All the Technical terms explained
Here is a list of
Technical Terms and their definitions
:o)
If you tilt your head to the left to look at this term, you will see that
someone is smiling at you.
AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Affiliate Programs are Programs set up to make money from other businesses
using click throughs. For example, If you click on a banner advertisment on
a web page and then bought something while you were in that site the
page that you were refered from would make a percentage of the profit (normally
about 20%, depending on the goods or services).
ACTIVE X
ActiveX is a model for writing programs. ActiveX technology is used to make
interactive web pages that look and behave like computer programs, rather
than static pages. With ActiveX, users can ask or answer questions, use push
buttons, and interact in other ways with the web page.
BROWSER
Short for Web Browser; it's the tool (program) that allows you to surf the
web. You probably used your Web Browser to locate this page. The most popular
Web Browsers right now are Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
CLICK
THROUGHS
Click through is another name for referrals. some sites have banner ads that
can be placed on a site free of charge, Every time a user clicks on a banner
on your site you will recieve a certain amount of money (Not usualy very much
but can add up quite considerable if have enough visitors on your site)
CHAT ROOM
A place on the Internet where people go to "chat" with other people in the
room. Actually there are thousands of these Chat Rooms. The rooms are usually
organized by topic. For example in a Michigan Room you would expect that most
of the participants in the room are probably from Michigan or a Gay room,
where the participants are usually gay. When you're in a Chat Room you can
view all of the conversations taking place at once on your screen. You can
also get into a private chat room where only you and one or two others may
talk. This can be an inexpensive way to keep up with friends and relatives
who are online.
CHOCOLATE
A crucial computer term. Chocolate is what you eat when you get frustrated
with web functions such as searching for specific items, writing web pages,
or just being a Newbie.
COOKIE
A "cookie" is an Internet site's way of keeping track of you. It's a small
program built into a web page you might visit. Typically you won't know when
you are receiving cookies. Ideally a cookie could make your surfing easier
by identifying you, tracking sites you visit, topics you search, and get a
general feel for your preferences. This can make surfing easier, faster, more
personal, and more efficient. It can also be used to collect your e-mail address
for marketing (spamming) purposes. You can set your browser to warn you before
you accept cookies or not accept them at all. Check your (advanced) browser
settings. Keep in mind that some secure sites, such as stock trading sites,
won't work if you don't accept their cookies.
COUNTER
A number on many web pages that will count the number of hits or count the
number of times the page has been accessed. Basically, it counts the number
of people that have visited that page.
CRACKER
A person who breaks into a site through a computer's security. While Basically
the same thing as a "Hacker", a Cracker is sometimes considered to be more
malicious and destructive.
CYBERSPACE
Term used to describe the Internet; the term was coined by science-fiction
novelist William Gibson in 1984 in Neuromancer.
DOMAIN NAME
The highest level name of the web site. For example, The domain name for USA
Today Online is usatoday. If you type usatoday in the location area on your
browser, you will be connected directly to USA Today Online. A site does not
have to have its own domain name. I use geocities to host my web site and
thus their domain name is included in my Internet address: http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/4869/desc.html.
DOWNLOAD
The transfer of information from the Internet to your computer. Every time
you instruct your computer system to retrieve your mail, you are downloading
your mail to your computer. You may also download programs to your computer.
However, be careful about downloading files or programs from a site in which
you are not familiar. You could download a virus and never know it until it's
too late.
E-MAIL
Electronic-mail. This tool is usually provided by your ISP. It allows you
to send and receive mail (messages) over the Internet. Through e-mail you
can write your friends, ask your ISP a technical question about your service,
or even receive an Internet birthday card.
FAQ
An acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. FAQ is exactly what it sounds like:
Frequently Asked Questions, with the answers of course. FAQ usually serves
as a mini-help file.
FTP
An acronym for File Transfer Protocol. It's the tool you would use to transfer
files through the Internet from one computer to another. For example, you
would use an FTP to upload your web page from where you built it (like your
computer at home) to a web site (like this one) so that all of your friends
and neighbors can look at it.
GOPHER
Invented at the University of Minnesota and named after its mascot, this is
the direct precursor, in both concept and function, to the World Wide Web.
HTML
Hypertext Mark-up Language. HTML is not really a programming language, but
a way to format text by placing marks around the text. For example HTML allows
you to make a word bold or underline it. Early word processing programs used
to work this way. HTML is the foundation for most web pages.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A protocol that tells computers how to communicate
with each other. You will notice most web page locations begin with "http://"
HACKER
Also known as a "Cracker", a Hacker is a person who breaks into a site through
a computer's security.
HYPERTEXT
Text on a web page that links the user to another web page. The hypertext,
or links will usually be a different color than the other text on the page
and is usually underlined.
HYPERMEDIA
Media (such as pictures, videos, and audio), on a web page that links the
user to another web page by clicking on the media.
HOST
The computer on which a web site is physically located.
IRC
An acronym for Internet Relay Chat. Worldwide real-time conferencing on the
Internet, There are hundreds, maybe thousands of IRC channels, also called
chat rooms. These chat rooms typically focus on specific topics, issue or
commonality.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. This is your connection to the Internet. You use
an ISP to connect onto the Internet every time you log on.
