ANIMATED GIF - an image that moves like a cartoon on your computer screen.

APPLET - a small software program that performs a simple task, like a calculator.

APPLICATION - any software program that you use on your computer to perform a task such as writing letters. Applications on your computer are like CDs on your CD player.

ASDL -Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a form of DSL, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. It does this by utilizing frequencies that are not used by a voice telephone call. By using a splitter or micro filters this allows a single telephone connection to be used for both ADSL service and voice calls at the same time. As phone lines are so varied in quality and weren't initially provisioned with ADSL in mind it can generally only be used over short distances, typically less than 5 km

ATTACHMENT - a file that you attach to an e-mail message.

AMERICAN STANDARD CODE FOR INFORMATION INTERCHANGE (ASCII) - the code that computers use to represent characters as numbers which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another. The principle is similar to Morse code which uses dots and dashes to transmit messages.

ASCII -see AMERICAN STANDARD CODE FOR INFORMATION INTERCHANGE

ARPANet - a US military network of computers from the early 1970s that gave rise to the Internet.

BANDWIDTH - how much data you can send through a connection, usually measured in bits per second. Bandwidth affects the time you wait for a Web site to appear on your screen.

BANNER - ubiquitous signboard, usually a strip at the top of a Web page, which is used for advertising.

BAUD - commonly used to describe the number of bits of information that a modem transmits: 500 baud means 500 bits per second (bps).

BBC MICROCOMPUTER - an early personal computer used in the 1980's for the BBC's educational programmes on computing.

BITMAP - any picture you see on the Web. Bitmap refers to the map of bits on the page that make up the picture.

BIT - the smallest unit of computer data, equivalent to either a 1 or a zero.

BITS PER SECOND (BPS) - a measure of how fast data is transmitted by a circuit.

BOOLEAN OPERATOR - words like AND, OR and NOT that help you pinpoint the information you want to retrieve from the Internet. E.g. searching for information on seat belts would return Web sites on chairs and fashion accessories. Searching for seat AND belts would narrow the search to safety belts in vehicles.

BOOKMARKING - adding a Web site address to your online address book. Like dialling a telephone number from your address book, it's easy to look up a Web site you have book-marked. Bookmarking a Web site means you probably want to visit it again. Bookmarks are Netscape's name - Microsoft's browser calls them Favourites.

BPS - see BITS PER SECOND

BROADBAND - also known as ASDL -a faster communication speed using normal telephone lines, speed ranges from 1MB to 16MB. This dependes on the distance to the telephone exchange from the consumer. Also see ASDL

BROWSER - a software program that lets you look at various Internet resources, especially Web sites. A browser lets you move from one Web page to another using hyperlinks.

BUDDIES - some Internet service providers will tell you when friends or family are online at the same time as you. These are your buddies.

BYTE - equals 8 bits. One byte is smaller than a word and generally represents one character.

CACHE - a place on your computer that stores information that you may need again. It is the reason why it is a lot faster to go back to a Web site than to view it the first time. You only download a site on your first visit - when you go back your computer retrieves it from your cache.

CHAT - a live conversation with any number of other people anywhere in the world. You 'talk' by typing and reading messages. Everyone sees your message and you can read everyone else's messages. Chat happens in virtual chat rooms that generally have a theme, e.g. homework, angling.

CLIENT - a computer that requests material from the World Wide Web. When you view a Web site, your computer - the client - has requested it from another computer that is called a server.

CODE - a system for representing one set of things with another (e.g. Morse code). Computers convert information into code to transfer it to other computers.

CONTENT - information of value or interest on a Web page, as opposed to advertising or graphics that are purely window-dressing. A Web page with tots of advertising and gimmicky graphics has low content.

COOKIE - information stored on your computer when you visit a Web site that is useful if you return to that site. E.g. when a Web site says 'Welcome Back' it has read a cookie that it stored on your computer last time you visited the site. Think of cookies as stubs on raffle tickets. When you buy a ticket, you keep the stub - the cookie - but it's only of use if you go back after the draw to see whether or not you've won.

COMPRESSION - a method of fitting information into less space so that when you send it from one computer to another it travels faster - like packing away a tent before you put it in the car to take it home.

COPY AND PASTE - to make a copy of something on the screen and then insert (paste) it into another document. When the computer copies something, it stores it on a clipboard.

CRASH - what happens when your computer stops working and you have to switch off and start again.

CYBERSPACE - a term originating from Neuromancer, a novel by William Gibson, that refers to the world of networked computers.

DATA - information.

DIALUP - a connection to the Internet that your computer dials up using its modem and the telephone line, so you are only connected when you dial up.

DOWNLOAD - to transfer information to your computer from another computer.

