Interface
The method by which you control anything. The screen is the interface to your computer, just as a dashboard is the interface to your car, just as a doorknob is the interface to a door. See User Interface.

Internet.
A group of computers able to communicate with each other through connections over telephone lines or other means such as satellite, infrared, or direct cables.

Insertion Point
A small vertical line that shows you on your screen where the next letter that you type on your keyboard will go.

When you are on the Internet, and you want to fill out a form on a web page, you must first click in the box that you are going to type in to put the insertion point in the correct place.

If there are lots of text boxes on the Web page (or in other programs) and you fill out the first one, instead of using your mouse to click and place the insertion point in the next one, just use the tab key on your keyboard to move the insertion point from one place to the next. If you notice a mistake, you can hold down the shift key and press tab to move backwards.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)
A business that provides access to the Internet, usually on a subscription basis. These are the folks who bill you for access to the Internet. If you have free Internet access through a university, then the university is your ISP. By dialing the ISP with a modem, a subscriber connects to the ISP's servers that have a permanent connection to the Internet.

K (also KB, Kilobyte)
Approximately one thousand bytes (actually 1024 bytes) of information.

LAN (Local Area Network)
A network with all its computers close together (geographically).

LED (Light Emitting Diode)
A small semiconductor light used on keyboards, disk drives, and other devices that indicate whether the device is on or in use.

Lurking
Newsgroups are nice, but they can be somewhat foreboding. Jumping into a new newsgroup is like trying to infiltrate a whole new social circle. You don't really know anybody and they probably don't know you. It's a good idea to just hang out and read the threads before making a post of your own. Well, that's what we call "lurking." You might even decide this particular newsgroup isn't what you're looking for. No sweat; there are only about thirty million others waiting for you. You know, all some people ever do is lurk ... but where's the fun in that? Electronic forums will make lurkers of us all.

MB (Megabyte)
One million bytes, or more precisely, 1,024 kilobytes (totaling 1,048,576 bytes, that�s 2 to the 20th power). When used to describe data transfer rates, as in MBps, it refers to one million bytes.

Memory
Generally refers to the amount of Random Access Memory (RAM) in your computer. The more memory you have, the more windows you can have open, and the more applications you can run simultaneously. Memory, while not the same as disk space, is also measured in bytes, kilobytes, and megabytes.

Menu
A list of commands or options displayed on your screen that allow you to perform tasks.

Menu Bar
Sometimes called the Menu Line, is just below the solid colored bar at the top of each screen showing a list of things that an application does. In Windows, nearly every application has a menu along the top of its window, usually containing the items File, Edit, View, and Help - when clicked, additional subordinate menu items are displayed. There is no set menu. Just like the restaurant's menu, this will vary from program to program...from restaurant to restaurant.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
A communications protocol to control musical instruments, including the computer's synthesizers.

Modem
A device that uses telephone lines to connect to other computers. This device is used commonly for faxing documents and connecting to the Internet. It stands for "Modulate-Demodulate" which is very much like a human interpreter, who listens to the foreign tongue, and then speaks in the native tongue. The modem's job is translate a signal from sound into numbers. That screeching noise you hear is translated into numbers, or a "digital" communication fit for the Internet. The numbers are moved about, and it all comes out looking like a web page or email when it's finished. The easiest way to describe this: "It's magic."

Motherboard
The circuit board that holds the Central Processing Unit, Random Access Memory, and add-in cards.

Mouse
A device that allows you to move your text cursor and to point and click icons and menu options.

Mouse Pointer
Either an arrow or an I-beam on your screen. To control the position of the mouse pointer, slowly move your mouse in the direction in which you want to move the pointer.

MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group)
A type of computer movie format.

MS-DOS
The Microsoft Disk Operating System, that preceded the now popular Windows operating system.

Modem
This device lets you connect your computer to the Internet. It stands for "Modulate-Demodulate" which is very much like a human interpreter, who listens to the foreign tongue, and then speaks in the native tongue. The modem's job is translate a signal from sound into numbers. That screeching noise you hear is translated into numbers, or a "digital" communication fit for the Internet. The numbers are moved about, and it all comes out looking like a web page or email when it's finished. The easiest way to describe this: "It's magic!"

Multimedia
Refers to software presented in a combination of forms: graphics, text, sound and animation.

Multitasking
Open Word. Now open Netscape. Now open Notepad. Now do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around. That's what it's all about. That's also what we like to call "multitasking." You can probably deduce (from the word itself) that "multitasking" has something to do with performing multiple tasks. And, in assuming this, you would be correct. It simply refers to an operating system's ability to have more than one program running at a time. Of course, running too many programs at once can cause your system to slow down, so don't get overzealous.

