of rules for exchanging
files between computers via the Internet.
Gateway: Computer hardware and software that allow users
to connect from one network to another, translating protocols so
the computers can exchange data
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format - a common image format,
ending in .gif. These files use lossless compression and can have
256 colors. Many images seen on web pages are GIF files.
Gopher: A document retrieval system allowing
users to search for files via menus or directory structures. Gopher
sites can be accessed through the World Wide Web.
H
Helper Application: A program allowing you to view multimedia
files that your web browser cannot handle internally, such as images,
audio and video files. The file must be downloaded before it will
be displayed/played. Plug-ins allow you to actually view the file
over the Internet without downloading first.
Hit:
When used in reference to the World Wide Web, a “hit” refers to
a single request from a web browser for a single item from
a web server; thus in order for a web browser to display
a page that contains 3 graphics, 4 “hits” would occur at the server:
1 for the HTML page, and one for each of the 3 graphics.
“hits” are often used as a very rough measure of load on a
server, e.g. “Our server has been getting 300,000 hits per month.”
Because each “hit” can represent anything from a request for a tiny
document (or even a request for a missing document) all the way
to a request that requires some significant extra processing (such
as a complex search request), the actual load on a machine from
1 hit is almost impossible to define.
Home Page: The first page of a Web Site. The Web site that
automatically loads each time you launch your browser is also known
as a homepage.
Host: A computer, connected to a network, which provides
data and/or services to other computers.
HotJava: A Web browser developed by Sun Microsystems that
takes full advantage of applets written in the Java programming
language.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language - a collection of tags
typically used in the development of Web pages. These tags contain
the instructions for formatting which your browser needs in order
to display the page the way the author intends.
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol - a set of instructions
for communication between a server and a World Wide Web client,
it is the most common protocol method for transferring information
from the World Wide Web to local computers. Web addresses being
with http://.
Hyperlink: A connection between two anchors. Clicking on
one anchor will take you to the linked anchor. Can be within the
same document/page or two totally different documents, and are usually
underlined or displayed in a different color. In addition, some
people use graphic images as hyperlinks. If your mouse’s pointer
changes images on a picture or piece of text, it is probably hovering
over a hyperlink.
Hypertext: A document that contains links to other documents,
commonly seen in Web pages and help files.
I
Information Superhighway/Infobahn: The terms were coined
to describe a possible upgrade to the existing Internet through
the use of fiber optic and/or coaxial cable to allow for high-speed
data transmission. This highway is still only in idealized form;
most people are restricted by low speed access to the Internet.
IRC: Internet Relay Chat - A system allowing Internet users
to conduct online, real-time text based communication with one or
more other users.
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network - a system of
all digital, high bandwidth telephone lines allowing for the simultaneous
delivery of audio, video and data. ISDN lines are offered through
phone companies. myVine.com offers four types of ISDN – 64K dialup,
64k dedicated, 128k dialup and 128k dedicated ISDN.
ISP: Internet Service Provider - the company that provides
you with a connection to the Internet via either a Dial-up Connection
or a Direct Connection. Many ISPs, such as myVine.com, offer
additional features with their Internet accounts.
IP Address: Internet Protocol Address - every computer
on the Internet has a unique identifying number, in a format such
as 209.242.64.190
Internet: The
worldwide network of thousands of computers communicating via an
agreed upon set of Internet protocol. Odds are that if you are reading
this document, you are probably on the Internet right now (just
in case you didn't know). The Internet was originally developed
for the United States Military, and then became used for government,
academic and commercial research and communication. Since the 90’s
the Internet has become a widely utilized tool for entertainment
and information.
J
Java: A programming language, similar to C++, created by
Sun Microsystems for developing applets that are capable of running
on any computer regardless of the operating system.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group - a common
image format. Most of the images you see embedded into Web pages
are GIFs, but sometimes, especially in art or photographic Web sites;
you can click on the image to bring up a higher resolution (larger)
JPEG version of the same image.
K
Killfile:
Found within newsreaders, a list of undesirable authors or threads
to filter out. A reader decides the criteria used to killfile a
post
Kilobyte: A measurement used to describe1024 bytes
Knowbot: A knowledge robot – a program that retrieves information
on request. Also Knowbot Information Service, a directory retrieval
system for finding Internet user's email addresses via their first
and last names. Due to the rapid growth in the volume of email users,
this system is not perfect.
LAN: Local Area Network - a network of computers confined
within a small area, such as an office building.
Leased Line: Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive
24-hour, 7 -days-a-week use from your location to another location.
The highest speed data connections require a leased line.
Link: Another name for a hyperlink. Also used to connect
two documents.
Listserv: An automated electronic mailing list typically
used by a broad range of discussion groups. When you subscribe to
a listserv, you will receive periodic email messages about the topic
you have requested, usually written by other members of the listserv.
