A
acceptable use policy (AUP) - It is a policy that a user must agree to follow in order to be provided with access to a network or to the Internet. It is common practice for many businesses and educational facilities to require that employees or students sign an acceptable use policy before being granted a network ID. This is a policy set up by the network administrator or other school leaders in conjunction with their technology needs and safety concerns. This policy restricts the manner in which a network may be used, and helps provide guidelines for teachers using technology in the classroom.

alias - In literature is an alternate name for someone or something. When using computers an alias is a file that points to another item, such as a program, document, folder, or disk. When an alias is opened, the original item that the alias points to is opened. This helps in the organizing and accessing of files. Usually the alias is an alternative and usually easier-to-understand or more significant name for a defined data object. Alias is purely a Mac term. The equivalent term for Windows-based computers is a shortcut.

algorithms - A formula or set of steps for solving a particular problem. To be an algorithm, a set of rules must be unambiguous and have a clear stopping point.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)- ASCII is the international standard and it is the most common format for text files in computers and on the Internet. There are 128 possible characters are defined and correspond to all upper and lower-case Latin characters, numbers, and punctuation marks. In an ASCII file, each alphabetic, numeric, or special character is represented with a 7-bit binary number (a string of seven 0s or 1s) such as 0000000 through 1111111.

Analog-to-Digital Converter (A/D) - An A/D is a chip which converts analog video signals to digital signals. Analog-to-digital converters are used on capture cards to change the video in a format that the computer can better manipulate and store. SEE RAMDAC.

analog video - The original video recording method which stores continuous waves of red, green and blue intensities. In analog video, the number of rows are fixed, but the number of columns are infinite, because the signals are uninterrupted across each row.

applet - An applet is a little application. An applet is a program designed to be executed from within another application. However, unlike an application, applets cannot be executed directly from the operating system. On the Web, using Java, the object-oriented programming language, an applet is a small program that can be sent along with a Web page to a user. Java applets can perform interactive animations, immediate calculations, or other simple tasks without having to send a user request back to the server.

application or application program - An application is a program or group of programs designed for end users. There are designed to performa specific function for the user, or in some cases for another application program. Applications software includes database programs, word processors, spreadsheets, image editing programs, and Web browsers. An example would be a software program that lets you complete a task, such as writing a paper, creating a poster, designing an image, or viewing a Web page. Applications software are unable to run without the operating system and system utilities.

Application Program Interface (API)- The API is the formal request and means of communication with other programs that an application program uses. It is the specific method prescribed by a computer operating system or by an application program by which a programmer writing an application program can make requests of the operating system or another application.

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B
bandwidth - Bandwidth refers to how much information can be carried in a given time period (usually a second) over a wired or wireless communications link. In digital systems, bandwidth is measured in bits-per-second (Bps). A standard page of English text contains about 16,000 bits. Any digital or analog signal has a bandwidth.

Binary DigIT (bit)- This is the smallest unit of computerized data. A bit has a single binary value, either 0 or 1.

browser - Short for Web browser. Browser refers to the software application that allows you to view Internet and WWW pages. See Web Browser.

bits-per-second (bsp) - Bps is a common measure of data transmission speed for computer modems and transmission carriers. As the term implies, the speed in bps is equal to the number of bits transmitted or received each second.

Blind Courtesy Copy or Blind Carbon Copy (BCC)- A way to send an e-mail message to more than one recipient, without the parties knowing that an identical message was sent to others. Using the BCC is a good way to avoid the long list of recipients that your correspondents usually have to wade through in the header of a mass-mailing. See CC.

broadband - Broadband refers to telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information. It is a type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission. In contrast, baseband transmission allows only one signal at a time.

browser-safe colors - Although there are millions of colors in the computer world, there are only 216 colors that are browser-safe, or are able to be read by any Web browser. These colors will remain true no matter what platform or browser you use, and their hexadecimal codes (numerical names for colors) are made up by using any combination of 00 33 66 99 CC or FF.

