ISDN  (Integrated Services Digital Network)  Basically a way to move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is available to much of the USA and in most markets it is priced very comparably to standard analog phone circuits. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited to 56,000or 64,000 bits-per-second.
Unlike DSL, ISDN can be used to connect to many different locations, one at a time, just like a regular telephone call, as long the other location also has ISDN.
Special connections that use ordinary phone lines to transmit digital instead of analog signals. Briefly, ISDN is a telecommunications network that allows for digital voice, video, and data transmissions. ISDN replaces the slow and inefficient analog telephone system with a fast and efficient digital communications network. ISDN lines contain two channels: a B channel, which has a 64Kbps (kilobits per second) data transmission rate, and a D channel, which has either a 16Kbps or 64Kbps transmission rate. When the two lines are used together, transmitted data can travel at 128Kbps. Compare ISDN and T-1, T-3 lines.

ISO  (International Organization for Standardization)  An association that has defined a different set of network protocols, known as the ISO/OSI protocols, that are in line to replace those currently in use on the Internet. See also OSI.

ISOC  (the Internet Society)  A group made up of members who support a worldwide information network. It is also the governing body to which the IAB reports.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) An institution that provides access to the Internet in some form, usually for money. An organization that lets users dial into its computers to connect to its Internet link for a fee. ISPs generally provide only an Internet connection, an electronic mail address, and maybe World Wide Web browsing software. You can use an ISP based in your town that offers an access number in your local calling area, or a national ISP that provides local-access numbers across the country (many of them also offer 1-800 dialing access). You can also connect to the Internet through a commercial online service, such as CompuServe or America Online. With this kind of connection, you get Internet access and the proprietary features offered by the online service, such as chat rooms and searchable databases. Internet access through online services may be more expensive than that obtained through an ISP.

J

JANET  (Joint Academic Network)  The academic and research network in the United Kingdom.

Java    Java is a network-friendly programming language invented by Sun Microsystems. It's a computer language compatible with many different types of computers and hand-held devices. Web developers write JAVA applets, small programs written in JAVA, that run on Web pages. Examples include games such as tic-tac-toe and programs that let you calculate mortgage interest.
Java is often used to build large, complex systems that involve several different computers interacting across networks, for example transaction processing systems.
Java is also becoming popular for creating programs that run in small electronic devices, such as mobile telephones.
A very common use of Java is 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.

JavaScript    A system of programming codes created by Netscape that can be imbedded into HTML to create additional functionality not supported by HTML. JavaScript programming codes allow Web developers to insert functions into Web sites such as animation and interactivity. JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets(CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML.

java applet  A Java application that runs on a browser.

java sandbox  A security model that confines Java applet actions to a security model-defined set of rules.

java servlet  An application that runs on a Web server and generates dynamic content.

JDBC  (Java Database Connectivity) 

JDK    (Java Development Kit) A software development package from Sun Microsystems that implements the basic set of tools needed to write, test and debugJava applications and applets
See also: Applet, Java

JPEG, JPG  (Joint Photographic Experts Group)  The standard name of a commonly used compressed, digitized still image file. JPEG is most commonly mentioned as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.

Jughead  A program, used in conjunction with gopher, that provides the means to search all of the menu selections within a particular gopher server.

K

key  a number used to encode or decode messages.

knowbot  A registered trademark of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. Knowbots are robots designed to seek out files on the Internet.

knowledge management  The intentional collection, classification, and dissemination of information about a company, its products, and its processes.

L

LAN  (Local Area Network)  A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building. A group of computers located in a relatively limited area (like an office building) and connected by a communications link that allows them to interact with each other. Many LANs are connected to the Internet.

late outsourcing  The hiring of an external company to maintain an electronic commerce site that has been designed and developed by an internal information systems team.

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)  A set of protocols for accessing information directories.  LDAP resources.
 

leased line  Refers to line such as a telephone line or fiber-optic cable that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week use from your location to another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line. It's dedicated (as opposed to a dial-up) telephone line typically used to link a moderate-sized local network to an Internet Service Provider.

limited edition  A trial version of a software program; it can be used for free for a limited time period or for a certain number of uses.

Link  These are "hot spots" embedded in text or graphics which display related information when you click on them.

