Internet Glossary
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Backbone
A high-speed line (or a series of connections) that forms a major
pathway within a network.
Bandwidth
The amount of data you can send through a connection, usually
measured in bits per second. A full page of English text is about 16,000
bits. A fast modem can move about 15,000 bits in one second.
Banner
Paid advertisements in the form of graphics (usually rectangular in
shape) displayed on a Web page. When viewers click on a banner, they
are taken to the advertiser's Web site.
Baud
A unit of measurement for modem speed, synonymous with bits per
second (bps). A 56K modem has a speed of 56,000 baud or 56,000 BPS
BBS
Bulletin Board System: A computerized meeting system. BBS users can
have discussions, make announcements, and upload or download files.
There are thousands of BBSs around the world; many of them rely on a
direct modem-to-modem connection over a phone line, using a single
computer.
Binary
An FTP file format for transferring encoded data such as programs and images.
Binhex
BINary HEXadecimal: A method of converting non-text files
(non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because Internet email can only
handle ASCII.
Bit
This is the smallest measure of computerized data, either 1 or 0. Eight
bits equal one byte, or one character.
Blue Screen
A Windows 95/98 or Windows NT error that turns your computer
screen blue while displaying an error message. It's sometimes called "blue
screen of death" because it can cause an operating system to "freeze" or
"lock up," requiring a reboot (restart) and deleting all unsaved data.
Bookmark
The feature of a Web Browser that lets you save the address (URL) of a web page
so you can go back to the page easily at a later time.
BPS
Bits per second: A measurement of how fast data is moved from one
place to another. A 28.8K modem can move 28,800 bits per second, or
about 3600 characters per second.
Broadband
A transmission medium capable of supporting a wide range of frequencies, typically from audio up to video frequencies. It can carry multiple signals by dividing the total capacity of the medium into multiple, independent bandwidth channels, where each channel operates only on a specific range of frequencies.
Browser
A client program used to view various kinds of Internet resources. You
use a browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer)
to view Web pages from your computer.
Byte
A byte is a set of 8 bits that represent a single character.