BTW - An acronym often used in e-mail messages and chat sessions to mean: "by the way."

burn - To record information onto a writable optical medium such as a CD-R, CD-RW or DVD+RW.

byte - A byte is a unit of storage capable of holding a single character. A set of 8 bits that means something to the computer, like a letter, number, or punctuation mark. For example, the byte 01001000 signifies the character H. The three-letter word hat requires 3 bytes. Large amounts of memory are indicated in terms of kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes), and gigabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes).
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C
CD-Rewriteable Discs-CDs which have the capability to be rewritten.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) - The CPU is the hardware that most people consider the "brain" of the computer. It takes instructions from software, makes calculations, and helps run the show!

chip- A small piece of semi-conducting material, which is often silicon, on which an integrated circuit is embedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inches and can contain millions of electronic components (transistors). Computers consist of many chips placed on electronic boards called printed circuit boards.

client/server - A term denoting the technology relationship between two types of computers, the client (normally your Mac or PC) and the server (a computer that stores and delivers information or files to you). When surfing the Internet, you are the client, and the pages you are reading come from the server, such as the www4teachers server.

code -A set of symbols for representing something.

Codec – COmpresser/DECompressor. Software component which translates data such as video or audio between its uncompressed form and the compressed form in which it is stored. Sorenson Video and Cinepak are common QuickTime video codecs.

Compact Disc (CD) - a compact disc is a polycarbonate with one or more metal layers capable of storing digital information. Most commonly compact discs are used by the music industry to store digital recordings, while CD-ROMs are used to store computer data. Al though the storage capacity for a CD is high, there is one downfall to a CD. Both CD and CD- ROM of these types of compact disc are read-only, which means that once the data has been recorded onto them, they can only be read, or played. See CD-Rewriteables.

compression - process by which files are reduced in size by the removal of redundant or less important data.

control key (CTRL) A key used to access commands through the keyboard rather than the menus. CTRL commands are commonly shortcuts.

control panel - A window you can open to adjust various aspects of your computer, such as the volume, fonts, desktop background, mouse speed, and clock.

cookies - A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.

The name cookie comes from UNIX objects called magic cookies. These are tokens that are attached to a user or program and change depending on the areas entered by the user or program.

Courtesy Copy (CC)- derived from the non-digital Carbon Copy. A way to send an e-mail message to a person other than the main recipient or recipients. The CC'ed party can see that they are not the main recipient of the letter.

central processing unit (CPU) - The CPU is the brains of the computer and it is where most calculations take place.

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D
data base - A organized collection of information. Information is placed in a database similar to that to an imagined electronic filing system so that a computer program can quickly select pieces of data as needed.

desktop - The background behind all your windows, menus, and dialog boxes: your virtual desk. You can change the look of your desktop by applying different properties to it through your control panel.

digital - Describes any system based on discontinuous data or events.

digital versatile disc or digital video disc (DVD) - A DVD is a type of optical disk technology similar to the CD-ROM but has a far greater storage capacity. A DVD holds a minimum of 4.7GB of data, enough for a full-length movie. DVDs are commonly used as a medium for digital representation of movies and other multimedia presentations that combine sound with graphics. DVD can deliver full-screen, full motion video, crystal clear digital sound, and high quality color graphics.

digital video-Video recording in digital form. In order to edit video in the computer or to embed video clips into multimedia documents, a video source must originate from a digital camera or be converted to digital. Frames from analog video cameras and VCRs are converted into digital frames (bitmaps) using frame grabbers or similar devices attached to a personal computer. Uncompressed digital video signals require huge amounts of storage, and high-ratio real time compression schemes, such as MPEG, are essential for handling digital video in today's computers.

disk- computer storage device on which data can be encoded.

domain - A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Within the Internet, domains are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are said to be in the same domain.

domain name - The unique address name for an Internet site. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general. Each domain name is associated with one and only one Internet Protocol Number, which is translated by a Domain Name System (DNS).