My Computer
A standard icon on the desktop that offers a way to view the contents of a single folder on a drive. Lets you manage the files on your computer.

Network
A network is what you get when you connect two or more computers together - the Internet is a type of network. The terms LAN and WAN describe the geographic scope of the network.

NTFS
(Copied from Wikpedia) New Technology File System is the standard file system of Windows NT and its descendants Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista. NTFS replaced Microsoft's previous FAT file system, used in MS-DOS and early versions of Windows. NTFS has several improvements over FAT such as improved support for metadata and the use of advanced data structures to improve performance, reliability, and disk space utilization plus additional extensions such as security access control lists and file system journaling.

Operating System (OS)
The software used to control a computer and run applications. Windows, DOS, and Unix are all examples of operating systems.

Parallel Port
A connector on your computer that allows you to connect to other devices, such as a printer. Also known as the LPT (line printer) port.

PC
Personal computer (usually refers to IBM-compatible, not Macintosh or UNIX computers).

Peripheral
A device such as a printer, keyboard, or disk drive connected to and controlled by a computer but external to the computer's central processing unit (CPU).

Phishing
Online phishing (pronounced like the word fishing) is a way to trick computer users into revealing personal or financial information through an e-mail message or website. A common online phishing scam starts with an e-mail message that looks like an official notice from a trusted source, such as a bank, credit card company, or reputable online merchant. In the e-mail message, recipients are directed to a fraudulent website where they are asked to provide personal information, such as an account number or password. This information is then usually used for identity theft.

Pixels
On a monitor or television screen, the horizontal pattern of lines that forms the image. Within each line are dots - called pixels -- that can be illuminated individually. That manual manipulation is what causes the image on the screen.

Processor
This is the chip in your computer that does all the calculations. This is also referred to as the CPU.

Program (Software Program)
A file or set of files that contain instructions to perform a certain task. A program can be a simple utility or a complex application.

Protocol
A code or set of rules about how information will be exchanged between computers.

QWERTY
The name commonly given to a standard keyboard layout. The name comes from the combination of the first six keys on the keyboard in the row below the numbers. (At least it's more pronounceable than ASDFG.) Several attempts have been made to replace the old QWERTY keyboard with something more sensible. It's like trying to switch the entire United States to the metric system. Can't be done.

RAM (Random Access Memory)
Refers to the internal memory in your computer where data and programs reside while being executed by the CPU. It is the main type of memory in your computer. See ROM.

Recycle Bin
A temporary storage place for deleted documents.

Relationship Between Client and Server on the World Wide Web
To understand Web design, you first need to understand the basic relationship between clients and servers on the World Wide Web. The client-server relationship is the yin and yang that keeps the Internet running. A server is any computer that contains and distributes information. A client is the program that requests and processes or displays that information. Web servers store and serve Web pages, and Web clients (more often referred to as Web browsers) display the pages on your screen. Clients and servers are useless without each other, much like separate halves of a piece of Velcro.

ROM (Read Only Memory)
Memory that can be read but not written to. (ROM also describes the chip inside your computer that holds basic information for your computer). See RAM.

Root Directory
The top-level directory in the tree. For drive C:, the root directory is signified by a single back-slash: C:\.

Safe Mode
Safe mode usually boots up when there is a problem with a recently installed application or hardware driver. This stripped down version of Windows allows you to troubleshoot and fix what is causing the problem.

One of the most commonly asked things about safe mode is, why does it look so ugly? Well, safe mode basically boots in a safe way. That's some mind-blowing logic, eh? This safe boot means that certain things are not loaded. When it comes to the display, your normal graphics driver is not loaded, and your desktop loads in a color and resolution setting that is far from attractive.

Those of you that are curious about what happens when you boot into safe mode, and how you can fix problems in it, should visit this page. The page is a part of the Howstuffworks website. When you have questions about computing, stop by that site; it's pretty good.

Serial Port
A connector on the back of the CPU for communication between the computer and other devices, such as a camera. Also known as the COM (communication) port.

Server
A Server is a computer with the dedicated task of delivering information. When you type an address into your browser's address bar, or click a link on a web page, you are requesting info from a computer somewhere, a Server computer.

Shortcut
An icon on the desktop or in a folder that represents an application or document. Double-clicking the icon starts the application or opens the document. You can tell a shortcut from other icons by the little curved arrow in the lower-left corner.

SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module)
A small circuit board that holds memory chips. Rather than installing individual chips to increase your system's memory, you install SIMMs, which are much easier to install and remove. Nearly all newer computers (those capable of running Windows) use SIMMs.

Slack Space
The amount of disk space that is wasted by having a large cluster size. For example, if a 300-byte file is stored on a disk with a cluster size of 1,024 bytes, there will be 724 bytes of slack space that can't be used for any other files. You can see how much space is allocated to a file by typing "DIR /v" at the command prompt.

