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Glossary |
VIP PowerNet |
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| 4ADSL |
Acronym (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) |
| 4AGP Slot |
Acronym (Advanced Graphics Port) One all motherboards there is only one AGP slot. It is only used for AGP video cards. |
| 4ATAPI |
Acronym (AT Attachment Packet Interface) A specification for devices that use the IDE interface, such as CD-ROM drives and tape backups |
| 4ATX Plug |
The ATX plug is where the Power Supply (which is mounted in the case) plugs into the mother board. This is where the motherboard and all its peripherals get power. This plug is keyed so it will only go in a certain way. |
| 4ACTIVEX |
A new programming standard proposed by Microsoft Corporation which would increase the functionality of webpages. Similar in nature to Java and Javascripts. |
| 4APPLET |
The name given to a small binary file which is executed on your computer as part of a Web Page loading. Applets are created by JAVA. Applets should not be confused with pages which have JAVASCRIPT in them. |
| 4ARCHIVE |
(1) A term used to describe a server containing a large amount of publicily accessible software.
(2) A term used to describe a file which contains one or more files that have been compressed and stored. |
| 4BIOS |
Acronym (Basic Input Output System) The chips that control communication between the CPU and peripherals |
| 4BAUD |
A term used to refer to the transmission speed of a modem. The higher the value, the faster the modem. The value is usually measured in Bits Per Second. |
| 4C |
A programming language used to code server based applications. |
| 4CGI |
Common Gateway Interface. This is a programming standard which defines how a Web Page can interact with a user, i.e. fill out a form. Typically CGI applications are written in either PERL or C, both are computer languages of varying complexity. CGI applications run on the server, not on the visiting client. |
| 4CIAC |
Computer Incident Advisory Center. A US Government sponsored group charged with diseminating information concerning computer security and viruses to other government agencies and the public. A working group of the US Department of Energy. |
| 4CLIENT |
There are multiple meanings for this word in computer technology, however in the context being presented here, a client typically refers to a computer which is temporarily connected to the Internet via a modem connection. |
| 4COOKIE |
A small file on your computer in which a web site may write data. The data may be used by that web site only, to track your choices and custom tailor its responses. |
| 4CD-R Drive, CD-Writer/Burner |
A CD Drive that can also write (burn) data into a recordable CD by burning it in with a high powered laser. |
| 4CD-ROM Drive |
Acronym (Compact Disk - Read Only Memory)
A CD Drive capable of reading data from Compact Disks. |
| 4CMOS |
Acronym (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor)
Newer version of BIOS. |
| 4CPU |
Acronym (Central Processing Unit)
The brain of the computer. This chip does all the 'thinking' by following the instructions of each program. |
| 4CPU Slot |
for socket CPUs,
This is where the CPU is inserted. This slot is keyed, meaning that you can only insert the CPU one way, if it doesn't go in, rotate it 180 degrees and try again. If you look closely, you can see 4 screw holes, one at each corner of the slot. This is where you mount the CPU holding bracket. |
| 4CPU Socket |
for slotted CPUs,
This is where the CPU is plugged in to the Motherboard. Both the socket and CPU are keyed so it can only go in one way. Use care when inserting so that you do not bend any of the gold plated pins. Be sure to strap on a CPU fan for cooling before you turn it on as well. |
| 4Cache |
Memory that is used for containing data that is frequently needed or has been recently used. |
| 4Directory |
Used to organize files in groups. |
| 4DNS |
Acronym (Domain Name Server)
A dedicated Internet server used to query other DNS servers for domain names and also answers queries for the Domain Names it Hosts. |
| 4Domain Names |
Used to navigate the internet. Created as an alternative to using IP addresses for navigation. |
| 4Downloading |
The process of transferring a file or program from some source computer to your computer. Downloading is a controlled process using a protocol to move the file in such a way as to insure it remains intact and undamaged. |
| 4DSL |
Acronym (Digital Subscriber Line)
A high speed connection to an ISP over your current phone line. This technology is still pretty new and not yet available everywhere. |
| 4EMAIL |
A method by which one person can send messages to another. Distance and location are not relevant to email. |
| 4eCommerce |
An Internet term for electronic commerce. This usually refers to any type of purchase or transfer of money over the Internet. |
| 4FTP |
Acronym (File Transfer Protocol)
This is a commonly used protocol to transfer files over the network or the internet. |
| 4GIF |
A graphic format commonly found on web pages. Its main claim to fame is its ability to handle artwork very well. |
| 4Hard Drive |
A magnetic data storage device. The hard drive is used for permanent storage of data. |
| 4Hit |
A request for a single object in a website. (Ex. Loading a web page with 5 pictures is 6 hits, one for the page and one for each picture.) |
| 4HTML |
Hyper Text Markup Language, this is the computer layout script used to design the look of each Web page. |
| 4HTTP |
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This is the protocal used by most browsers when reading a web page. |
| 4Icon |
A little picture that your mouse can interface with by clicking or double clicking on. Each icon usually represents a program, file, or directory. |
| 4IDE & Floppy Ports |
Acronym (Integrated Drive Electronics)
To connect the IDE or Floppy ports to the corresponding drive you connect them using a ribbon cable. Since there is 2 IDE ports, be sure to connect your main hard drive to the primary IDE port, that way you can be sure your computer will boot from the correct Hard Drive. |
| 4IETF |
Internet Engineering Task Force. This is a working group charged with developing new standards and technologies for adoption on the internet. |
| 4INDEX |
(Multiple meanings)
(a) A term used to describe a web page which contains links to other webpages of a specific category.