DOMAIN NAME -the highest level name of a Web site. For example, the BBC's domain name is bbc. A site does not have to have its own domain name. Instead of registering a unique domain name with the Internet Society, you can use another site to host your site by putting its domain name in your Web site address. Think of it as being 'care of'. Personal home pages are often hosted by another site to save the author the expense of registering their own domain name.

DRAG AND DROP - to pick up something on a page by clicking on it, drag it by holding the button down on the mouse and moving the cursor across the screen to somewhere else, and then drop it into place by releasing the mouse button.

DSL - See ASDL

E-MAIL - a message you send from your computer to another computer.

EMOTICON - a way to put emotion into e-mail messages by adding specially arranged punctuation marks, e.g. :-) is a grin (tilt - your head to the left). Emoticons make up for not being able to hear the tone of someone's voice or see their body language as you read their e mail message. Many people think emoticons are as useful as a freemason's handshake until they see how easily misunderstandings arise when people who don't know each other talk over the Internet.

ETHERNET - a standard for connecting computers into a LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN).

FAQ - see FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

FAVOURITES - the name used by Microsoft's browser software program for bookmarks.

FIREWALL - software that sets up a security barrier around a company's internal network, protecting it from outside networks such as the Internet.

FLAME - an insulting message, a series of which can escalate into the online equivalent of a brawl. This is called a flame war.

FOLDER - like your filing cabinet, the storage space on your computer is divided into folders. Using folders helps you keep information on your computer tidy.

FRAMES - sections on a Web page that change independently of each other.

FREEWARE - software that you download from the Internet which is free of charge.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION (FAQ) - a question that new users ask frequently, so a bank of such questions and answers is provided. FAQ's save computer companies and software manufacturers reinvesting the wheel for all their new customers and are well worth reading.

GIF - a type of graphics file commonly used on the Internet.

GIGABYTE - distance is measured in metres, data is measured in bytes. One gigabyte equals 1000 megabytes, or more accurately 1024 megabytes.

HACKER - a commonly used term for a person with obsessive, meticulous programming skills who can pick their way into any computer linked to the Internet, legally or otherwise. Like the SAS, you don't admit to being a hacker.

HARD COPY - a printed copy of a document, as distinct from the digital copy on your computer.

HARD DISK -the computer's main storage area. It retains information when the computer is switched off.

HIT - a visit to a Web site that is recorded by a counter. Hits can be misleading, e.g. a new hit may be recorded for a Web page that has been reloaded.

HOME PAGE - the opening page of a Web site that gives you an overview of the whole Web site. Because Web sites can have hundreds of tangled pages, there is usually a link back to the home page from anywhere in the Web site.

HOTSPOT - another term for HYPERLINK.

HYPERLINK - an easy-to-spot word or phrase on a Web page, usually underlined, that turns your mouse pointer into a hand. Clicking on a hyperlink jumps you to somewhere else, either on that page or on any other page on the Web.

HYPERTEXT - the name given to text with HYPERLINKS.

HYPERTEXT MARK-UP LANGUAGE (HTML) - the code used to write pages on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with 'tags' that indicate how it should appear on screen. Importantly, HTML lets you specify that a block of text, or a word, is 'linked' to another file on the Internet.

HYPERTEXT TRANSMISSION PROTOCOL (HTTP) - the language computers use to transmit and receive files on the World Wide Web. You tell your computer to use this language when you type http at the start of a Web site address.

ICON - a small symbol, like a picture of a floppy disk or a printer, that you click on to access that function.

INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY - a term used by Al Gore, Vice President of the US, to describe the impact of computer networks on how we live.

INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK (ISDN) - a faster way of moving information over standard telephone lines.

INTERNET - the vast, global collection of interconnected computer networks that all use the same language to talk to each other. The Internet is not a single entity but a collection of networks.

INTERNET ACCESS PROVIDER (IAP) - a provider that sells you a connection to the Internet without additional services like its own guide to education, news or sport.

INTRANET- a network of computers for a group of people, usually employees of a company, that uses Internet technology such as e-mail and browser software but which is not part of the Internet.

INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) NUMBER -the unique number assigned to any computer on the Internet. IP numbers have four parts, separated by dots. Only computers use IP Numbers to identify each other. We use a name, called a domain name, as a substitute for IP numbers because we find names easier to remember.

INTERNET RELAY CHAT (IRC) -a popular system for chat over the Internet.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) - the company that sells you access to the Internet. Your ISP has computers permanently linked to the Internet, and you link your computer to its network. ISPs are similar to telephone companies. When you buy a phone you can't make a call until you pay a telephone company to connect your phone. An ISP does the same for your computer. As well as access, ISPs give you space on the Web for publishing and an e-mail address. How you pay your ISP varies.

