... Recommend this section to a friend.

404 Error – from 404 Research Lab
What does 404 mean? 404 is an HTTP status code. Every time you visit a web page, your computer (the 'client') is requesting data from a server using HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Before the web page is even displayed in your browser, the web server has sent the HTTP header, which contains the status code. Not surprisingly, your browser has sent the server its own headers, which contain a lot more information about you than you think.

404 Error – Let’s disect it
The first 4 indicates a client error. The server is saying that you've done something wrong, such as misspell the URL or request a page which is no longer there. The middle 0 refers to a general syntax error. This could indicate a spelling mistake. The last 4 just indicates the specific error in the group of 40x, which also includes 400: Bad Request, 401: Unauthorized, etc.

Active Window
The active window is the part of the screen you're using. The part that the mouse and keyboard actually work on. Windows can be "grayed out" or inactive, but you can still see them.

Adware
Software designed to deliver ads, pop-ups, etc., (and spyware; software designed to monitor your Internet usage and report back to a central computer without your knowledge) generally make their way into your computer inside of other programs.

Add-in Card
A circuit board that plugs into the motherboard, and gives your computer added capability, for example sound or video.

Alphanumerish
A combination of letters and numerals used as shorthand for words; ICU = I see you.

Adobe Acrobat Reader
A PDF file creator. Why would you want to use the Portable Document Format? Well, let's say you've found a page on the web that you want to print. You could save a printable version of the page in Adobe Acrobat. If your company wants to feature its new brochure on their website, you can use Adobe Acrobat to create an electronic version ready for mass Internet consumption. The document will retain its characteristics and structure no matter where it's viewed. If you can open PDF files, it means you already have it installed. If you don't have it yet, just download a copy of reader for free at Adobe.com.

Address
An address in memory is a location to which an application or a piece of hardware refers. For example, a word processor will store your document in a particular memory address while you have it open. Problems occur when two things (hardware or software) try to use the same address.

Anonymous FTP
This is a method of using FTP without a password. Anyone who wishes to make files publicly available can allow users to use FTP by specifying anonymous for the user name, and their email address for the password. (more information)

Applet
No, it's not a small apple. It's actually a small application -- something that can perform a task instantly (typically run within web pages). For example, each of the windows that appear when you double-click on an icon in Control Panel are considered applets, because while they are small applications by themselves, they require a larger application (Control Panel) to operate them. If you've ever wondered how calculations get calculated and animations get animated, you're probably dealing with an applet. Since it's executed from within a larger application, they cannot be launched from a regular operating system.

Application
A program that performs a specific task for computer users. Some examples of applications are word processors, database management systems, and electronic spreadsheets.

ASCII
An acronym for "American Standard Code for Information Interchange", used to assign English characters to numbers.

BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
The part of your computer that controls communication between all the disk drives, monitor, keyboard, and other devices. It is a chip (or set of chips) in your computer that controls how your computer communicates with some of the basic hardware components in your system, such as the keyboard, floppy drive, and hard disk. The BIOS is also what supports Plug-&-Play. The BIOS is low-level code that controls what happens when a PC is first turned on, before the operating system loads. When the PC wakes up, the BIOS code lets the PC figure out how much RAM it has, what drives are available, and so on; and then the BIOS finds the "boot device" (usually your hard drive), loads the operating system, and then more or less recedes into the background while the operating system is in control. A buggy or incompatible BIOS is a common cause of problems encountered when upgrading to a new version of Windows.

Booting and Rebooting
Starting or restarting your computer. Starting your computer when the power is off is called a "cold" boot. Restarting your computer while the power is on is called a "warm" boot.