(b) Another term used to describe the means by which a search engine catalogs a web site.
(c) Most commonly, the main or starting page of a website. |
| 4INTERNIC |
The main source of all domain names issued within the United States. InterNIC is the controlling agency which handles all of the domain names, and domain disputes within the United States. IRC - Internet Relay Chat. Both a protocol and a program type. |
| 4IRC |
Internet Relay Chat. Both a protocol and a program type. IRC allows someone on one to talk in real time to someone else, anywhere in the world. |
| 4IP Address |
Acronym (Internet Protocol Address) Used to identify a computer in a network. No two computers on the internet have the same IP address. |
| 4ISA Slots |
Acronym (Industry Standard Architecture) Used for mostly low bandwidth peripherals, like modems, soundcards, and older network cards. |
| 4ISDN |
Acronym (I Synchronous Digital Network) Business class digital connection to your phone company. This technology is capable of handling two phone calls or 128Kb/s data transfer between you and your ISP. This is being replaced by the new DSL technology. |
| 4ISP |
Acronym (Internet Service Provider) The company you rely on for your internet connection. You can connect to them via modem, DSL or satellite. |
| 4JAVA |
An object oriented computer language which was developed by SUN Microsystems for the purpose of enhancing the capabilities of Web pages. At the time of this writing the only browsers which support JAVA are Sun's HotJava and Navigator 2.0 or higher and Explorer 3.0. JAVA programs are called Applets |
| 4JAVASCRIPT |
Formerly called LiveScript, this language was developed by Netscape. Patterned after JAVA, it's primary difference is that the program is embedded into an HTML file instead of being an executable which loads when you load a web page. JPEG - Another commonly found graphic format on web pages. |
| 4JPEG |
Another commonly found graphic format on web pages. JPEG formatted graphics are especially good at handling photographs. |
| 4Keywords |
A word commonly used when searching for a website. |
| 4LYNX |
A UNIX program which allows character based terminals to access websites. Lynx users do not ordinarily see the graphics on a web page. . |
| 4Motherboard |
The main board of the computer through which all components communicate. |
| 4MODEM |
A device which translates computer signals into acceptable format and then transmits those signals over a phone line to another computer. Bidirectional, capable of sending and receiving data via the telephone line. |
| 4MOSAIC |
The name given to the first web browser ever made available. MOSAIC is free, and available from NCSA. MOSIAC is compliant to the latest releases of the HTML specification. |
| 4NEWBIE |
A term used to describe someone who is new. New to the Internet, or new to a particular aspect of the internet. |
| 4Newsgroups |
A general name given to a vast collection of public access bulletin boards. |
| 4NNTP |
Network News Transfer Protocol. The server you connect to for newsgroups would be your NNTP server. |
| 4OCR |
Acronym (Optical Character Recognition)
This is a technology that allows a computer to read text in a scanner and recognize text. This allows you to scan in text and have your computer automatically 'type' it for you. |
| 4Operating System |
The main set of instructions that the computer uses to interface with the user and the peripherals. Without the operating system a computer is nothing more than a really big and expensive doorstop or paperweight. |
| 4PAGE |
A web page is not comparable to a real page of printed material, such as a brochure or a page from this document. Web pages can be nearly any length, although for practical reasons most people limit them to less than 400 lines of 80 column text or less. A Web Page is a computer file written in the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). |
| 4PERL |
Another commonly used programming language used to code server based web applications. |
| 4PPP |
Point to Point Protocol. PPP is a superset of the TCP/IP protocols. Built upon that foundation, but instead of allowing one computer to be able to talk to many, it relies on the fact that the other computer it's linked with has that ability and therefore does not need it. |
| 4PING |
A unix command which allows you to verify a connection from the machine you are on, to another machine on the internet. |
| 4PCI Slots |
Acronym (Peripheral Component Interface)
There are very fast slots mostly used for network cards and video cards, many of the less intensive peripherals are coming with a PCI interface however like modems and sound cards. |
