A bookmark is considered by some to be the best thing about surfing the Web. By "bookmarking" a Web site while you visit it, you can easily return to it at a later time with a simple mouse selection rather than remembering or typing in very long and sometimes cryptic URLs. The World Wide Web can be seen as a HUGE library of information. Finding your way around can be confusing at first. Bookmarks are just one way of personalizing your Web experience, by enabling you to quickly return to areas of the Web that interest you.

or "Boolean logic" is a system for searching and retrieving information from computers by using and combining terms such as AND, OR, and NOT to sort data. For example: Searching under the keywords "Science AND Silver NOT Jewelry".

To start a computer; more frequently used as re-boot. When you shut down a system then restart, you are re-booting. It tends to clear out bugs that are hampering smooth computing.

A program that allows users to access documents on the World Wide Web (WWW). Browsers can be either text or graphic. They read HTML coded pages that reside on a server and interpret the coding into what we see as Web pages. Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer are examples of Web browsers.

A programming error that causes a program or computer system to perform erratically, produce incorrect results, or crash. The term bug was coined when a real insect was discovered to have fouled up one of the circuits of the first electronic digital computer, the ENIAC. Not to be confused with a glitch, which is actually a hardware problem.

A graphic which a user can "click on" to do something, like download a program or go to another Web page. Also refers to a small (100 X 45) ad banner.

A modem attached to a coaxial cable television system. Cable modems can transmit data at 500 kilobytes a second, much faster than a typical computer modem, which sends signals over telephone lines. Many cable becoming ISP’s and offering this service.

When it matters if letters are typed in uppercase or lowercase. Some computer programs and network services are case sensitive: "XYZ" is considered different data than "xyz." Some Internet users are case sensitive too: It bugs them if they receive messages typed in all CAPITAL LETTERS (it's the visual equivalent to shouting).

A site on the World Wide Web where any number of computer users can type in messages to each other (chat) in real time, creating an online conversation. These messages usually appear on an area of the screen next to the user's nickname or handle. Most chat rooms have a particular topic (which you are expected to discuss) but there are some that are purely for meeting other people. This includes IRC.

A term used in the online advertising industry, it refers to the number of times a user presses their mouse button on an ad banner. This term is also used to describe the number of Web pages a person must go through (by pressing a mouse button) in order to reach a certain destination, as is the case when used in a sentence like "It's three clicks in".

To change software or hardware actions by changing their settings. Configurations can be set or reset in software or manipulated by changing hardware jumpers, switches or other elements to personalize or increase the computer’s efficiency.

To get online, or to make the connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Compact Disc - Read Only Memory - An optical storage technology that uses compact discs. CD-ROM technology was originally used for encyclopedias, dictionaries, and software libraries, but now they are often used in multimedia applications. One CD-ROM can hold about 600 megabytes, or the equivalent of 700 floppy disks. CD-ROM recorders are now available giving us the option to make our own CD’s.

Caches come in many types, but they all work the same way: they store information where you can get to it fast. A Web browser cache stores the pages HTML code as well as any graphics, and multimedia elements embedded in it, that way, when you go back to the page, everything doesn't have to be downloaded all over again. Since hard disk access is much faster than Internet access, this speeds things up. Hard disk access however is slower than RAM, which is why there is disk caching, which stores information you might need from your hard disk in faster RAM. Remember to clean that web cache out, for it can cause your computer to slow down.

A type of Internet domain assigned to URLs , which are business or commercial entities (for example, www.netlingo.com). There is also .edu for education, .gov for government, .net for network, and .org for organization.

Central Processing Unit - Look for the most powerful microprocessor chip in your computer, and that'll be the CPU. The CPU handles the central management functions of a high-powered PC and Mac, respectively. Sometimes the term CPU is used to describe the whole box that contains the chip along with the motherboard, expansion cards, disk drives, power supply, and so on. Both uses are widespread, but only the first is really accurate.

Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a not-so-distant, dystopian, over-industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved into a cultural label encompassing many different kinds of human, machine, and punk attitudes. It includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well.

A term coined by author William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer". Cyberspace is currently used to refer to the digital world constructed by computer networks, in particular the Internet.

The most popular form of Net connection for the home user, this is a connection from your computer to a host computer (usually an ISP) over standard telephone lines.

A form of representation in which distinct objects, or digits, are used to stand for something in the real world, so that counting and other operations can be performed precisely. Data represented digitally can be manipulated to produce a calculation, a sort, or some other computation. In digital electronic computers, two electrical states correspond to the 1's and the 0's of binary numbers, which are manipulated by computer programs.

A permanent connection between your computer system and the Internet. This is sometimes referred to as a leased-line connection because the line is leased from the Telephone Company or is standard at most University Computer Labs. This includes things like "ethernet" and "ISDN".

Best thought of as the table of contents of all files contained on or in a specific section of a computer disk. A directory often shows file name, file size, date and time created, file type, and author. Sometimes called a folder.

A group of people who exchange messages about particular topics. Often associated with newsgroups, they can also take the form of interactive message boards, thread message forums, and e-mailing lists. Dubbed as "online encounters with your own kind" discussion groups vary widely in their variety and format.

The DNS is a static, hierarchical name service and it uses TCP/IP hosts, and is housed on a number of servers on the Internet. Basically, it maintains this database for figuring out and finding (or resolving) host names and IP addresses. This allows users to specify remote computers by host names rather than numerical IP addresses.

When used in reference to the World Wide Web, a document is any file containing text, media or hyperlinks that can be transferred from an HTTP server to a client program.

The "address" or URL of a particular Web site. This is also how you describe the name that is at the right of the @ sign in an Internet address. There is an organization called InterNIC that registers domain names for a small fee and keeps people from registering the same name.

To transfer files from one computer to another. The most common way of doing this on the Internet is by FTP.

dots per inch - A metric used to measure print and screen resolution.

or drop down menu - A list of options that drops down when you click on a down arrow button.

Any information - facts, concepts, and sensations - represented in a formal manner, suitable for communicating, interpreting, or processing. As futurist Marshall Mcluhan said, "The electric light is pure information," everything perceptible is data. The word data is plural; the singular form is datum.

The converting of encoded data to its original form. The process which you must perform in order to see images that are downloaded from newsgroups such as alt.binaries.pictures.

A computer software setting or preference a user has the option to set. This setting states what the user wants to have automatically happen in the event that another preference is NOT stated or asked for. For example, your computer might have default settings to open up or "start" Microsoft Internet Explorer whenever an HTML or Web page file is "clicked" on. If you prefer to use Netscape Navigator you can change the default by checking the box which asks when you the application starts.

Dynamic HTML - The next generation of HTML. This is the language that describes how text and images are displayed on a Web page. Dynamic HTML, developed by Netscape and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is based entirely on industry-standard HTML and Java. New features in Dynamic HTML, such as absolute positioning and layers, give designers and developers much greater control over the look and feel of Web pages.

A program used to write and edit text.

electronic mail - Electronically transmitted messages. Linked by high-speed data connections that cross international boundaries, e-mail lets you compose messages and transmit them in seconds to one or more recipients anywhere in the world. Old-fashioned regular mail is tended to be called "snail mail".

The characters after the dot in a file's name are considered it's extension. This is used to determine how the file is formatted and viewed. For example a file named netlingo.html means that the file is coded in HTML and therefore must be viewed with a compatible program such as a Web browser in order to see it properly. On the Internet you will come across many different file extensions such as .dcr, .mov, .avi and .au. In order to properly handle these files your browser must be configured to recognize these extensions.

Frequently Asked Questions - A list of questions and answers related to a newsgroup, software, Web site, or whatever. FAQ lists prevent newsgroup discussions from being overrun by common user questions.

