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Technet Glossary
- Part Three (M - Q)
- M -The first computer to use a Graphical User Interface, the Macintosh currently finds its greatest use in the education, desktop publishing, computer graphics, and musical areas. See also PowerPC. Mailing List/Distribution List A measurement of the speed of a network connection equal to a million bits of information a second. Typically only meaningful when discussing T1 or T3 connections or Internet backbones.
A list of options displayed on a computer screen from which a user can choose an action. See also Toolbar.
An electronic device that translates information from computer data signals to signals that can be transported over telephone lines and vice versa. Modems allow computer systems to connect to each other and share data through the use of regular phone lines. Modems use a variety of protocols to transfer data between computers. Some of the more commonly used protocols are PPP and SLIP. Technet supports PPP, but not SLIP. See PPP for more information. Older protocols used for transferring files include Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, and Kermit. XON/XOFF is a handshaking protocol used to establish reliable connections between two modems. Some Technet customers have experienced problems with USR Robotics modems that had defective chips. See the USR Robotics troubleshooting page for more information. An output device that displays information or input fields. Also called a Screen. The precursor to modern Web Browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer is based on Mosaic MS-DOS
The execution of more than one program or task at a time on a computer. Usually defined as foreground and background tasks. The task being performed by the user is referred to as the foreground task. Multiple background tasks can be running without user intervention at the same time as the foreground task. Printing, file downloading, and sorting data are examples of tasks that can be handled in the background. Computers with multitasking operating systems can perform more than one task at a time. Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 and UNIX are examples of multitasking operating systems.
- N -Name Server See Domain Name Server National Science Foundation (NSF) The government agency responsible for creating the original Internet. NCSA Mosaic See Mosaic The rules of using the Internet, especially the UseNet portion thereof. See the Netiquette FAQ for generally accepted rules. All Technet user contracts contain acceptable use provisions. These rules govern what Technet considers unacceptable behavior. Some of these rules are based on Netiquette. The Web Browser with the most users in the Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX arenas, Netscape's browser is generally on the leading edge of technology, offering access not only to the Web but also to UseNet and E-Mail. Technet's menu interface is compatible with Netscape for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Netscape is the only major browser besides Internet Explorer version 3.0 and up that offers a level of security high enough to make transferring private information such as credit card transactions over the World Wide Web safe. See Encryption for more detail. Following Mosaic, Netscape was largely responsible for the popularization of the World Wide Web. A full-featured Telnet client provided to Technet customers so they can access Technet premium services. It offers color, ensures that function keys work properly with various databases, and is compatible with 16 bit and 32 bit operating systems. A group of computers linked together to share information, software, and hardware. A discussion group on UseNet which uses threads. The name newsgroup is misleading: news is rarely posted to these groups. You should subscribe to newsgroups you read often. Each newsgroup has a specific topic considered relevant. it is considered rude to send articles that don't match that topic See Netiquette. The protocol used to send the newsgroups over the Internet that compose UseNet. A computer or router connected to a network such as the Internet. See host, router.To top - O -A device such as a printer that is not ready to receive data. A device such as a printer that is ready to receive data. A master program that provides basic instructions to both computer hardware and software that allows them to work together. DOS, Macintosh System, UNIX, OS/2, VMS, Windows 95, Windows NT are a few operating systems that computers use. Windows 3.1 is not an operating system since it runs under DOS. DOS, VMS and UNIX have character-based, command-driven interfaces where the user is presented with a prompt. The user must type a cryptic command to execute operating system commands, e.g., copy, move, delete, backup, etc. or to launch a software program such as WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, etc. Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2, and Macintosh all have graphical user interfaces which allow for a more visual user-friendly "point-and-click" method of executing operating system commands and launching software programs.
The process of displaying the results generated by input. Output is generally sent to the screen or to a printer - P -An output device that prints data one page at a time. Laser printers are page printers. Dot matrix printers are line printers. PAP See Authentication Protocols. A special word, code, or symbol that must be presented to a computer system to gain access to its resources. In DOS or UNIX, a route the operating system must take to find a program on a disk drive. It may include the letter of the drive as well. The DOS prompt often contains the current directory. For example, a file named setup.exe is in the DOS directory of a disk drive named C in that case, the path in DOS is C:\DOS\setup.exe. A microcomputer designed mainly for personal home or office use. Commonly referred to as a PC. Other terms used to describe a personal computer may refer to the processor or model, i.e., AT, 286, 386, 486, Pentium, etc. Originally referred to both IBM desktop computers and Macintoshes: now it generally refers only to IBM desktop computers.
Portable Document Format files. A format which can be read through Adobe's Acrobat Reader across all platforms and on all hardware, generally used on web sites when downloading/viewing large documents. The Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe. You can download the Acrobat Reader by clicking on the button below: Pine Mail See Electronic Mail/E-Mail A program used to see if a computer is properly connected to the Internet. Ping sends some data to another computer on the Internet: if it doesn't get it back, then something is wrong. Plug-ins See Applet. A method of accessing E-mail using a client to reprieve mail from a POP server. POP mail clients are usually easy-to-use PC or Macintosh programs, which make sending E-mail and adding attachments much simpler than with earlier mail programs. Technet customers will want to use either Netscape's POP mail client or, if they have Windows 95, they may want to use Microsoft Exchange. A language used to describe exactly how a document will look when printed on a page printer. Although postscript will not work on a line printer, it will work on almost any page printer. An outlet on a computer that lets the computer send data to and receive data from other computers or other devices.
The protocol that allows PCs and Macintosh computers to connect to the Internet using a modem that connects to a dial-in. Essentially, PPP sets up a desktop computer as a host on the Internet, capable of sending and receiving data like any other machine. See also SLIP.
One single piece of software devoted to one task or sets of tasks. Examples of programs include Web Browsers, and word processors such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. A character or message displayed by the computer to tell the user that it is ready to receive new data input. One common prompt is the "DOS" prompt or "C" prompt (C:\>). This is the command line interface. An agreed-upon way for computers to communicate with each other. One prominent example is the TCP/IP protocol, which is critical to the working of the Internet. See also Telnet, http, SMTP, NNTP, POP. Software not copyrighted that can be freely distributed without obtaining permission from or paying a fee to the programmer. See also Freeware and Shareware. - Q -
Some of the definitions were adapted or taken from: Que's Computer & Internet Dictionary, 6th Edition Webster's New World Dictionary of Computer Terms, Third Edition
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