"Booting" the computer
Derivation of the term ... believe it or not, "boot" comes from "by the bootstraps," as in the old saying "he pulled himself up by his own bootstraps." It's used because of the way a PC wakes up: On starting, a little stub of code in the BIOS gets the PC going just enough to load and run the next batch of code, which loads and runs the next batch, on and on until at the end of the process, all the hardware is awake and running, and an operating system has loaded and started. The PC has "pulled itself up by its own bootstraps." In fact, the process was originally called "bootstrapping," and the startup code now found in the BIOS was called the "bootstrap code." Over the years, "bootstrapping" was shortened to "booting" and finally just plain "boot .... becoming more obscure and less colorful in the process. Taken from ... Fred Langa List

Blogs
Finding Information on Anything … Popular internet sites called weblogs (blogs for short) allow you to get in touch with people around the world who share your interests, from abacuses to zoology, and all the sundry matter between. You can even use a blog to promote your business (that’s if you have a business; which clearly is non of my business).

You ask how they work? Well, like chatrooms, blogs allow web surfers to contribute their opinions and insights. Information is logged on the site in a diary format, with new entries at the top. Users can also provide links to related sites and hold on-line discussions.

To find a blog, type the name of the subject and the word "blog" in a search engine, such as Google (www.google.com). While you are there, you might consider getting for yourself a Google Toolbar or a Google Deskbar. Another way to get to a blog is to try a blog directory such as http://www.blogwise.com/ … as they say, "there are many trains to Chicago."

Browser
A program that allows you to view web pages and search for information on the Internet.

Buffer
The use of part of your computer's memory to relieve the burden on a specific component, such as your keyboard or printer. For example, if you press all of the keys on your keyboard at once (on a slow computer), the letters would appear on the screen slower than you've typed them. Since the computer isn't able to process keys that quickly, they keys you've pressed are stored in a buffer and fed to the computer at a slower rate it can handle - this way, your keystrokes aren't lost. Note that your computer will beep if the buffer is full, telling you keys pressed thereafter will be forgotten. Similar to Cache.

Bug
An error in software that causes it to work improperly or not at all. This term comes from an occurrence when an actual bug made a nest in an early hard-wired (without software) computer, causing it to malfunction.

Button
A 3-D control on the screen that looks like it's pushed in when you click on it. This is different from an icon, although buttons can contain icons. Buttons usually get a single left-click, while icons get a double-click.

Button Bar
The Button Bar is a row of buttons that give you one- click access to regularly used items on the menu line. Instead of clicking File, Print... you can click an icon of a printer, and the print dialog will appear. Buttons are used as shortcuts. The Button Bar can be turned on or off in many programs and windows.

Byte
Represents a letter or character in a computer file or memory. (A byte contains eight bits.)

Cache
The use of part of your computer's memory to improve the performance of a specific component, such as your hard disk, CD-ROM drive, or even your processor. By storing recently accessed information in a disk cache, for example, your computer can respond faster because it is accessing memory, instead of the slower hard disk. (pronounced "cash") Similar to buffer.

Character
A letter, number, or symbol - anything that can be typed from the keyboard.

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory)
A circular disk that stores a large amount of information (data or music). When you purchase a new application, it usually comes on a CD, which you use to install the program onto your hard disk.

Cluster Size
This is the smallest amount of hard disk space a file can occupy. Floppies have a cluster size of 512 bytes and hard disks can have a cluster size ranging from 1 kilobyte to (seems the limit keeps increasing). The larger the partition, the larger the cluster size. See Slack Space.

CMOS
A small bit of memory used by your computer used to store certain settings while it's turned off, such as the type of hard disk installed. You can typically change the CMOS settings by pressing a certain keystroke (such as Del or ESC) during the system boot.

Command Prompt
One of the simplest ways to control a computer. The user runs applications and performs other activities by typing commands at a prompt. Unix and DOS are examples of command prompts.

Context Menu
The menu that appears when you right-click on an object, such as a folder or a file. It's called a context menu because the items in the menu depend on what's being clicked - the menu is appropriate to the context.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)
The microprocessor which functions as your computer's brain or control center. (Sometimes the whole case is referred to as the "CPU" to distinguish it from the other parts.)

Click
To click means to press your mouse button once. Click the left button unless the right button is specified.