A piece of software that lets you find out more information about an Internet user like their real name and if they are logged in at the present moment, usually if that user is on a UNIX or VAX system. It is also possible to finger someone from the World Wide Web. You can do so by visiting a Web site like HyperFinger where you type in a person’s name and it will search to find their e-mail address, if one exists.

Free software available on the Internet that can be downloaded, used and redistributed at no cost to the user as opposed to shareware which are programs that require a registration fee be paid after a certain amount of time.

File Transfer Protocol - The common procedure or protocol used for downloading and uploading files via the Internet. With FTP you can login to another Internet site and transfer files. Some sites have public file archives that you can access by using FTP with the account name "anonymous" and your e-mail address as password. This type of access is called anonymous ftp. Macintosh users use a program called Fetch and one of the best FTP programs for Windows is WS-FTP.

Interlaced GIF - Interlaced GIFs appear first with poor resolution and then improve in resolution until the entire image has arrived, as opposed to arriving linearly from the top row to the bottom row. This is great to get a quick idea of what the entire image will look like while waiting for the rest.

or animated GIF or multi block GIF - a type of GIF format which allows a series of images to be displayed one after another or on top of each other, transparency. Since its implementation in Netscape Navigator 2.0, GIF animation has been one of the best and easiest ways to put animation on the Web. Animated GIFs have been around since the introduction of the GIF89a format in 1989.

Graphical User Interface - this term refers to a software front-end meant to provide an attractive and easy to use interface between a computer user and an application. Windows95 is an example of a GUI.

A computer enthusiast who enjoys learning everything about a computer system and, through clever programming, pushes the system to its highest possible level of performance. Also known as crackers, these computer hobbyists are also skilled programmers with a mischievous side who break into secured computer systems. In 1989, the New York Times published an article headlined "Invasion of the Data Snatchers" culminating in a ridiculous series of Secret Service raids in which federal agents confiscated the computer systems of these "dangerous" individuals.

Hits used to be a method of determining the amount of traffic a Web site received. Due to the fact that businesses needed to isolate the exact number of times a page was requested (in order to charge for advertising), this method was tossed aside in lieu counting the actual HTML page requests.

The first or "front" page on a Web site that serves as the starting point for navigation. This is where the site's information actually begins. Also known as the Welcome page.

Sometimes an Internet service provider will offer a certain amount of disk space on their server for an account to put up their own homepage.

Any computer that can function as the beginning and end point of data transfers. An Internet host has a unique Internet address (IP address) and a unique domain name.

Hypertext Markup Language - The coding method used to format documents for the World Wide Web. Web pages are able to be seen due in part to HTML codes or tags as they are more commonly known, these tags are then interpreted by a Web browser (such as Netscape Navigator) which renders your Web page. When you start coding your own pages you should be aware of the fact that there are HTML 2.0 codes and then there are Netscape extensions to HTML. The Netscape extensions allow a lot more flexibility in how you layout your document. Features such as centering, colored text, backgrounds and tiles are just a couple of examples of Netscape extensions to HTML. Some other browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mosaic support a few of the Netscape extensions but not all of them however possess a few of their own.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol - The protocol that tells the server what to send to the client, so the client can view Web pages, FTP sites, or other areas of the net.

or link is text you find on a Web site which can be "clicked on" with a mouse which in turn will take you to another Web page or a different area of the same Web page. Hyperlinks are created or "coded" in HTML. They are also used to load multimedia files such as AVI movies and AU sound files.

A system of writing and displaying text that enables the text to be linked in multiple ways, to be available at several levels of detail, and to contain links to related documents. The term was coined by Ted Nelson to refer to a nonlinear system of information browsing and retrieval that contains associative links to other related documents. See Also: hypermedia and hyperlink. The World Wide Web uses hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to provide links to pages and multimedia files.

or I-way - this is a buzzword from a speech by Vice President Al Gore that refers to the Clinton/Gore administration's plan to deregulate communication services and widen the scope of the Internet by opening carriers, such as television cable, to data communication. The term is widely used to mean the Internet, also referred to as the infobahn (I-bahn).