| 4PCMCIA |
Acronym (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)These are adapters usually found on laptops. The take peripherals about the size of a credit card such as modems, network cards, and memory expansions. I like to use the acronym (People can't memorize Computer Industry Acronyms). |
| 4Power Switch and LED jumpers |
Here is where all the switches, buttons, and light on the front of your computer case connect. You will need your motherboard manual to see a map for each jumper. |
| 4RAM |
Acronym (Random Access Memory)
The space the CPU uses to store the instructions and data it is working with. RAM communicates significantly faster to the CPU than any other computer . There are many types of RAM, I will mention a few: SDRAM - Synchronoush Dynamic RAM, FPM - Fast Page Mode, EDO RAM - Extended Data Output RAM |
| 4RAM Slots |
The RAM slots are keyed so that the RAM chips will only fit in one way. Plan wisely what chips you are going to put in there so you have at least one slot open for a memory upgrade later. |
| 4SEARCH ENGINES |
A Search Engine is a piece of software, available to all users on the Web which allows the user to locate all related sites using a keyword search. For example a user may search for all sites with the words IDAHO and REALTY in their description. The Search Engine will return a list of all the sites that match those words. |
| 4SERVER |
A Host machine. A server provides two roles, those are; a) Providing connectivity to the Internet, and b) Passing files from it's hard drive to someone requesting them. In effect, serving files. |
| 4SIGNATURE |
A small piece of text which is automatically appended to an email. (Also called a Sig or a Tag file) |
| 4SLIP |
Serial Link Internet Protocol. SLIP is a simulation of TCP/IP, except that instead of actual computer networking hardware on one of the computers, it connects to the network via a serial link, typically using a modem. |
| 4SMTP |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. One of the protocols used by your server to send/receive email. |
| 4SURFING |
The process of reading web pages and moving from one web site to another. |
| 4SCSI |
Acronym (Small Computer System Interface)
Pronounced 'Scuzzy', this is a popular interface to use for servers because of its high speed and ability to access multiple devices at the same time. This is also used on desktops for scanners and CD-ROM burners. |
| 4TCP/IP |
Acronym (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A common term used to describe the communication protocols of a network. Trust me, you really don't wanna know any more than that. |
| 4UNIX |
One of the most popular disk operating systems for the internet hosts. |
| 4URL |
Universal Resource Locator. This is a Internet address which tells a user where to locate a specific Web HTML File.
For example, Northern Web's EMALL, The Panhandle Pages resides at;
http://www.northernwebs.com/ppages
Other examples of URL's are;
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.mcp.com/nrp/wwwyp/index.html |
| 4USB Ports |
Acronym (Universal Serial Bus)
These have recently become a new feature in computing. Soon almost all your external peripherals will be connecting through these ports. |
| 4Virtual RAM |
Space on your hard drive allocated for use as RAM. When a program becomes inactive for a period of time, your machine will write it to this section on your Hard Drive to free up it memory to make space for current processes. |
| 4Vanity Page |
A vanity page is a website placed on-line by an individual, not for commercial purposes, or as an informational resource, but simple because it tells something about the person that put the page up. |
| 4WEB SITE |
The Web Site is a location on the Internet, specifically it refers to the POP location in which it resides. All Web Sites are referenced using a special addressing scheme called a URL. A Web Site can mean a single HTML file put up by an individual (called a personal page or vanity page) or hundreds of files placed on the net by a commercial venture. |
| 4W3 |
W3 is a group of networking professionals, academia, scientists and corporations who have been charged with maintaining and developing the emerging internet technologies which apply to the web. W3 is also in charge of any new standards for HTML. |
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4ZIP
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One of the most commonly used compression formats for PC and UNIX based computers. |
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