[PAML] Glossary of multimedia terms

This glossary has been generously supplied by internet.au magazine, Australia's complete guide to the Internet.

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange - an ASCII file contains standard text characters as data.
ASP: Active Server Pages - an SSI language from Microsoft.
AFAIK: Shorthand for 'as far as I know', commonly used on IRC.
BTW: By The Way. A useful e-mail acronym.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface. Runs programs or scripts on a Web Server; commonly used to handle data from HTML forms.
DHTML: Dynamic HTML.
ETLA: A four letter acronym - or Extended Three Letter Acronym.
LOLLOL: Laugh Out Loud. IRC term.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions; files of these are kept in newsgroups so users don't need to ask again.
F2F: Face-to-face. Pertains to communication without computers.
FIF: Fractal Image Format - image compression and display method that delivers up to 50:1 compression, with view zoom ability for the pictures.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. System for moving files across networks.
FWIW: For What It's Worth. Common net abbreviation.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format - for storing and exchanging pictures.
GUI: Graphic User Interface.
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language - the tags used to prepare information for Web pages, including text and links.
HTTP: HyperText Transport Protocol - retrieval method for other HyperText.
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion - commonly used on IRC.
IP: Internet Protocol - the main net protocol; also, an IP Network is formed around the exchange of data packets.
IRC: Internet Relay Chat - highly addictive live text-based communication.
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network - uses existing phone lines and computer networks to deliver fairly fast video, voice and data in standard form.
ISP: Internet Service Provider.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group - an image compression and display method; quality varies as some files can be reduced by up to 20 times their original size.
LAN: Local Area Network - when two or more computers are gathered together via cables.
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface - a standard protocol for synthesizers and computers to communicate, enabling musicians to compose on the synth keyboard and save the music information on the computer for manipulation in score writing programs.
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions - recent net standard for transferring sound and pictures by e-mail.
MP3: MPEG-3 - an audio compression algorithm.
MPEG: Motion Picture Expert Group - standard for encoding/decoding digital video.
MUD: Multi-User Dungeon, or Domain. Basically a net space, designed and inhabited by users who will look nothing like their MUD identities. Also called MOOs, MUSHes, MUCKs and MUSEs.
NNTP: Net News Transport Protocol - transmission protocol for Usenet news.
OTOH: Net shorthand for On The Other Hand.
PERL: Practical Extraction and Report Language. General purpose language, often used for scanning text and printing formatted reports, often used to create CGIs.
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy. Encryption program.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics - a lossless image compression format designed to replace GIF.
POP: Point of Presence. Gives local access to a network service. Also, Post Office Protocol.
POTS: Plain Old Telephone System. Slang for the standard phone service. See PSTN.
PPP: Point to Point Protocol - a direct connection to the net from your computer, via modem and phone line.
PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network.
ROTFL: Rolling on The Floor Laughing. A step up from LOL.
RTFM: Read The F**king Manual. Something often said to newbies by geeks, usually after a pointless question.
RAM: Random Access Memory.
ROM: Read-Only Memory.
SEA: Self-extracting archive - a compressed file that comes inside its own decompressor, so that it can expand itself without outside help (after you've told it to).
SHTML: Server-parsed HTML.
SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol - a dial-up connection to the net; older technology than PPP.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transport Protocol - transfer method for mail on the net.
SSI: Server Side Include.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - in combination, the networking method used by computers to contact each other over the net.
TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. Common graphics file format for still images.
TLA: Three Letter Acronym. These abound amongst netizens and tech-heads, often used in technical matters.
TTYTT: To Tell You The Truth. Common on-line shorthand.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator - the address system used on the Web.
VRML: Virtual Reality Modeling Language - a programming language for the creation of virtual worlds. Using a VRML viewer you can take a virtual tour of a 3D model building, or manipulate animations of 3D objects. Hyperlinks to other sites and files can be embedded in the world you visit.
WAN: Wide Area Network - a group of computers separated by great distances but joined by dedicated lines.
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. Used to refer to authoring tools which don't make you type in HTML.