Not to be confused with Internet which is usually written with a capital I, this internet is a group of local area networks (LANs) that have been connected by means of a common communications protocol. Many internets exist besides the Internet, including many TCP/IP based networks that are not linked to the Internet. The Defense Data Network is a case in point.

or "the Net" - Originally designed by the U.S. Defense Department so that a communication signal could withstand a nuclear war and serve military institutions worldwide, the Internet, was first known as the ARPAnet. A system of linked computer networks, international in scope, that facilitates data communication services such as remote login, file transfer, electronic mail, and newsgroups. The Internet is a way of connecting existing computer networks that greatly extends the reach of each participating system.

A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. As the Internet has become more popular many of the tools used on the Internet are being used in private networks, for example, many companies have Web servers that are available only to employees. Note that an "Intranet" may not actually be an Internet, it may simply be a network.

Internet Protocol Address - A numeric address that is given to servers and users connected to the Internet. For servers it is translated into a domain name by a Domain Name Server a.k.a. the DNS.

When you get "online" your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you. This IP address may be the same every time you log on (this is called a static IP) or it can change and be assigned each time you connect based on what's available. Most Internet users prefer the static IP because this allows you to use software such as Internet Phone or CUSEEME more easily, which needs to know an IP address in order to connect to another user.

Internet Service Provider - A company that provides access to the Internet. Before you can connect to the Internet you must first establish an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP's have a wide range of prices and packages for users to choose from. There are accounts custom tailored for high level users and Web designers and accounts for the more moderate Internet user. The best thing to do when choosing an ISP is to be sure they have a local access number so you won't have to dial long distance to connect. Also try to get an account that offers unlimited access as well as storage on the company's server to house your own Web site.

Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks.

Java and JavaScript is not the same thing. JavaScript was designed to resemble Java, which in turn looks a lot like C and C++. The difference is that Java was built as a general purpose object language, while JavaScript is intended to provide a quicker and simpler language for enhancing Web pages and servers.

Joint Photographic Experts Group - One of two types of graphic formats used on the World Wide Web the other being a GIF. The benefit of using JPG images is the higher color and resolution you can have which is 16 million colors as opposed to the 256 color limitations of GIF files. JPEG is an algorithm for compressing still images. Motion-JPEG, a variation of JPEG, is used to compress moving images.

A word by which subjects can be searched by online databases and search engines.

A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (2^10) bytes.

Local Area Network - A network that connects computers in a small area (like a room, a building, or a set of buildings).

A user who behaves in a stupid or uneducated manner, a description often applied to newbies.

or hyperlink is text you find on a Web site which can be "clicked on" with a mouse which in turn will take you to another Web page or a different area of the same Web page. Links are also used to load multimedia files such as AVI movies and AU sound files.

A software program for setting up and maintaining discussion groups. Many LISTSERV discussion groups are gatewayed to USENET newsgroups. Many college professors will have their students register to a class Listserv, allowing the students to post their questions to the entire class.

or log in - The account name or username used to access a computer system. Used as a verb "to log in", the term means the act of typing in your username and password.

The process of connecting to a network or remote system.

To disconnect from a network or remote system.

An e-mail server that automatically responds to requests for information.

A discussion forum where participants subscribe to a list and receive messages by e-mail.

A virus scanner is an absolute necessity these days, and McAfee provides one of the best. A solid, intuitive graphical interface simplifies the scanning process. VirusScan even runs in the background, allowing you to continue your work (or play) while it does its job. The ability to configure scanning levels (specify file types), print activity logs, and the fact that McAfee updates this software very frequently, makes McAfee VirusScan a winner.

A million bytes. A thousand kilobytes.