Domain Name System (DNS) -DNS is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. This is a service that stores, translates, and retrieves the numerical address equivalents of familiar host names that you use everyday (such as the "www.4teachers.org" in http://www.4teachers.org). Each host name corresponds to a numerical address required by standard Internet protocol that the DNS retrieves in order to allow you to remember addresses with names, not numbers. DNS entries are housed on numerous servers worldwide.

download - To save a file onto your computer from another source, like the Internet. People often download files, such as free-ware, share-ware, for installations, and sounds, movie clips, text files, or news streams onto their computer for viewing or listening.

digital subscriber lines (DSL) -

DVD+RW - A DVD with capability of having its data erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. See DVD.
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E
Ethernet - A common method of networking computers in a Local Area Network (LAN). Ethernet can handle from 10,000,000-100,000,000 bits-per-second (or 10-100 megabits-per-second) and can be used with almost any kind of computer.

expansion slot - An opening in a computer where a circuit board can be inserted to add new capabilities to the computer.

export- the process of saving a video as an industry standard such as QuickTime or AVI file or recording to a DV camera.
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F

Fast Start - QuickTime's progressive download or fast start is when a movie starts playing as soon as the first part of its data arrives, without waiting for the whole movie to be stored in memory. This is able to occur because the information QuickTime needs to start playing the movie is stored at the beginning of the file, and the media data is interleaved in the file so that the parts that play together are stored together. This means, QuickTime can start to play a fast start movie before it's finished downloading. This will usually occur within a few seconds after the download starts. .

file- a collection of data given a name.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) -A set of rules that allows two computers to "talk" to one another while transferring files from one to another. This is the protocol used when you transfer a file from one computer to another across the Internet. Many Internet sites have publicly accessible repositories of information that can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the account name "anonymous." These sites are called "anonymous FTP servers."

Finder - The Finder is the default open application on a Macintosh, and it's represented by a little, purple, happy face icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Most people think of it as the desktop, however, or as the utility that lets you navigate quickly among open programs. When you click on the Finder, you can designate which of your open applications will be the active one.

firewall - Hardware and/or software that separates a Local Area Network (LAN) into two or more parts for security purposes.

frame - (1) In a Web browser, this is a separate, scrollable window on the computer screen. (2) In computer graphics, this is one screen full of data or its equivalent in storage space. An example would be its use in full-motion video, where approximately 24 consecutive frames in one second (24 fps) is required to simulate real, continuous motion.

frames per second (FPS) - The measure of the frame rate of video or film. Basically this is the number of frames viewed per second.

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G
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) - An efficient method of storing graphics developed for CompuServe in the early 1980s. A GIF is a bit-mapped graphics file format used by the World Wide Web, CompuServe and many bulletin board systems. GIF files take up a small amount of disk space and can be transmitted quickly over phone lines. GIF supports color and various resolutions.GIFs can be viewed on any computer platform and are best for illustrations, cartoons, logos, or similar non-photographic graphics. It also includes data compression, but because it is limited to 256 colors, it is more effective for scanned images such as illustrations rather than color photos.

Gigabyte (G or GB)- One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes.

graphics - any computer device or program that makes a computer capable of displaying and manipulating pictures

Graphic User Interface (GUI) -
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H
hard drive - A device for storing information in a fixed location within your computer. The equivalent of a filing cabinet in an office, the hard drive is used for storing programs and documents that are not being used.

hardware - Refers to objects that you can actually touch, like disks, disk drives, display screens, keyboards, printers, boards, and chips. In contrast, software is untouchable. Software exists as ideas, concepts, and symbols, but it has no substance.

hexadecimal code - Also called Hex codes. In HTML, colors are identified by a six-character string of numbers and letters (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,A,B,C,D,E,F) derived from base-16 mathematics. The codes are used to convert RGB (red, green, and blue) values into something HTML can understand. Pure red would be #FF0000.

homepage - The page on the Internet which most often gives users access to the rest of the Web site.