cross-posting: A posting sent to several newsgroups all at once. Not always necessary.
download: Loading information from another computer into your own; the opposite is upload.
emoticons: smileys :) etc.
e-zine: An electronic magazine.
flame: A message that 'burns' the person it is directed at, mostly publicly. Often random and pointless, especially in newsgroups.
FRAG: A noun referring to number of deaths you have caused. Internet gaming term.
freeware: Software and utilities made freely available. Although you don't have to pay any fees, freeware is still covered by copyright.
geek: Read all this and soon you'll speak like one. Maybe.
lurk: Those on mailing lists and online forums too timid to type.
mirror site: A net site that contains exactly the same information as another elsewhere in the world. Used to spread the load on popular sites.
Netiquette: The rules of the online game. Much of it is common sense - don't spam, cross-post, flame uneccessarily, etc.
Netizen: An active member of the net community. See geek.
Newbie: A pejorative term for beginners on the net.
plug-in: An add-on feature for your browser that increases functionality, such as providing multimedia capabilities.
search engine: A program that searches indexes of addresses using keywords. The depth of the search is up to you and/or the extent of its index.
shareware: Copyright-protected software that is publicly distributed on the condition that if a user trials a program and decides to keep using it they will send payment to the author.
Spam: Not spiced ham, but just as repulsive to most people. Spam is an unsolicited piece of advertising sent via email or posted to a newsgroup. Repeat spammers are often flamed.
Sysadmin: System administrator, or the one you call when your network goes down.
Sysop: System operator, or the one you call when a BBS goes down.
Telco: Telephone company. General term for Optus, Telstra or Vodaphone etc.
vaporware: Software that either doesn't get far, or never makes it to the market.
warez: All kinds of software. Be sure to pronounce it as "wares".

applet: A small self-contained application which can run on its own or inside another program (eg a Web browser).
attachment: A file attached to email in the format it was created in, useful for documents and graphics in particular.
backbone: Main highspeed internet links between a country's major internet providers, eg There is an Australian backbone and a US backbone.
bandwidth: The amount of stretch in a network connection - its maximum carrying capacity for data traffic.
baud: Modem speed measurement of one signal per second. 300 baud = 300 bits per second, but higher than 300 baud one signal may contain more than one bit.
binary: A file in pure data form, with no text - needs converting to be appreciated.
BinHex: Mac format for converting binary files into ASCII for transfer.
bit: A binary unit.
bmp: Bitmap - a graphics file.
bps: Bits per second - data movement speed on a modem, also Kbps (Kilobits per second) and Mbps for mega bits per second.
broadband: A high bandwidth network (>256Kbps).
cache: Small memory store for regularly accessed or recently used data.
client: An individual's computer and the program it uses to request information from a server computer/program.
compression: Making a file smaller by removing all the bits it doesn't need for faster transfer and/or storage.
cookie: A packet of data stored on your hard drive by a Web site, which is sent back to the Web server when information is required.
domain: A part of the address hierarchy a machine is placed in; ie berk.com.au is 'berk' in the com.au (company in Australia) domain.
domain name server: The computer that remembers the domain names of other machines and their IP address.
domain name system: System of converting numeric IP address to domain names and back again.
encryption: Method of coding data so that it can only be read by the people it is intended for (in theory).
firewall: Network hardware and software that limits access between an internal network and the rest of the Internet.
gateway: A machine connected to two networks; acts as a transfer point.
header: The top of an e-mail or newsgroup message that lets you know where the message came from and when it was posted.
host: An older name for server. Usually seen as "remote host".
hyperlink: A touch-sensitive spot on a Web page linking it to another page or site and...
hypertext: Text that includes hyperlinks to other documents.
java: A programming language used to write java applets (amongst other things).
javascript: A scripting language from Netscape, only vaguely related to Java.
mailing list: A list of subscribers to a discussion group, who all receive the discussion by mail; also used as a way of distributing newsletters.
majordomo: Stands for Master of the House. A common mailing list administration program.
modem: Modulator/demodulator - a device that converts digital signals to analogue (and vice versa), thus allowing transmission of data.
moderator: A moderator ensures all contributions to a newsgroup are suitable before posting them.
Newsgroup: A discussion group on a specific topic. Part of Usenet.
Ping: A data packet is sent out from your computer to a site or other user to test the performance of the connection; if the site isn't operating it fails, if the site is operating the packet bounces back and it Pongs.
port: The specific channel used by a network service, eg. Gopher uses port 70, Web sites use port 80.
proxy: A server used as a store for commonly accessed files. Speeds up net use.
root directory: The uppermost directory of a collection of files.
router: A device used to transfer packets from a computer on one network (LAN) to other computers on other networks via the fastest and most efficient route.
server: Any computer that stores information and makes it available to outside users.
streaming: A method of delivering data in a steady flow to perform a task 'live', such as playing sounds or tracking action in a networked game.
Telnet: Allows your computer to act like it is part of another machine so that you can log in.
Usenet: The network of discussion groups or newsgroups.
.zip: Software files compressed into ZIP format, ready for unzipping with PKUnzip before installing.

Acronym soup

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