MIDI sound files usually have an extension of .mid. If you come across any of these files on the Internet you will need a helper application configured to work on your system in order to play one of these sound files. MIDI files are just one of a few different file formats which can be embedded on a Web page with the BG SOUND= HTML tag, which causes the sound file to play when the Web page is accessed. NOTE: all browsers may not support this feature.

Software tool providers and application developers that have announced their intention to support MMX include Microsoft, Macromedia, Adobe, Books That Work, Criterion Software, Epic MegaGames, Intel Indeo Video Interactive, Iterated Systems, Omniview, OnLive! Technologies, ParaGraph International, Pegasus Imaging, Powersoft, Qsound Labs, Vicarious and Virage. Hardware vendors working with Intel include Analog Devices, ATI, Cirrus Logic, Creative Labs, Crystal Semiconductor, ESS Technologies, S3 and Yamaha.

MOdulator, DEModulator - A device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line, that allows the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans. Generally there are 3 types of modems: external, PC Card and an internal.

Motion Picture Experts Group - A type of audio/video (multimedia) file found on the Internet. In order to hear or see an MPEG movie, you will need to install a helper application or Web browser plugin. MPEG is an algorithm for compressing audio and video; not to be confused with Motion-JPEG.

To move around on the World Wide Web by following hypertext paths from document to document on different computers.

The rules of etiquette that govern online interaction on the Internet.

The dominating World Wide Web browser. The program also allows for Gopher, FTP, and Telnet access as well as e-mail and newsgroup retrieval and management. Many companies’ use Netscape server software to create Web pages and are therefore written to be best displayed using Netscape Navigator. The program is available for all platforms and is also the smoothest and fastest when it comes to displaying graphics.

Someone new to the Internet or to computers in general.

A part of the Internet, which allows users to "post" and "reply to", messages from other users. A discussion forum similar to that found on local BBSs. Broken into many different subjects (approx. 25,000) newsgroup titles usually begin with a three or four letter prefix followed by a ".", alt., soc., comp., misc., rec., and sci. just to name a few.

When a computer is not connected to a host system or the Net, it is offline.

Used as an adjective to describe a variety of activities that you can do on the Internet, for example: online chat, online shopping, and online games.

A secret combinations of letters and other symbols needed to login to a computer system.

A smaller "add-on" computer program which works in conjunction with a larger application. Usually a plug-in enhances the capabilities of the program it is "plugged" into. Web browsers like Netscape Navigator have many plug-ins which allow a user to do everything from viewing Quicktime VR animations to visiting VRML worlds to hearing realaudio.

The first and most generally used meaning is a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. E.g. the "serial port" on a person computer is where a modem would be connected.
Secondly, on the Internet, port often refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name.

The act of placing your mouse arrow onto a link to direct it to another Web page. "Point your browser to," means, "go to" that Web site.

The flashing symbol where you type or place your mouse on the screen. This is when the host system asks you to do something and waits for you to respond. For example, if you see "login:" it means type your user name.

A specification that describes how computers will talk to each other on a network.

Peripheral Component Interconnect - A local bus standard developed by Intel Corporation. Most modern PCs include a PCI bus in addition to a more general ISA expansion bus. Many analysts, however, believe that PCI will eventually supplant ISA entirely. In addition, Apple computer has indicated that future versions of the PowerMac will use PCI. PCI Version 1.0 is a 32-bit bus that runs at a clock speed of 33 MHz. This yields a throughput rate of 132 megabytes per second. PCI 2.0 is a 64-bit bus running at a clock speed of 66MHz. Although Intel developed it, PCI is not tied to any particular family of microprocessors. In fact, in a strict sense, it is not a local bus at all because it does not connect directly with the microprocessor. For this reason, some people call it a mezzanine bus.

A question, usually used in connection with a search engine or database to find a particular file, Web site, record or set of records in a database.

pronounced "cue or Q" - A waiting area for e-mail messages, files, print jobs, or anything else that is being sent from one device to another. With e-mail, it is common (and some say cost effective) to compose several letters while off-line and place them in the queue. When finished, you can get back on-line and then send them all at once.

