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Useful Internet Terms.

Below is a list we compiled of commonly used terms relating to the Internet. We hope this list may help some of you understand these terms in "plain English".
Here they are:

* Bandwidth:
How much data, or electronic packets, you can send through a connection. It is usually measured in bits-per-second. The 'higher' the bandwidth, the more stuff you can send through.

* Attachment:
Any file linked to an email message is an attachment. They ride along "piggy back" on the e-mail message and arrive with it through your e-mail box.

* Cookie:
Cookies are small data files that are written to the hard drive of your computer when you view some Websites. Cookies might contain information such as your login or registration information, your online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, passwords, lists of pages you've visited, and the date when you last looked at a certain page. The information in the cookie is retrieved from your hard drive on subsequent visits to that Website, and is usually meant to make your visit easier or more productive.

* Domain:
The name of a computer or service on the Internet. It is the part of a Website address that comes after the "@" sign. The domain name is actually a shortcut that stands for numbers (the IP address) that point to a certain computer location on the Internet.

* Download:
The process of receiving a file from another computer. You move the file from another computer somewhere on the Internet to your own computer.

* FAQ: "Frequently Asked Questions".
Usually on Websites or instruction manuals, a FAQ provides answers to commonly asked questions about a subject in a simple question and answer format. FAQ's are usually a good place to start looking for answers to any questions you might have about a Website.

* Flame:
Originally, "flame" meant writing in a passionate manner in the spirit of honorable debate while on the Internet. More recently, however, flame has come to refer to any kind of derogatory comment, no matter how witless or crude. Flame can usually be found on on-line bulletin boards or listservs.

* FTP (File Transfer Protocol):
A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites. Files can be uploaded to a location on the Internet, or downloaded from somewhere on the Internet via "FTP".

* Homepage:
The first page of a Website or group of HTML documents. Usually the primary Webpage and the one that most people enter a Website through.

* HTML (Hypertext Markup Language):
The language in which World Wide Web documents (Webpages) are formatted. HTML looks like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. It tells your Internet Browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer) what to show you, and dictates exactly what you will see when browsing the web.

* Hyperlink:
Usually referred to as a "Link". It allows a user to jump from one Webpage, graphic or document to another one. A link is usually "clicked on" to jump to another location on the Internet. You click on text or a graphic. (A text link is actually called "Hypertext".)

* Internet:
The computer network which enables users to send e-mail, transfer files, participate in newsgroups, and access the World Wide Web.

* IP Number (Internet Protocol Number):
A number that looks like this 165.110.245.1. Every machine on the Internet has a unique IP number because that is how one machine locates another. A Domain Name points a computer to a particular IP number of another computer. (But is easier to remember.)

* IRC (Internet Relay Chat):
Basically a huge multi-user live chat facility. There are a number of major IRC servers around the world, which are linked to each other.

* ISP (Internet Service Provider):
An institution or business that provides access to the Internet, usually for money. Your ISP is who actually hooks you up to get onto the Internet and is usually either a "dial-up" account (with a modem), or ISDN or DSL (which are higher speed cable hookups).

* Java:
Java is used to create 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 is an object-oriented language, developed by Sun Microsystems, that creates distributed Web applications.

* Netiquette:
The etiquette on the Internet. Knowing it helps you to get along with others who use the Internet.

* Newsgroup:
An electronic bulletin board on the Internet where users can post and exchange messages. The messages stay there for a while, and other people can add to your message, answer it, or comment on it. Newsgroups are a good place to find out what people are thinking about a particular subject. There are Newsgroups on thousands of different topics.

* Spam:
Spam is loosely defined as unwanted and/or inappropriate commercial advertising on the Internet. An unscrupulous company or individual will send the same message to a large number of people who didn't ask for it. Spam is the junk that you don't want that clogs your e-mail inbox.

* SSL (Secure Sockets Layer):
SSL is sometimes what you hear called a "Secure Server". When you buy something or send information over the Internet SSL provides authentication and data encryption between a Web server and a Web browser. It was designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications to cross the Internet.

* Upload:
Uploading is the process of transmitting a file to another computer.

* URL (Uniform Resource Locator):
(Also known as a Web address.) A URL is a standardized character string that identifies the location of an Internet document. This is a URL: http://www.braunconsulting.com/bcg/bcglinks.htm

* World Wide Web:
The Internet's worldwide, HTML-based, hypertext-linked information system. The World Wide Web is frequently used incorrectly when referring to "The Internet", and is actually a subset of the Internet. It can include Gopher, FTP, HTTP, Telnet, USENET, WAIS as well as hypertext servers (HTTP servers). The HTTP servers are the servers (computers) that serve up the text, graphics, sound files, etc. that come together in your web browser as a Website.

* XML (eXtensible Markup Language):
XML provides a newer system to define complex documents and data structures such as invoices, news feeds, glossaries, inventory descriptions, real estate properties, etc. What it does is provide a better way for data to interface over the Internet.

And now we should be able to understand the folks in EDP!

5. Health Insurance Crisis 

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