host - The name given to any computer directly connected to the Internet. Host computers are usually associated with running computer networks, online services, or bulletin board systems. A host computer on the Internet could be anything from a mainframe to a personal computer. See also DNS.

hotspot - An area of a graphics object, or a section of text, that activates a function when selected. Hot spots are particularly common in multimedia applications, where selecting a hot spot can make the application display a picture, run a video, or open a new window of information.

hypertext - Generally any text in a file that contains words, phrases, or graphics that, when clicked, cause another document to be retrieved and displayed. Hypertext most often appears blue and underlined in Web pages.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) - This is the coding language used to create sites on the World Wide Web.

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) - HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web. HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page.

The other main standard that controls how the World Wide Web works is HTML, which covers how Web pages are formatted and displayed.

HTTP is called a stateless protocol because each command is executed independently, without any knowledge of the commands that came before it. This is the main reason that it is difficult to implement Web sites that react intelligently to user input. This shortcoming of HTTP is being addressed in a number of new technologies, including ActiveX, Java, JavaScript and cookies.
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I
icon - Symbols or illustrations on the desktop or computer screen that indicate program files, documents, or other functions.

Internet - An internet is a large network made up of a number of smaller networks. "The" Internet is made up of computers in more than 100 countries covering commercial, academic and government endeavors. Originally developed for the U.S. military, the Internet became widely used for academic and commercial research. Users had access to unpublished data and journals on a huge variety of subjects. Today, the Internet has become commercialized into a worldwide information highway, providing information on every subject known to humankind.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)- The ISDN is an international communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital telephone lines or normal telephone wires.

IP Number or Internet Protocol Number. A unique number consisting of four parts separated by dots, for example 129.237.247.243. This is the number assigned to a host machine which is retrieved by a DNS when a request for an Internet site is made. These numbers usually correspond to unique domain names, which are easier for people to remember.

ISDN terminal adapter- A device that adapts a computer to a digital ISDN line. Like a modem, it plugs into the serial port of the computer or into an expansion slot. Some terminal adapters use the parallel port for higher speed. The adapter may also include a regular data or fax/modem and switch automatically between analog and digital depending on the type of call.
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J

Java language - A high-level programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Java was originally called OAK, and was designed for handheld devices and set-top boxes. Oak was unsuccessful so in 1995 Sun changed the name to Java and modified the language to take advantage of the burgeoning World Wide Web.

Java is an object-oriented language similar to C++, but simplified to eliminate language features that cause common programming errors. Java source code files (files with a .java extension) are compiled into a format called bytecode (files with a .class extension), which can then be executed by a Java interpreter. Compiled Java code can run on most computers because Java interpreters and runtime environments, known as Java Virtual Machines (VMs), exist for most operating systems, including UNIX, the Macintosh OS, and Windows. Bytecode can also be converted directly into machine language instructions by a just-in-time compiler (JIT).

Java is a general purpose programming language with a number of features that make the language well suited for use on the World Wide Web. Small Java applications are called Java applets and can be downloaded from a Web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

JavaScript - A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable Web authors to design interactive sites. Although it shares many of the features and structures of the full Java language, it was developed independently. Javascript can interact with HTML source code, enabling Web authors to spice up their sites with dynamic content. JavaScript is endorsed by a number of software companies and is an open language that anyone can use without purchasing a license. It is supported by recent browsers from Netscape and Microsoft, though Internet Explorer supports only a subset, which Microsoft calls Jscript.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG or JPEG) - An efficient method for storing graphic files for transmission across phone lines. Unlike GIF files, JPG files lose a little data when the image is converted, and their files are often much larger than GIFs. However, JPGs are one of your best choices for photographic images.
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K
kilobyte (KB) -A thousand bytes. Due to the binary nature of computers, it's 210 bytes, technically 1024 bytes.
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L

Link -On the World Wide Web, an address (URL) to another document on the same server or on any remote server. In data management, a pointer embedded within a record that refers to data or the location of data in another record.