ISDN - see INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK

JAVA - a computer language that is used for writing programs for networks and the Internet.

JAVA APPLET - a small Java program that works within a Web page to add interactive features like forms, ticker-tape text or a calculator.

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LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN) -a computer network limited to the immediate, area, usually the same building or floor in a building.

LEASED LINE - a telephone line that is rented for exclusive, 24-hour use from one location to another. High-speed data connections require a leased line. A large company or university would probably connect its computers to the Internet over a leased line.

LOGIN - as a noun, login refers to the name, often your own, that you type in to access the Internet or a Web site on it. Your login is not a secret like the PASSWORD YOU may have to enter as well. The verb login means to enter a computer system.

LURKER - someone who prefers to read other people's messages rather than posting their own views. Discussion groups often have thousands of members but only a handful will regularly post messages - the rest are the silent Majority, lurking on the sideline. lurking and reading FAQ beforehand is good 'netiquette' when you join a discussion group.

MAILIST - similar to a NEWSGROUP, except that to see messages you subscribe to the list and messages then arrive by e-mail, rather than you going to a newsgroup to see what messages have been posted. When you send an e-mail to the list, everyone on the list receives it. A central computer, usually set up by the owner of the list, handles all the processing. Like newsgroups, mailists are very good for keeping in touch with people who share your interests.

MEGABYTE - distance is measured in metres, data is measured in bytes. One megabyte equals 1 million characters of text, or about as much as you need for a fat paperback book. A megabyte takes about 4 seconds to transmit at 56,000 bits per second.

MENU BAR - a bar on a Web page, usually across the top of the screen, that remains visible and gives you a set of controls. Some buttons on the menu bar may open sub-menus, called pull-down menus, which give you more options.

MIRROR SITE-, an exact copy of a Web site, usually on a computer in a different location, that allows a server to meet heavy demand by answering requests from clients from the server site that is nearest to them.

MODEM - the device that turns the computer's digital signals into sound so it can be transferred over the telephone line. In other words, just as we pick up the telephone to talk to each other, a computer picks up a modem to talk to another computer over the telephone line.

MOUSE DROPPINGS - the practice of recording what someone clicks on when they visit your Web site.

NEWSGROUP -the name for discussion groups on Usenet. Newsgroups are for discussion among people with similar interests, not for news.

NEWSREADER -the facility in a browser program that lets you read the bulletin boards that NEWSGROUPS use for discussion.

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PACKET -the name given to a piece of data that travels over a network. Like homing pigeons, packets know where they are going, as well as where they have come from.

PASSWORD - a secret code that you need to access a secure system. Passwords usually have seven or more characters. Combining your name and age - Christine37 - makes a bad password. A better choice would be a combination of letters and non-letters, e.g. Chr1st1n337

PC or PERSONAL COMPUTER - a computer that sits on your desk and is designed to be operated by one person at a time.

PLUG-IN - a small piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. Plug-ins are usually free and can be downloaded off the Internet. Popular plug-ins are RealAudio and Shockwave.

POST -to send a message, either to a NEWSGROUP or by E-MAIL.

PROTOCOL - a set of rules that all computers linked to a network must follow. Protocols act like the rules you follow for posting a letter. You put a recipient's address, a stamp and your address on a letter so that anyone in the system knows where to find what they need. Regardless of the underlying language, the basic 'protocols' remain the same.

SEARCH DIRECTORY- a free service that helps you find the information you want. Directories divide the Internet up into subject areas, in the same way that libraries do. To find a book on how to play cricket you would first go to non-fiction, then to sport and then to cricket. Search directories do the same for Web sites. A popular search directory is Yahoo.

SEARCH ENGINE - a free service that lets you took for information by typing in a word, called a keyword, or combination of words. The search engine then looks for Web sites that match your word and prepares a list of what it has found. Some search engines look for Web site addresses that match your word, others might look at headers or titles on the page or even search the full text. Search engines tend to cover more of the Internet than search directories but can retrieve thousands of Web sites with tots of irrelevant material.

SERVER - a computer that holds material from the World Wide Web and can transfer it to another computer when requested. When you view a Web site, it has come from a server.

SHAREWARE - software that YOU download from the Internet that has a free trial period, after which you send a payment, usually a very small amount, if you want to continue using it.

SPAM - junk mail on the Internet.

SPIDER - a program that collects Web site addresses and catalogues them for use with a search directory or search engine.

SURF -to look around the Internet.

T-1 - a leased-line telephone connection to the Internet that can transfer data much faster than an ordinary phone line.

T-3 - the fastest connection, with enough capacity to transmit full-screen, full-motion video.

TCP/IP- see TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL/INTERNET PROTOCOL

TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL/INTERNET PROTOCOL (TCP/IP) - the set of rules that a computer must use in order to connect to the Internet.