All other members will receive any message you send to the listserv.
Login: Noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access
to a computer system. A Login is many times referred to as a username
or userid (contrasts with Password.) A login is usually the
beginning of your e-mail address. Verb: The act of entering into
a computer system, e.g. Login to the myVine.com and then go
to the Online Support.
Lurking: The act of reading through mail lists and newsgroups
without posting any messages. Considered good netiquette to get
the feel of the topic before adding your own two cents.
Lynx: A popular text (non-graphical) World Wide Web Browser.
M
Mailing List: A list of email addresses to which messages
are sent. This can be set up by many email clients. Also another
name for a listserv, or email discussion forum. You can subscribe
to these mailing lists typically by sending an email to the contact
address with the following in the body of the message: the word
subscribe, the name of the list, and your email address.
Microsoft: The world's largest operating system and application
software development company. Products include Windows 95, the MS
Office Suite, the MS Internet Explorer, and far too many others
to list here.
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital
Interface - a high quality audio file format. A midi file does not
actually store the sound but rather stores information on how to
create the sounds.
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a protocol
for allowing email messages to contain various types of data (text,
audio, video, images, etc.) as attachments to email messages.
Mirror Site: An Internet site setup as an alternate to
a busy site; contains copies of all the files stored at the primary
location. The use of mirror sites reduces the load on a server and
speeds up access to the data.
Modem: (Modulator,
Demodulator) -- A device that you connect to your computer and phone
line, which allows the computer to “talk” to other computers through
the phone system. Basically, modems work for computers as a telephone
does for a human.
Mosaic: One of the first graphical World Wide Web browsers
developed at NCSA.
MPEG: Motion Picture Experts Group – A group that set standards
for compressing and storing video, audio and animation. Also the
file extension for a video file format offering excellent quality
in a relatively small file. Video files found on the Internet are
frequently stored in the MPEG format. Full-length movies (like Top
Gun) are available on CD and are stored in the MPEG format.
Multimedia: A combination of media types on a single document,
including: text, graphics, animation, audio and video.
N
Nameserver:
A computer running a program that converts domain names into appropriate
IP addresses and vice versa.
Netiquette: Short for Internet etiquette. Many
different online groups have their own appropriate netiquette.
Newbie: A new Internet user. If you are reading
this definition, you probably are one (or at least were one before
you read this). Can also refer to somebody new to a particular
forum or group.
Newsgroup: A particular section within the USENET
system typically, though not always, dedicated to a particular
subject of interest. Also known as discussion groups. 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.
Newsreader: A program designed to read newsgroup
articles. The more advanced ones also provide the ability to organize
the threads received from a mailing list or newsgroup.
NCSA: National
Center for Supercomputing
Applications - an organization headquartered at the University
of Illinois. Researchers
here created the Mosaic and HTTPD server programs.
Netscape: Netscape is the most recent version
of Mosaic. Along with Microsoft Explorer, Netscape dominates the
market for World Wide Web browsers and servers.
Network: A system of connected computers exchanging
information with each other. A LAN is a relatively smaller form
of a network in comparison to the Internet, a world wide network
of computers.
nntp: The protocols used for News.
Settings: nntp.myVine.com
O
Online: Being connected to the Internet.
Online Service: A computer network accessed by modem. Online
services generally charge a monthly fee, and offer such services
as e-mail, information services, online shopping, news, games.
Packet: A small unit of data formatted for transmission
over a network. The TCP/IP protocol breaks large data files into
smaller "packets" for transmission. When the data reaches
its destination, the protocol makes sure that all packets have arrived
without error and reassembles them.
Page: An HTML document, or Web site.
PHP:
PHP is a popular scripting language includes support for all major
operating systems (Windows 95/NT, most versions of Unix, and Macintosh)
and web servers (including Apache, Netscape servers, WebSite Pro,
and Microsoft Internet Information Server). PHP 3.0 is the latest
release of the server-side scripting solution
PING:
Packet Internet Grouper. - A program for determining if another
computer is presently connected to the Internet, by sending an echo
request and waiting for a reply.
Pixel: Short for picture element - the smallest unit of
resolution on a monitor. Commonly used as a unit of measurement.
Plug-In: A small application, which extends the built in
capabilities of your Web browser. Plug-ins need to be downloaded
from another site in order to work. Examples include Macromedia's
Shockwave, providing animation, and RealAudio, offering streamed
sound files over the Internet. Compared to helpers, the multimedia
files do not need to be downloaded before shown or played.
PKZIP: A widely available shareware utility allowing users
to compress and decompress data files. Helps reduce storage space
and transfer times.
POP: 1) Post Office Protocol –protocol used by mail clients
to download email from a mail server on the Internet. Also 2) Point
of Presence – a location at which an ISP has physical equipment.
Post: To send a message to a mailing list or newsgroup.
PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol - a protocol for communication
between computers using TCP/IP converting a dial-up connection to
a point-to-point connection over the Internet. Frequently used for
accessing the World Wide Web over phone lines. Considered more stable
and faster than a SLIP connection.
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy - an encryption scheme which uses
the "public key" approach - messages are encrypted using
the publicly available key, but can only be deciphered by the intended
recipient via the private key.
Protocol: An agreed upon set of rules or standards by which
computers exchange information, in order to minimize errors.
Provider: An Internet Service Provider, or ISP. For instance
myVine or myVine is your current ISP.
Q
Queue: A first-in, first- out data structure used to line
up requests to use a resource. Also a list of email messages that
will be distributed next time you log onto the Internet.
QuickTime: A common video file format created by Apple
Computer. Video files found on the Internet are often stored in
the QuickTime format - they require a special viewer program for
playback.
R
Register: With shareware, when you contact the vendor and
pay for the product, you are registering. In return, you
will receive either a password to turn off the nag notices
or a copy of the full commercial version. Also the process by which
you submit your information to a site in exchange for privileges
such as posting abilities.
Robot: A program
that performs automatic functions, such as automatically searching
the World Wide Web for files or generating automatic email responses.
rot13: Rotation 13. An encryption method in which each letter
is replaced with the one 13 letters away from it in the alphabet.
Because there are 26 letters in the alphabet, the same program can
be used to encode and decode. It is often employed on Usenet
Router: A special-purpose computer (or software package) that
handles the connection between 2 or more networks. Routers
spend all their time looking at the destination addresses of the
packets passing through them and deciding which route to
send them on.
S
SDSL: Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line. A digital
subscriber line that sends data at the same speed in both directions.SDSL
is intended for business use, whereas ADSL (asynchronous digital
subscriber line), in which data downloads much faster than it uploads,
is mainly for home use.
Search Engine: A tool for searching for information on
the Internet by topic. Popular engines include InfoSeek, Yahoo,
Web Crawler, and Google.
Security Certificate: A compiled amount of information (often
stored as a text file) that is used by the SSL protocol to
establish a secure connection. Security Certificates contain information
about whom it belongs to, which a unique serial number or other
unique identification, valid dates, and an encrypted “fingerprint”
that can be used to verify the contents of the certificate issued
it. In order for an SSL connection to be created both sides must
have a valid Security Certificate.
Server: The computer in the client/server architecture
that supplies the files or services. Your World Wide Web browser
is a client of a World Wide Web server.
Shareware: Software that is copywrited, but is available
on a free limited trial basis. After a specified time, a user is
asked to send the author a small payment. In some cases, the software
will stop functioning after a pre-specified number of days. Sometimes
this is a fully featured product, other times it is distributed
without key features of the commercial version.
Signature: A personal tagline automatically appended
to an email message. Generally these signatures contain contact
information for the person, or sometimes a quote or URL. Also known
as a sig.
SGML: Standard Generalized Markup Language - a generic
language for writing markup languages.
Site: A Web page or collection of related Web pages. Many
times web pages are referred to as web sites.
SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol - a protocol allowing
you to use a dial-up connection
as an Internet connection. This protocol, which is generally thought
to be less stable than a PPP connection, is not often utilized in
modern Internet times.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - a protocol dictating
how email messages are exchanged over the Internet. This particular
protocol is used in conjunction with the sending of mail.
Snail Mail: A nickname for mail sent on regular paper,
using an envelope and a stamp! Think,
United States
Post Office, FedEX. Coined because delivery of physical mail is
slower than that of electronic.
SNMP: (Simple Network Management Protocol) -- A set of standards
for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network.
Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches.
A device is said to be “SNMP compatible” if it can be monitored
and/or controlled using SNMP messages. SNMP messages are known as
“PDU’s” - Protocol Data Units. Devices that are SNMP compatible
contain SNMP “agent” software to receive, send, and act upon SNMP
messages. Software for managing devices via SNMP are available for
every kind of commonly used computer and are often bundled along
with the device they are designed to manage. Some SNMP software
is designed to handle a wide variety of devices.
SPAM: The definition for unsolicited mail. Generally people
consider these mail senders to be a nuisance. The act of spamming
takes place via e-mail and newsgroups generally advertising a commercial
product. Also known as junk mail.
SQL (Structured Query Language) -- A specialized programming
language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength
and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL.
Each specific application will have its own version of SQL implementing
features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases
support a common subset of SQL.
SSL :(Secure Sockets Layer) -- A protocol designed by Netscape
Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications
across the Internet. SSL used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications
between web browsers and web servers. URL’s
that begin with “https” indicate that an SSL connection will be
used. SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication,
and Message Integrity. In an SSL connection each side of the
connection must have a Security Certificate, which each side’s
software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends
using information from both its own and the other side’s Certificate,
ensuring that only the intended recipient can de-crypt it, and that
the other side can be sure the data came from the place it claims
to have come from, and that the message has not been tampered with.