Linux - An operating system that is a UNIX clone. It was created by programmer Linus Torvalds, who gave Linux its name. Linux is under special copyright that allows anyone to improve it, but no one to profit from it.

listserv - A very common program used to run a mailing list. Because it is so common, mailing lists are often called listservs, even if they are run with different software.

Local Area Network (LAN) - A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building.
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M
mailing list - A system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, which is then copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the mail list. In this way, people who may be using different kinds of e-mail access can participate in discussions together.

main frame - A computer capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of users simultaneously.

Mbps -Mbps is short for megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed (a megabit is equal to one million bits). Network transmissions, for example, are generally measured in Mbps.

MBps - short for megabytes per second.

media player - Software that "plays" audio, video or animation files. In the Windows world, Windows Media Player and the media players from RealNetworks (RealOne, RealPlayer, etc.) are widely used.

megabytes (Mbyte, M-byte, MB, or M)- one million bytes or more precisely 1,048,576 bytes of data storage. It also equals one million bytes in data transfer rates.

menu bar - A horizontal strip at the top of a window that shows the menus available in a program.

Modem - MOdulator-DEModulator. A device that allows a computer or terminal to transmit data over a standard telephone line. It converts digital pulses from the computer to audio tones that an analog telephone line is set up to handle and vice versa.

The term usually refers to 56 Kbps modems (V.92, V.90), the current top speed, or to older 28.8 Kbps modems (V.34). The term may also refer to higher-speed cable or DSL modems or to ISDN terminal adapters, which are all digital and technically not modems. See ISDN terminal adapter.

A modem is an analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter. It also dials the line, answers the call and controls transmission speed. Modems have evolved at 300, 1,200, 2,400, 9,600, 14,400, 28,800, 33,300 and 56,000 bps. Whatever the top speed, some lower speeds are also supported so the modem can accommodate earlier modems or negotiate downward on noisy lines.

New computers generally come with modems. For hookup to an older computer, an internal modem needs a free expansion slot, while an external modem requires a free serial port or USB port. The software required to drive a modem is included in the operating system. In Windows, the Dial-up Networking "Make New Connection" wizard takes you through setting up your modem to dial your Internet provider.

Modems have built-in error correction (V.42) and data compression (V.42bis, MNP 5). On files that are already compressed, the hardware data compression adds little value, because it cannot make compressed files smaller. Modems also have automatic feature negotiation, which adjusts to the other modem's speed and hardware protocols.

motherboard - A computer's main circuit board, containing the CPU, microprocessor support chips, RAM, and expansion (bus) slots. Also known as the logic board.

MPEG - A movie format jointly developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group, that is fairly common on the Web and CD-ROM. It is often used to refer to refer to the standard file format and set of compression algorithms. It is typically used with the .mpg file extension. There are various forms of MPEG. They are used for a wide range of video and audio applications.

Multimedia - The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way.

Multimedia Architecture - Software including system extensions, plug-ins, servers, etc. which provides for the creation, storage and playback of synchronized multiple media types. QuickTime, RealSystem, and Windows Media are examples of multimedia architectures.

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME settings) - Specifications originally used for non-ASCII email messages so that they can be sent over the Internet. Web browsers also support various MIME types which enable browsers and the installed plug-ins to handle non-HTML files, such as movies and audio.(MCP)
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N

network - A group of connected computers that allows people to share information and equipment. Many schools have a Local Area Network and are also connected to a Wide Area Network, such as the World Wide Web.