Software for Macintosh and PC/Windows which brings virtual reality to your desktop without any special equipment. Use it to experience a 3D photographic or rendered representation of any person, place or thing. Use your mouse and keyboard to rotate objects, zoom in or out of a scene, look around 360 degrees, and navigate from one scene to another.

Random-Access Memory - The part of the computer's memory that stores information temporarily while you're working on it.

The act of moving a browser's scroll bar. This allows a user to see what else is on a Web page other than what appears in the initial screen. Anything on the initial screen is called "above the fold" and the content you see when you scroll down is called "below the fold".

ONE OF THE MOST ANNOYING THINGS ON THE INTERNET is an email message or discussion group posting WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN UPPERCASE. AMONG NETIZENS, IT IS CALLED "SHOUTING." IT'S PROBABLY A HOLDOVER FROM THE DAYS OF MAINFRAME COMPUTERS AND LINE PRINTERS. DO US ALL A FAVOR AND TAKE OFF THE CAPS LOCK. Thank you. See how much quieter it is?

Site can also refer to an FTP site or archive site which is a directory on a computer somewhere which has been set up to allow users to log in and retrieve or upload files to it.

or emoticons - When speaking face to face, the person's facial expressions help you understand the meaning of what he or she is saying. Smileys or emoticons are an attempt to bring that extra nuance to online communications, by composing a face out of ASCII characters. This is also referred to as ASCII art.

An extra "first" or "front" page of a Web site, usually containing a "click-through" logo or message, announcing that you have arrived. The real information and navigation for the site lies behind this page on the homepage or welcome page.

From the Net surfer point of view search engines can be quite tiresome and not very fruitful if you don't know how to use them correctly. Different engines are good for different kinds of searches. It's a good idea before using a search engine to read the help section of the engine's Web site to see what the best way is to optimize your results.

A host computer on a network that answers requests for information from it. The term server is also used to refer to the software that makes the process of serving information possible.

Software available for downloading on the Internet that you can try before you buy. Users who want to continue to use the program are expected to pay a registration fee (rarely more than U.S. $100). In return they get documentation, technical support, and any updated versions.

Regular mail as in "through rain, snow, sleet, or hail ..." Also because it is much slower than eletronic mail.

An optional computer circuit card for IBM PC's. It provides high-quality stereo sound output under program control. A "multimedia" PC usually includes a sound card. One of the best known is the SoundBlaster.

A number used to identify a subnetwork so that an IP address can be shared on a LAN (Local Area Network).

A tag is used to describe a type of command or instruction usually in regards to HTML or Web page code. HTML tags look like this:
<br> , <font size=1>, <body> or <html>, always with a pair of brackets (<>) surrounding the specific instruction.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - This set of protocols makes TELNET, FTP, e-mail, and other services possible among computers that don't belong to the same network.

It is one of the oldest Internet activities and is primarily used to access online databases or to read articles stored on university servers. It is also possible to Telnet via your Web browser by changing the http:// to telnet:// and entering in the site's address.

A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use terminal software in a personal computer - the software pretends to be ("emulates") a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.

Describes the size of an image you frequently find on Web pages. Usually photo or picture archives will present a thumbnail version of it's contents (makes the page load quicker) and when a user clicks on the small image a larger version will appear. Sometimes these links will be to a new page containing the larger graphic and other times right to the image directly.

Tagged Image File Format - a graphic file format developed by Aldus and Microsoft. Mosaic supports the viewing of TIFF images.

Pronounced "tilda," this squiggly horizontal line has come to signify an individual user's Web site when housed on the server of an ISP. In real terms the tilde stands for a path which leads to that person's Web site on the server it is being kept. For example, http://www.csuchcio.edu/~mtnyk - says that mtnyk is a csuchico.edu user and that his homepage is on csuchico.edu’s server. When you look at the server you will notice that mtnyk’s Web site is really located on the path: www.csuchico.edu/www/users/mtnyk/ , therefore the tilde is used to bypass the /www/users directories to make the URL or "Web address" a little shorter and easier to remember. The tilde character is on the top line of your keyboard to the far left.

