Computer Jargon

A

Access

Or making a connection to the internet. You would normally do this via an ISP (Internet Service Provider) such as Supanet, but you may also have access to the internet through work.

Acrobat

Also known as the Acrobat Reader. This program allows you to read documents that are stored in the PDF format (Portable Document Format).

Address

The location of an Internet resource. An email address may take the form of joebloggs@supanet.com. A web address looks something like http: //www.supanet.com. Also know as the URL (Uniformed Resource Locator).

ADSL

Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a technology that provides high-speed internet access (also known as broadband) over an ordinary telephone line. Connection speeds can be up to 20 times faster than ordinary modems and provide a permanent link to the internet.

Applet

A small program that can be run on different types of machines, i.e. Apple Mac and IBM PC compatible.

Anchor

Either the starting point or destination of a hyperlink.

Archive

A large file containing several smaller files, usually compressed. Commonly used archive file formats are ZIP, TAR, ARJ, LZH, UC2.

Archive site

Contains archived files, which users can download either by FTP or a browser.

Attachment

A file or document appended to an email message, can be text, graphics, sound, video, spreadsheet, database, or even an entire application.

AVI

Audio/Video Interleaved - a common video file format (.avi). Video quality can be very good at smaller resolutions, but files tend to be rather large.

B

Bandwidth

A measurement of the volume of information that can be transmitted over a network at a given time. 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).

Banner

Also known as banner ad " an advert in the form of a graphic image, normally situated right at the top of a web page.

Baud rate

The technical term for the speed at which you connect to the internet via your modem, and is measured in kbps (kilobits per second). Most modems have a maximum baud rate of 56kbps, but the actual connection speed may be somewhat lower because of factors such as interference on the phone lines.

Bitmap File

A common image format (.bmp) defined by a rectangular pattern of pixels.

Body

The part of an email message containing the actual message.

Bookmark

A shortcut to a particular web site. You can bookmark interesting pages so you can return to them easily.

Broadband

A high-speed internet connection that is much faster than an ordinary 56kbit modem. See also ADSL.

Browser

A browser is software that enables you to view websites. It contains a number of controls in the form of a menu bar, tool bar and shortcut menu. The most common is Internet Explorer.

Button

Usually a graphic with a hyperlink embedded on a web page, which you can click on.

C

CacheAn area created by the browser on your computer's hard drive that stores web page graphics and/or text files to speed up internet browsing.

Channel

This is a term borrowed from television and is a way of categorising the different areas of a large website such as Supanet.

Chat

A system that allows for online text communication between internet users.

Click

Depressing once, and releasing, the button on the left-hand side of the mouse.

Client

A program (like a web browser) that connects to and requests information from a server.

COM Port

Communication Port: the place where peripherals like modems and mice connect to your computer.

Compress

Data files available for download from the Internet are typically compressed in order to save server space and reduce transfer times. Typical file extensions for compressed files include zip (DOS/Windows) and tar (UNIX).

Connection

Your computer connects to Supanet over the telephone line in order to gain access to the internet.

Cookies

A name for files stored on your hard drive by your web browser that hold information about your browsing habits, like what sites you have visited, which newsgroups you have read, etc. Many view 'cookies' as an invasion of privacy however they can be really useful. For example when you are shopping online your items in your virtual shopping basket can be stored by a cookie until you decide to "checkout" and the server requests information on what you have bought.

Cursor

The small moveable icon on the screen, which indicates your current control position. The cursor changes appearance depending upon what your computer is doing - for example, it may look like an arrow when the computer is waiting, an hourglass when it is busy or a pointed finger when it passes over a hyperlink. You can change the position of the cursor by moving the mouse.

D

Desktop

The area on your monitor behind any open windows or programs, which displays icons.

Dial-up Network ConnectionA connection to the internet via phone and modem.

DomainThe Internet is divided into smaller groups known as domains, including .co.uk (business), .gov.uk (government) and .ac.uk (educational).

Domain Name

Unique address identifying each site on the internet.

Double-click

To quickly depress and release the left mouse button twice.

Download

The process of copying documents and/or files from the web onto your computer. The opposite action is upload where a local file is copied to a server.

Driver

A small piece of software that allows your PC to control another piece of computer equipment, such as a modem, printer or scanner.

E

Email

Electronic text messages sent between computers over the internet.

Emoticon

A combination of ASCII characters that form a facial expression. For example, if you turn your head sideways, the characters : ) make a smiley face. Frequently used in email messages to convey a particular tone.