NTSC – National Television Standards Committee. The NTSC defines North American broadcast standards. The term “NTSC video” refers to the video standard defined by a committee, which has a specifically limited color gamut, is interlaced, and is approximately 720x480 pixels, 29.97 fps.
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O
operating system (OS) - An integrated collection of routines that service the sequencing and processing of programs by a computer. It is the programming that makes your computer run its most basic functions. Some examples are UNIX, Linux, Windows 95, 98, or NT, and Mac OS 7 and 8.5. Operating systems perform basic tasks. Some of these tasks include recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
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P
Packet Internet Gopher (PING) - A TCP/IP application that sends a message to another computer, waits for a reply, and displays the time the transmission took. This serves to identify what computers are available on the Internet and how long. wait-times are.

personal computer (PC) - A microcomputer with its own processor and hard drive. Although technically this refers to all such computers, including Macs, the term PC is nearly synonymous with only the IBM-compatible microcomputers.

Phase Alternating Line (PAL) - Pal is the dominant television standard in Europe. PAL delivers 625 lines at 50 half-frames per second. The United States uses a different standard, NTSC. NTSC delivers 525 lines of resolution at 60 half-frames per second. Many video adapters that enable computer monitors to be used as television screens support both NTSC and PAL signals.

plain text - This is text without extraneous codes that designate font size, font style, et cetera. See ASCII.

platform - This term is often used as a synonym of operating system. A platform is the underlying hardware or software for a system. In one case a platform could be the type of computer on which a given operating system or aplication runs. The platform defines a standard around which a system can be developed. Once the platform has been defined, software developers can produce appropriate software and managers can purchase appropriate hardware and applications.

plug-in - A small piece of software that adds features to already existing, usually large, programs.

port - An interface on a computer to which you can connect a device. Most computers have several ports. They are used to connect disk drives, keyboards, and other external devices.

Progressive Download - This refers to online media which users may watch as it downloads. Progressive download files don’t adjust to match bandwidth of the user’s connection like a “true streaming” format. QuickTime’s “fast start” feature is a progressive download technology.

protocol - An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. The protocol determines the following:
* the type of error checking to be used
* data compression method, if any
* how the sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a message
* how the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message

pull down menu - A list of options that "pulls down" when you select a menu at the top of a window. For example, the File menu in most programs is a pull down menu that reveals commands such as open, new, and save.
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Q

query - A request for information from a database.

Query By Example (QBE) - A search method for databases in which the user fills out the form by following the examples given. A user forms queries in which the database program displays a blank record with a space for each field. The user then can then enter conditions for each field that they want to be included in the query. For example, if the user wanted to find all records where the BIRTH DATE field is greater than 1970, the user would enter <1970 in the BIRTH DATE field blank.

QuickTime – Apple Computer’s cross-platform multimedia architecture. Widely used for a range of applications including CDROM, Web video, editing and more.
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R
random access memory digital-to-analog converter(RAMDAC) - is a microchip that converts digital image data into the analog data needed by a computer display.

Random Access Memory (RAM )- Readable and writeable memory that acts as a storage area while the computer is on, and is erased every time the computer is turned off. This memory stores data and helps execute programs while in use.

Read Only Memory (ROM) - Readable memory, that cannot be corrupted by accidental erasure. ROM retains its data when the computer is turned off.

RealMedia - This is another name for “RealVideo.”

RealVideo - RealNetwork’s streaming media architecture.

Realtime Transfer Protocol (RTP) -RTP transports protocol created to deliver live media to one or more viewers simultaneously.

RealTime Streaming Protocol (RTSP) -RTSP is a standard now commonly used to transmit true streaming media to one or more viewers simultaneously. RTSP provides for viewers randomly accessing the stream, and uses RTP as the transport protocol.
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S
script - Another term for macro or batch file, a script is a list of commands that can be executed without user interaction. A script language is a simple programming language with which you can write scripts.

server- Short for Web server. Server refers to a computer or device on a network that manages network resources. See Web server.

search engine - Any of a number of giant databases on the Internet which store data on Web sites and their corresponding URLs. Some popular search engines are Metacrawler, Alta Vista, and Excite.

shortcuts - Key strokes that enact the same commands available in the menus of a program. They are quicker and more direct, and usually involve two or three keys depressed simultaneously. An example is the save shortcut: CTRL + s on a PC or +s on a Mac.

site - Short for Web site, refers to a collection of Web pages.

software - There are two classes of software: applications software and systems software.

