ubiquitous sign board, usually a strip at the top of a Web page, that is used for advertising.

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

a measure of how fast data is transmitted by a circuit.

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.

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 bookmarked. Bookmarking a Web site means you probably want to visit it again. Bookmarks are Netscape's name Microsoft's browser calls them Favorites.

see BITs PER SECOND

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

information.

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.

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.

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.

a message you send from your computer to another computer.

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.

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

see FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

a question that new users ask frequently, so a bank of such questions and answers is provided. FAQs save computer companies and software manufacturers reinventing the wheel for all their new customers and are well worth reading.

a type of graphics file commonly used on the Internet.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

another term for 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.

the name given to text with HYPERLINKS.

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.

 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.

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

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

a faster way of moving information over standard telephone lines.

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.

a provider that sells you a connection to the Internet without additional services like its own guide to education, news or sport.

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.

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 P numbers because we find names easier to remember.

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. lSPs 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, lSPs give you space on the Web for publishing and an e-mail address. How you pay your ISP varies

see INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK

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

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

a word you use to search the Internet. For example, searching the Web for the keyword 'Lewinsky' would find you lots of Web sites about the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. Keywords can be combined to refine your search.

distance is measured in metres, data is measured in bytes. One kilobyte equals 1000 bytes, or to be precise, 1024 bytes.

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.

the most popular program for handling discussion groups where messages are sent and arrive by e-mail. E-mail discussion groups, called MAILISTS, are usually more professional than USENET groups.

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.

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 FAQs beforehand is good 'netiquette' when you join a discussion group.

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.

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.

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, that give you more Options.

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.

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.

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

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

the facility in a browser program that lets you read the bulletin boards that NEW5GROUPS use for discussion.

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-Stephanie 37 -makes a bad password. A better choice would be a combination of letters and non-letters, e.g. Stphn!3-7!

a Computer that sits on your desk and is designed to be operated by one person at a time.

IN

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

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.

a computer or software program that decides how to route information between two or more networks based on where the information is going.

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.

a free service that lets you look 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 lots of irrelevant material.

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.

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.

junk mail on the Internet.

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

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.

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

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.

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

the address of a Web site. Because it is universal, anyone can type it into their Computer and find your Web site.

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.

using video to talk over the Internet and see who you are talking to.

short for WORLD WIDE WEB.

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

a collection of Web pages.

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

a network of computers dispersed over a large area.

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 as 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.