Listserv ®  The most common kind of maillist, "Listserv" is a registered trademark of L-Soft international, Inc. Listservs originated on BITNET but they are now common on the Internet. A program that allows users to mass-distribute messages that form conferences, as well as archiving files and messages that can be searched for and retrieved.

Local  Refers to something that is on your computer, as opposed to on a server.

logical security  The protection of assets using nonphysical means.

login, logon  The process of identifying yourself to your computer or an online service. The initial identification procedure to gain access to a system as a legitimate user. The usual requirements are a valid user name (or user ID) and password.
Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password).
Verb: the act of connecting to a computer system by giving your credentials (usually your "username" and "password")

logout, logoff  The concluding steps for formally ending a session with a system. Physically disconnecting or powering down a terminal does not necessarily result in a logout.

lurking  A term used to describe the inactivity of a subscriber who doesn't actively participate in a mailing list or Usenet newsgroup discussions. One who lurks is just listening to the discussion. Lurking is advised for beginners who need to get up to speed on the history, mores, and etiquette of the group.

Lynx  A character-based client program for the World Wide Web.

M

macro virus  A virus that is transmitted or contained inside a downloadable file attachment; it can cause damage to a computer and reveal otherwise confidential information.

mail bomb  A security attack wherein many people (hundreds or thousands) each send a message to a particular address, exceeding the recipient's allowable mail limit and causing mail systems to malfunction.

mailing list  A (usually automated) system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist. In this way, people who have many different kinds of e-mail access can participate in discussions together. Electronic discussion groups that link a relatively small group of people together by common interests and that are distributed throughout the Internet via its global e-mail system. If you belong to a mailing list, you receive every message that is posted to that list.

mail server  Programs and hardware used to manage and store e-mail over the Internet.

mail reflector  A specialized address from which e-mail is automatically forwarded to a set of other addresses, commonly used to implement a mail discussion group.

managed hosting  A Web hosting service in which the service provider manages the operation and oversight of all servers and assigns a dedicated service manager.

market  A real or virtual space in which potential buyers and sellers come into contact with each other and agree on a medium of exchange.

marketspace  A market that occurs in the virtual world instead of the real world.

masquerading  See spoofing.  

Merchant ID  An account number from a merchant bank that allows a company to accept credit-card payments. Merchant banks establish bank accounts for the purpose of enabling companies to accept credit card payments. The merchant bank account allows a company to receive and process credit card transactions online and transfer money from the buyer's account to the seller's account.

META tag  A special HTML tag that contains keywords that represent Web page content; these are used by search engines to build indexes. An HTTP tag which defines certain top-level information about the web page or web site. Usually contains keywords for search engines, a description of what the site contains in terms of subject matter and audience, can contain information about the author and tools used to create the page or site. Is one of the highest priority elements of a website when used in conjunction with search engines. Search engines typically weight the text found in the metadata tags higher than the text found in the actual contents of the pages.

micropayments  Internet payments for items costing very little (usually 1 dollar or less).

minimum bid  In an English auction, the price for an item at which the auctioning begins.

minimum bid increment  The amount by which one bid must exceed the previous bid.

MILNET  A part if the DDN network that makes up the Internet, centered on non-classified military communications.

MIME  (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)  Originally a standard for defining the types of files attached to standard Internet mail messages. The MIME standard has come to be used in many situations where one cmputer programs needs to communicate with another program about what kind of file is being sent. For example, HTML files have a MIME-type of text/html, JPEG files are image/jpeg, etc. Extensions to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) that allow the transmittal of non-text information (graphics, etc.) via e-mail. A standard Internet format for encoding files that are attached to electronic (e-mail) messages. \

mirror  A duplicate of an FTP site. Generally speaking, "to mirror" is to maintain an exact copy of something. Probably the most common use of the term on the Internet refers to "mirror sites" which are web sites, or FTP sites that maintain copies of material originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread access to the resource. For example, one site might create a library of software, and 5 other sites might maintain mirrors of that library.

modem (MOdulator/DEModulator)  A device that allows a PC to communicate and exchange information with other modem-equipped computers via telephone lines. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.

MOO -- (Mud, Object Oriented)   One of several kinds of multi-user role-playing environments.