Connector
A metal socket for a cable plug.

Control Panel
A collection of utilities that help you maintain your computer. For example, you can change screen colors, and install printers and fonts.

Default
The standard or most common setting for a particular option. When a default value is automatically specified, you can either accept it (by doing nothing) or enter a different value to override the default. Default doesn't have to be a value; for example, the taskbar is located at the bottom of the Windows screen by default, but you can move it to any side of the screen by dragging it with the mouse.

Defragment
Writing a letter, checking your email, visiting a web site, all cause little bits of information to be stored on your computer's hard drive. When you delete any of this info, you leave a little space where that data used to be stored. This causes your files to be fragmented. That is, to be all messed up from the orderly state they should be in. When many files become fragmented, your hard disk performance is slower, and the danger of file corruption is greater, so it is a good idea to defragment often. This is also known as Optimizing your hard disk. When you defragment, you are rearranging your files back to their orderly fashion. Or, I should say, your computer is doing this for you.

Desktop
The main screen background in Windows, the blank area on your screen behind all the windows. It contains the taskbar and shortcuts to programs and files that you use. The desktop is the place from which you start and end your work session. Note that it is really a folder that is found in your Windows directory. To change the appearance, right-click anywhere on the desktop, choose Properties, and then click the Appearance tab. Now you can start playing with colors and patterns.

Device
In a computing context, device refers to any electronic equipment that you might use with your computer, including a modem, printer, disk drive, or scanner.

DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module)
A small circuit board to which RAM memory chips are mounted. Used to increase system memory.

Directory
A container for files - it can have any name, but always has a yellow folder for its icon. Also called Folder. Every directory has its own icon, into which other icons can be dropped.

Diskette
A small, portable, magnetically coated disk used to transfer information to and from your computer. It applies to both the 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch sizes. Also known as floppy disks.

Disk Drive
A data storage device that stores and retrieves data on diskettes. Early computers came with only audio cassette data storage, and/or one floppy, which, being first, was called the A: drive. As data needs grew, computers got a second floppy, B:. Much later, when hard drives arrived, it was natural to assign them the next letter, C:. Today, computers may not have any floppies, but hard drives still usually get called C:, a vestigial remnant of the early days of computing

Document
Information you create in any application -- text, graphics, or both -- and then store as a separate file.

DOS (Disk Operating System)
DOS is the first Operating System available for the PC platform. See Command Prompt. Easily recognized by the C:\> prompt.

Double-Click
Pressing a mouse button twice in rapid succession. Unless specified, assume the left mouse button.

Double Click Speed
The time interval that Windows uses to distinguish between two successive single clicks and a double click. Anything faster is deemed a double click; anything slower is handled as two single clicks. You can change the time interval by visiting the Control Panel and double clicking the Mouse icon. Things will be self-evident when you get there.

Drag and Drop
A two-step process. Drag by pressing and holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse; then drop by releasing the mouse button to place an item in a specific location on the screen.

Driver
A piece of software that makes your printer, your CD player, your monitor, or your scanner work. A software driver. An interpreter that sits between the brains of your computer (called the CPU) and the hardware device that needs powering. Buggy drivers cause the majority of problems with a computer.

DVD (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc)
A high-capacity storage medium similar in appearance to CD-ROM, but used for movies, applications, and music.

Executable
Means that the file runs automatically when you click on it (and to run a program is known as "executing" the program). Keep in mind that an executable doesn't have to end with EXE. Files ending in .BAT or .COM are executables as well. Because executables open automatically, it's a good idea to be wary of ones that arrive as an e-mail attachment, as they may contain a virus. Executables are sometimes referred to as "binaries," though this doesn't really apply to .BAT (batch) files because they consist of plain text commands instead of compiled code.

Emoticons
Smiles :-) and frowns :-( first appeared on the internet in 1982, when Scott Fahlman proposed a way to allow people to distinguish between serious posts and jokes. Since those two faces were inadequate to convey the full range of emotions, over time iInternet users developed a more sophisticated glossary of symbols.