Applications software comprises programs designed for an end user, such as word processors, database systems, and spreadsheet programs.

Systems software refers to the operating system and all utility programs that manage computer resources at a low level. Systems software includes compilers, loaders, linkers, and debuggers.

solutions integrator - A type of consulting business that helps other businesses integrate new technology into their existing structure. The technology being integrated includes: supply-chain management systems, sales-force automation systems, e-commerce, Internet development telecommunications, computer telephony, etc.

Streaming - This is a somewhat ambiguous term which refers to network delivery of media. May refer to technologies which match the bandwidth of the media signal to the viewer’s connection, so that the media is always seem in real time (“True Streaming”) Also used to mean media which may be viewed over a network prior to being fully downloaded (“HTTP Streaming” and “Progressive Download”).

sysop - SYstems OPerator - A person responsible for the operations of a computer system or network. Part of such operations are security checks and routine maintenance.
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T
T-1 One of the fastest leased-line connections used for the Internet. It is capable of transmitting data at roughly 1.5 million bits per second, still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion video.

technology - The application of scientific discoveries to the development and improvement of goods and services that ideally improve the life of humans and their environment. Such goods and services include materials, machinery, and processes that improve production or solve problems. In schools, technology ranges from pencils, books, and furniture to lighting, transportation, computers, and more. Most common references in schools imply computing or computer-related programs.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) - The programming protocols invented by individuals in the U.S. Department of Defense to carry messages around the Internet.

True Streaming - This refers to technologies which match the bandwidth of the media signal to the viewer’s connection, so that the media is always seen in real time. The word “True” is added to differentiate this type of streaming from “HTTP Streaming” (aka “Progressive Download”). Specialized media servers are and streaming protocols such as RTSP are needed to enable true streaming.
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U
Uniform Resource Locators (URL) - This is the address of any given site on the Internet. The URL of the Apple site is: http://www.Apple.com

UNIX - A multi-user operating system that was used to create most of the programs and protocols that built the Internet. It is a multitasking operating system.

Upload - The process of removing a file from you computer to a server.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) - the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. The first part of the address indicates what protocol to use, and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located.

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V

virtual - With regard to memory, virtual refers to temporarily storing information on the hard drive. Virtual memory is controlled automatically by the operating system.

Virtual Graphics Array (VGA) - This is a standard video graphics adapter. It was created by IBM and then was improved in Super VGA, which generally supports "true color" or 16.8 million colors.
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W
Web browser - a software application used to locate and display Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Web page - A document on the World Wide Web. Every Web page is identified by a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

Web server - Often referred to simply as the "server". The Web server is a computer or software package that provides a specific service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the software is running, hence the popular phrase: "The server's down."

Web site - a collection of Web pages.

Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) -A software system intended to search large database servers on the Web, and then rank the findings or hits.

Wide Area Network (WAN) - This network connects several computer so they can share files and sometimes equipment, as well as exchange e-mail. A wide area network connects computers across a large geographic area, such as a city, state, or country. The World Wide Web is an example of a WAN.

word processor - The software used to produce documents, such as letters, posters, reports, and syllabi. Common word processors used in schools are MS Works, MS Word, or ClarisWorks.

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) -Monitor output that closely resembles the printed output. Most software now offers WYSIWYG options, like "print preview."

World Wide Web (WWW) - A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a script called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and video files. This means you can jump from one document to another simply by clicking on hot spots. Not all Internet servers are part of the World Wide Web.

There are several applications called Web browsers that make it easy to access the World Wide Web; Two of the most popular being Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
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XModem - A file transfer protocol for modems in which data is sent from the Internet to the PC without acknowledgment from the PC.
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YMMV - E-mail and chat abbreviation for "your mileage may vary," indicating that your results may vary.
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Z
zipped files - Zipped files are files that are compressed and must be "unzipped" to be read. Zipped files download faster because they are smaller than an uncompressed equivalent.