Ta Ta For Now - A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum.

An operating system invented in 1969 at AT&T Bell Laboratories that was made available to researchers and students in 1973. It was used to develop the Internet's communication software protocols.

The almost uncontrollable, compulsive urge to upgrade hardware and/or software, with little or no consideration extended to a real need or want.

To copy a file from your computer to a server or host system. The reverse process of download.

Uniform Resource Locator - Describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet, for example, the URL http://www.netlingo.com describes the type of access method being used (http) and the server location which hosts the Web site (www.netlingo.com). All Web sites have URLs. One could say a URL is what a telephone number is to a telephone or a street address is to a house. Although Web site URLs are sometimes long and hard to read let alone remember, browsers like Netscape have a bookmark feature which gives you the opportunity to save the location (URL) of Web sites you want to return to.

The name or handle one uses on the Internet. The first part of your e-mail address or the nickname you use in a chat room. The name by which you or someone else is known by on the Internet. Used when logging into an access provider or when entering a member's only area on the Web.

A simulation of the real thing. Means the same as "almost". You will see this term appear before various computer terms to indicate simulation technology that enables you to cross boundaries and experience something without needing it's physical presence, as in virtual sex, and virtual theme parks.

A program that replicates itself on computer systems by incorporating itself into other programs that are shared among computer systems.

It is usually pronounced "V R M L", but its friends pronounce it "vermel." The goal of VRML is to create the infrastructure and conventions of cyberspace, a multi user space of many virtual worlds on the Net.

The aesthetic and navigational Architect of a Web site and it's presentation. How the site "looks" and "feels" is the responsibility of the Web designer. Takes a lot of heat if graphics are "fuzzy" , links are too light, or if something is "hard to find". Usually this person is on the artistic side of Web site building/developing however, an extensive knowledge of Web based programming, art, and information architecture combined are considered fundamental to being a successful Web Designer. This person very often can create entire Web productions completely on their own with little "outside" help. Oh, and good client relational skills a must!

A character that is used in text searches to make finding a match easier in Search Engines. An asterisk (*) in a character string usually means find any character or set of characters.

Wide Area Network - A network that connects computers over a large geographic area.

A Microsoft Windows sound file.

One who is immersed in the new culture of the World Wide Web, which emphasizes freedom of information and the access to it; technology and its effects on the future of our culture; and individual freedom and freedom of expression.

WWW or the Web or W3 - You're in it -- the system by which you are viewing this document right now! Technically it is a global (Worldwide) hypertext system that uses the Internet as it's transport mechanism. In a hypertext system, you navigate by clicking hyperlinks, which display another document, which also contains hyperlinks. What makes the Web such an exciting and useful medium is that the next document you see could be housed on a computer next door or halfway around the world. The Web makes the Internet easy to use. Created in 1989 at a research institute in Switzerland, the Web relies upon the hypertext transport protocol (http), an Internet standard that specifies how an application can locate and acquire resources stored on another computer on the Internet. Most Web documents are created using hypertext markup language (html), an easy to learn coding system for WWW documents. Incorporating hypermedia (graphics, sounds, animations, and video), the Web has become the ideal medium for publishing information on the Internet. With the development of secured server protocol (http), the Web is quickly becoming an important commercial medium whereby consumers can browse online catalogs and purchase merchandise without worrying that their credit card information will be intercepted.

A World Wide Web Search Engine created by David Filo and Jerry Yang of the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. With a keen eye for the popular as well as the useful, Filo and Yang have created a directory of Web resources that performs a reported 10 million searches across the World Wide Web a week.

File extension for a DOS or Windows file compressed using a ZIP compression utility.