Extension
The part of a filename that follows the period "." - this allows Windows to determine what type a file is. For example, a file with the .TXT extension tells Windows that it is a text file.

FAQ
Short for Frequently Asked Questions, a collection of questions and answers commonly used in World Wide Web sites, newsgroups, and other discussion forums.

File
A named collection of data. Program files are files that contain the software's programming code. Data files or document files refer to the files you create, name and save. Files usually have a three-character extension (such as .DOC or .EXE) that describe the type of file. Files are stored in folders.

File Compression
File compression is like a kind of computer shorthand. When you attempt to compress a file, the compression software that is being used looks for a series of repeating characters or bits in the file. The software then replaces these blocks of repeated characters with symbols or shorter words or phrases, which are called 'tokens'.

For example, it takes less space for a computer file to be structured:

"10101000110101[insert 73 zeroes here]11011010010"

than this... "10101000110101000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000011011010010"

When you apply a decompression program to a compressed file, the software reads the file and replaces the tokens with the original data, inflating the file back to its original size.

Floppy Disk
This is an inexpensive, removable disk that has a much lower capacity and speed than a hard disk. Its capacity can be measured in kilobytes or megabytes.

Floppy Disk
This is an inexpensive, removable disk that has a much lower capacity and speed than a hard disk. Its capacity can be measured in kilobytes or megabytes.

Folder
Used interchangeably with Directory in Windows, a named area of a disk where files are stored..

Font (type face)
The way the letters and characters look on your screen. A font usually comes in different sizes and provides different styles, such as bold, italic, and underlining for emphasizing text.

FUBAR
An acronym for what delicately could be called Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition or sometimes Fouled Up Beyond All Repair. It's actually an old military term but eventually found its way into the early days of computing where it was used as a subtle expletive. "sad to say, your hard drive is completely fubar"

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt)
Most newsletters, and people in general, feature articles that can be very helpful; you still have to use your own common sense. However, there are some people, wherever you go, who enjoy putting doubt into your head (negative people), who enjoy spreading FUD

GB (Gigabyte)
1,024 megabytes (MB), or approximately one billion bytes of information. Different definitions of this term cause discrepancies between different manufacturers and applications.

GIGO
A noun, pronounced (GEE goh), acronym for Garbage In/Garbage Out. Used to explain to novices that if you put worthless information into the computer, the computer can spit only worthless information back out. In other words, the computer can't magically create wonderful new information on its own. "Todd thought that he'd buy a computer to improve his writing. This is definitely a case of GIGO in action."

Graphical User Interface
Otherwise known as "GUI" and as opposed to "command line interface" which is the old DOS way of doing things. You may have overheard "graphical user interface" at some point in the past. Well, a GUI uses graphics (big surprise) to make things go. For example, Microsoft Windows? You see that icon for Word? When you double-click it, if everything goes as it's supposed to, Word will open. The GUI contained the icon you clicked. If you were on a command line, there would be nothing to click. Browsers, such as Netscape and Opera, are GUIs for the Web. Sure, geeks like to flex their brains and use a command line interface, but for the rest of the world, a GUI works fine. And yes, GUI sounds like "gooey."

Hard Disk (Hard Drive)
A magnetically coated disk that acts as the computer's storage device. The hard disk is usually "fixed" in the computer and not removed. It has a much higher capacity and speed than a floppy disk. Its capacity is measured in megabytes, and can be divided into several partitions.

Hardware
The physical components of your computer, for example the CPU itself, the hard drive, add-in cards, diskettes, and input devices such as the mouse and keyboard. Its a general term used to describe the equipment that makes up and is connected to your computer. To the beginner, software is what ever you see on the screen, and hardware is everything you can touch.

Host Computer
A host computer is a computer that is on the Internet. It is not your computer, but one that you request information from, or that you visit via your travels on the web.

Hypertext
Text that is linked to other pages or files. The standard (default) for hypertext is blue underlined type.