UPLOAD - to transfer information from your computer to another computer. When you send an e-mail you upload it.

UNIVERSAL RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL)-the address of a Website. Because it is universal, anyone can type it into their computer and find your Web site.

USENET - a worldwide system of noticeboards that you can read via the Internet, using your browser software. Anyone can post an article, called 'news', to a noticeboard. With millions of users Usenet is an enormous decentralised information resource, divided into forums called NEWSGROUPS, each with its own area of interest. Most newsgroups receive several thousand articles a day. News is generally held only for a day or so after which it may be archived.

WEB - short for WORLD WIDE WEB.

WEB PAGE - a page written in HYPERTEXT MARK-UP LANGUAGE that you can view with your browser software.

WEB SITE - a collection of Web pages.

WEB-CAM - a camera linked to the Web showing current or frequently updated pictures.

WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) -a network of computers dispersed over a large area.

WINDOWS - A software application or operating system that presents the user with a graphical representation on the screen. The user is able to run multiple software applications, each one in it's own square box or "window". Each window will have a title and some graphical controls and will inherit specific controls, characteristics or behaviour dependent on the software being used.

WINDOWS 3.0/3.1/3.11 - An earlier and now an archaic form of Microsoft Windows which ran as a software application in MS-DOS. No longer supported by Microsoft. November 2008.

WINDOWS 95/98 - Successor to Windows 3.11 and earlier examples, the year of release being in its title. Windows 95 saw the first use of Plug and Play technology for devices connected to your Personal Computer, a modern graphical desktop interface and the ability for software applications to support time sharing/slicing. More enhancements were included than can be listed here. Windows 98 is a later example, further enhancing the operating system.

WINDOWS CE - A compact edition of the popular 32bit desktop Windows operating system from Microsoft, tailored for use on hand held computing devices or "palmtops" as they have since become known.

WINDOWS ME - The successor to Windows 95/98. Can be unstable with many applications and so was replaced by Windows XP.

WINDOWS MOBILE - A version of windows designed for mobile devices, PDA's and mobile phones.

WINDOWS NT - A family of secure network operating systems for business use incorporating the graphical interface that was first released with Windows 95.

WINDOWS XP - Windows Experience. The successor to Windows 95/98/ME and Windows NT4/2000 for the desktop. The server edition of XP is called 2003 onwards. There are two versions, a cut down version for home use called XP Home and the full version called XP Professional.

WINDOWS VISTA - The successor of Windows XP. Various versions available -
Windows Vista - Home Basic - Basic is a good choice if you simply have basic computing needs, such as e-mail, browsing the Internet, and viewing photos.
Windows Vista - Home Premium - is a great choice for going beyond e-mail and web surfing to improve personal productivity and enjoy all kinds of digital entertainment.
Windows Visat - Ultimate - Ideal for Work and pleaseure. For fun, you'll love the extensive options you get for music, images, live and recorded TV, and online entertainment. For work, you'll find improved document sharing and networking support.

WIRELESS - A standard by which laptop computers can communicate via radio communication over a short distance, typically 100m to 350m. There are three standards 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. The laptop needs to log into a wireless access point or wireless router (the other end of the two way link) in which to receive network connectivity.

WIRELESS ACCESS POINT - A simple device to bridge the radio and wired segments of a wireless network. Not to be confused with a Wireless Router.

WIRELESS ROUTER - A device that can handle the bridging of a radio and wired network (see Wireless Access Point) but additionally offers NAT routing to the wireless laptops connected to it. It is a firewalling, NATing wireless access point DHCP router.

WWW - World Wide Web. A part of the Internet that contains a collection of web servers and web-sites hyperlinked together all over the world.

WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) or WEB for short - the colourful part of the Internet that is easy to get around because, as its name suggests, all the pages on the Web are connected by links. The Web is not the same at the Internet, it's a part of it. If the Internet is the road system that everything uses, the Web is the bus lane with the colourful bits that are easy to jump on and off - but just because buses are easier to see it doesn't mean there isn't any other traffic on the road, such as e-mail.

WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get. Usually used in reference to word-processing applications, to mean what you see on the screen is exactly what will be printed by your printer.

ZIP - A type of compression format that allows files and/or folders to be compressed into a single file. This single file can be easily forwarded on disc or by email as a single manageable unit.

ZIP disk - A removable disk giving a large amount of storage using compression techniques which fits into a ZIP Drive in the same way a floppy disc fits into a floppy drive.

ZIP Drive - A brand of external backup device that allows a large amount of data to be transferred to it in a compressed format. Not to be confused with ZIP format which is the compression of files and folders into a ZIP file. However, this is not to say that ZIP files cannot be stored on a ZIP drive. Other types of backup devices are tape drives.