Subscribe: To become of a member of something. One can
subscribe to a newsgroup, an online service or an Internet Service.
T1: A category of leased telephone line service, allowing
transfer rates of 1.5 Mbps (megabytes per second) over the Internet.
Small or medium companies with heavy network traffic usually use
T1 lines, as they can send and receive large files very quickly.
T-3: A leased-line connection capable of carrying data
at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than enough to do full-screen,
full-motion video.
TAR: Tape Archive - a format commonly used in the transfer
and storage of files residing on UNIX computers. Tar archives but
does not compress them, so often tar files are compressed afterwards,
leading to extensions like tar.gz and tar.Z.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
- this protocol is the very foundation of the Internet. Computers
using TCP/IP protocol to enable communication between different
types of computers and networks. It is used to transmit other Internet
protocols, such as FTP, Gopher and HTTP.
Telnet: A terminal emulation protocol for logging onto
remote computers. The default port for telnet is: 23.
Terabyte:
1000 gigabytes.
Terminal: A device that allows you to send commands to a computer
somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and
a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use
terminal software in a personal computer - the software pretends
to be (emulates) a physical terminal and allows you to type commands
to a computer somewhere else.
Terminal Server: A special purpose computer that has places
to plug in many modems on one side, and a connection to a
LAN or host machine on the other side. Thus the terminal
server does the work of answering the calls and passes the connections
on to the appropriate node. Most terminal servers can provide
PPP or SLIP services if connected to the Internet.
Thread: An ongoing message based conversation on a single
subject. Meaning when somebody replies to a topic, it will be placed
in that thread. Also used to mean following the same topic, as in
following the thread. Newsreaders often organize discussions based
on threads – however the topics of the threads often change and
evolve over time.
TIFF: Tagged Image File Format – a bitmap graphics file
format used for storing images.
U
UDP: (User Datagram Protocol) -- One of the protocols for data
transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. UDP
is a “stateless” protocol in that UDP makes no provision for acknowledgement
of packets received.
UNIX: A multi-user,
multitasking operating system in which multiple users can access
a single computer. It is the most commonly used operating system
for Internet nodes, the backbone machines of the Internet.
Upload: To copy or transfer a file from a local computer
to a remote computer.
URL: Uniform Resource
Locator – an Internet address which tells a browser where to find
an Internet resource. For example the URL of this web-page is http://www.myvine.com
USENET: Short for User's Network. Usenet is a collection
of thousands of bulleting boards on the Internet. Each bulletin
board contains discussion groups, or newsgroups, dedicated to a
wide spectrum of topics. Messages are posted and responded to by
readers either as public or private emails.
UUENCODE (Unix to Unix Encoding) -- A method for converting
files from Binary to ASCII (text) so that they can
be sent across the Internet via e-mail.
V
Veronica: Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computer
Archives. A search engine used for Gopher sites, the counterpart
to Archie for searching FTP sites.
Visit: Synonymous with viewing a World Wide Web site. Just
as you are currently visiting our Web-site!
VPN:
(Virtual Private Network) -- Usually refers to a network
in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet,
but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire
network is "virtually" private. A typical example would
be a company network where there are two offices in different cities.
Using the Internet the two offices merge their networks into one
network, but encrypt traffic that uses the Internet link.
W
WAIS:
Wide Area Information Servers – A search engine used to find texts
on the Internet, it uses keywords to search the entire document
rather than only the titles.
WAN: Wide Area Network - a system of connected computers
spanning a large geographical area, using a series of telephone
lines, cable and satellite communications.
WAV: Waveform Audio (.wav) - a common audio file
format for DOS/Windows computers.
WINSOCK: Winsock – a DLL file within Microsoft’s Windows
that provides the interface to TCP/IP (see TCP/IP) services.
WWW: Is the abbreviation for the World Wide Web. Many times
the World Wide Web is referred to as the Web. WWW or the Web is
a subset of the Internet. This world within the Internet uses a
combination of text, graphics, audio and video (multimedia) to provide
information on most every subject imaginable.
X
X-Pixelmap:
.xpm is the abbreviation for an uncompressed color image file format.
X-Bitmap:.xbm is the abbreviation for uncompressed
black and white image file format
Y
Yak: A large, longhaired animal found in Tibet.
Ok, you caught us – we don’t have an Internet-related definition
for Y! If you have one, feel free to write us at support@myVine.com
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Z
ZIP: A compressed file format (.zip). Many times when
information is large, it is compressed or zipped to reduce the
time needed for transfer and space for storage. To uncompress
a file you need a utility such as PKZIP
(DOS) or WinZip (Windows.)
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