INTERNET
Originally called ARPANET after the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the
U.S. Department of Defense. This electronic network connects the hosts together
so that you may go from one web page to another efficiently. The electronic
connection began as a government experiment in 1969 with four computers connected
together over phone lines. By 1972, universities also had access to what was
by then called the Internet.
JAVA
A programming language that developers use to create applets, small
programs that are embedded in Web pages and that run when a user accesses
the page or clicks on a certain area. If you have visited sites that play
sounds, have animated figures trotting across the screen, or display scrolling
text, you have already seen Java.
KEYWORD
A word you might use to search for a Web site. For example, searching the
Web for the keyword "Dictionary" or "Terms" might help you find this site.
LOL
An acronym for Laugh Out Loud. Look for it in your e-mail, or chat rooms.
LAPTOP
A computer small enough to sit on your lap. The laptop computer's small size
allows you to take it almost anywhere and access the Internet. Great if you
travel a lot and don't want to go too long without your e-mail.
LINK
A link will transport you from one Internet site to another with just a click
of your mouse. Links can be text or graphic and are recognizable once you
know what to look for. Text links usually will be underlined and often a different
color than the rest of the text on your screen. A graphic link usually has
a frame around it. For example at the bottom of this page the mailbox is a
link as well as the text in the yellow boxes.
LOAD
Short for download and upload. If someone asks how long did the page take
to load? He/She is referring to the time it takes a page to appear on your
screen. If a web page is loading slow it means that it's taking a long time
to fully appear on your screen. You can often scroll through a page and look
at the parts that have loaded while the rest of the page continues to load.
Also, you can usually click a link on the page you are loading and link to
another page without waiting for the current page to fully load.
LOCATION
An Internet address. While you are in your browser (which you are probably
in now) you will see a section at the top of the page that is titled "location".
If you look right now you will see that the location of this web page is http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/4869/desc.html.
If you type in the address of someone's web page and hit enter, your browser
will take you to that page. However the address you type in the location bar
must be an exact match.
MODEM
Short for Modulator-demodulator devices. Modems allow computers to transmit
information to one another via an ordinary telephone line.
NET
Short for Internet
NEWBIE
You!!!!
NEWSGROUPS
Also called usenets, they are groups that often have nothing to do with news.
Newsgroups are ongoing discussion groups among people on the Internet who
share a mutual interest.
ONLINE
Having access to the Internet. You are online right now. Often people will
say they are online meaning they have access to the Internet and have an e-mail
address, but may not necessarily be connected to the Internet at that moment.
PATIENCE
What you need while surfing the web. Some web pages seem to take forever to
fully appear on your screen.
PERSISTENCE
What you often need to learn anything, including becoming proficient on the
Internet.
PROTOCOL
A set of rules that lets computers agree how to communicate over the internet
SCROLL
To look at the parts of the page that fall below (or above) what you see on
your screen. The long bar at the far right of this screen is a scroll bar.
The small square in it will allow you to scroll through the rest of this page.
Just place your mouse pointer over the square, hold down the left click button
on the mouse and slide the square up or down. You will see this page move.
You are now scrolling.
SITE
A place on the Internet. Every web page has a location where it resides which
is called it's site. And, every site has an address usually beginning with
"http://."
SPAM
The Internet version of junk mail. Spamming is sending the same message to
a large number of users, usually to advertise something. E-mail address may
be collected using cookies or a mailing list from a newsgroup.
SURFING
The process of "looking around" the Internet. You're doing it now.
TROJAN HORSE
Like the Trojan horse of mythology, Trojan horse viruses pretend to be one
thing when in fact they are something else. Typically, Trojan horses take
the form of a game that deletes files while the user plays.
URL
An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. It's the address of each web site.
It usually begins with "http://"
UPLOAD
The process of transferring information from your computer to another computer
through the Internet. Every time you send e-mail to someone you are uploading
it.
USENET
A collection of so-called news groups that have nothing to do with news. Usenets
are ongoing discussion groups among people on the Internet who share a mutual
interest.
USER ID
This is the unique identifier (like your logon name) that you use to identify
yourself on a computer. You probably typed your User ID (and password) when
you logged onto the Internet today.
VIRUS
Your computer can get a virus just like your body can be invaded with a virus
making you (or your computer) sick. A virus can wipe out information on your
computer and create major havoc. Viruses usually originate from malicious
people. You can unintentionally download virus from a web site or get it from
a disk that someone has lent you. There are virus-checking programs, but there
are new viruses popping up every day. So the best defense against a virus
is to be very careful not to download programs or data from a site you're
not familiar with.
WAIS
An acronym for Wide Area Information System which basically means lots of
large databases you can search through. It was designed by WAIS Corp. as a
way of accessing very large databases.
WWW
An acronym for the World Wide Web.
WEB
Short for the World Wide Web.
WEB BROWSER
The tool (program) that allows you to surf the web. You probably used your
Web Browser to locate this page. The most popular Web Browsers right now are
Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
WEB PAGE
Every time you are on the Internet, you are looking at a Web Page. Yes that
includes this page.
WORLD WIDE WEB
A full-color, multimedia database of information on the Internet. Like the
name implies the World Wide Web is a universal mass of web pages connected
together through links. Theoretically, if you clicked on every link on every
web page you would eventually visit every corner of the world without ever
leaving your computer chair. Of course you would also have to live until you
were about a million years old and computers were antiquated technology.