Software
A general term used to describe the programs that can be used on a computer, such as applications, drivers, and operating systems. To the beginner, software is what ever you see on the screen, and hardware is everything you can touch.

Standby
A power-saving feature that you can select when you aren't going to be using your computer for a while.

Start Button
A button on the Windows taskbar that displays the Windows main menu.

Start Menu
The menu that appears when you click the button labeled Start at the bottom of your screen, on the Taskbar. This menu could (and should) be configured by you to suit your individual preference. Shortcuts can be added, deleted, changed in name, and changed in location. It's your computer; do your stuff.

Swap File
A file on your hard disk called WIN386.SWP that Windows uses to store information when you run out of memory. Since a hard disk is slower than memory, a system without a lot of RAM will run out of memory sooner, requiring heavier use of the swap file, thereby resulting in slower performance.

Task
Any program that is currently running on your computer. You can switch between tasks with the Taskbar or by pressing Alt-Tab on the keyboard.

Taskbar
The bar usually located at the bottom of the Windows desktop; the taskbar contains the Start button, buttons representing each open program or folder, and the clock (on the Tray by default). It provides an easy way to switch between programs.

Task Manager Window
Enables a user to view each of the tasks currently running on the computer, each of the processes, and the overall performance of the computer. It is commonly easily accessed by pressing "CTRL + ALT + DEL" on the keyboard.

TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. You've heard those phrases a lot, or at least you've seen the acronyms. They refer to the protocols used to connect hosts via the Internet. TCP/IP is supported by pretty much all networks, and is essentially the standard for communication protocols in today's environment. How do these two things work together? In a nutshell: the TCP part of the partnership assembles and sends packets of data. The IP part is responsible for the address and destination, so the packet(s) get to where they need to be. One makes the package, the other makes sure it's delivered.

Template
In a program, a document or worksheet that includes the text or formulas needed to create standardized documents. The template can be used to automate the creation of these documents in the future. In word processing, for example, templates frequently are used for letterheads; the template version of the file contains the corporate logo, the company's address, and all the formats necessary to write the letter, but no text. One uses the template by opening it, adding text to it, and printing. In spreadsheet programs, templates are available for repetitive tasks such as calculating and printing a mortgage amortization schedule.

Text Cursor
A blinking vertical line that appears on your screen. It indicates where text will appear when you type in a document.

Title bar
The stripe across the top of a window containing the title of the application in the window. You can move a window by dragging its title bar.

Tree
A graphical diagram used to display the hierarchal structure of the directories on a disk. The Windows Explorer allows the disk to be viewed in this fashion.

USB (Universal Serial Bus)
A type of serial interface that can connect to many different types of peripherals, such as scanners and cameras. It allows connection of multiple devices. This is a method used to transfer data between your computer's brains and the item in question... like a printer, scanner, or digital camera. Data is transferred to and fro, and electrons hurry hither and yon. All through the USB port. It's faster than a serial port, which is slow way to move data. And you can plug and unplug stuff into a USB port with the greatest of ease.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A web site address like http://geocities.datacellar.net/buddychai/

Wallpaper
The background on the desktop in Windows. You can change the appearance of your wallpaper in the Control Panel.

Web (World Wide Web)
A system of Internet servers that supports documents formatted in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). With this language, you can link to a variety of files: other HTML documents, graphics, audio, and video.

Web ring
A web ring, that's pronounced "Web ring," not "we bring" (just so you know), is a bunch of sites that have something in common and are all connected through a circular series of links. If you keep going, you eventually end up back where you started (in theory). You can view these sites in pretty much any order you see fit, too. There are web rings covering just about every subject imaginable. Sometimes the circle gets broken; gravesites are everywhere. With this ring, I thee click.

Window
A rectangular box containing an application, a part of an application, a message, or a folder. This concept is the basis for the user interface in Windows.

Windows Explorer
A file management program that shows the hierarchical structure of your drives and folders and allows you to access and manage the files on your system.

Winsock (Windows Sockets)
This is the language your computer speaks when it's connected to the Internet. Dial-Up Networking is the winsock support built into Windows. Once you've connected Windows to the internet, you can use winsock clients (software).

World Wide Web
The portion of the Internet you used to access this page. WWW for short, it is a subset of the Internet. Netscape, Mozilla, and Internet Explorer are examples of browsers used to navigate the World Wide Web.

Well, any errors or suggestions? ... ... what? everything's working?

This way is back to ... Tips 'n Tricks Menus ... next line for exit.
Here we'll return to ... Navigator ... that's bon voyage.

Found something worthwhile? Why not drop a line and let me know?