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Delta Web Design 4036 Cypress Gardens Drive Fort Worth, Texas 76123-1440 PH 817-370-1169 FX 817-370-7212 E-mail Delta Privacy Statement |
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| INTERNET DICTIONARY - LETTER "C" | |
| cable modem | A modem attached to a coaxial cable television system. Cable modems can transmit data at 500 kilobytes a second, much faster than a typical computer modem which sends signals over telephone lines. SEE also: @Home. |
| cache | Caches come in many types, but they all work the same way: they store information where you can get to it fast. A Web browser cache stores the pages HTML code as well as any graphics, and multimedia elements embedded in it, that way, when you go back to the page, everything doesn't have to be downloaded all over again. Since hard disk access is much faster than Internet access, this speeds things up. Hard disk access however is slower than RAM, which is why there is disk caching, which stores information you might need from your hard disk in faster RAM. |
| CAD | computer aided design - a program used by architects, engineers and 3D artists who want to visualize and manipulate the objects or spatial environments they are designing. One of the most popular of these programs is AutoCAD by AutoDesk. Sometimes referred to as computer assisted design. |
| café - cybercafé - Internet café | A public eating and drinking establishment where the principal entertainment is online access through terminals at individual tables. Also referred to as a chat line that emulates a café. |
| Campus Wide Information System (CWIS) | A CWIS makes information and services publicly available on campus via kiosks, and makes interactive computing available via kiosks, interactive computing systems and campus network |
| cancelbot | A program left running on an Internet server that automatically looks for and deletes any Usenet postings from a person (or containing a subject) the system adminstrator deems inappropriate. Cancelbots are primarily used these days to filter out incoming spams on news servers from notorious e-mail addresses. SEE ALSO: CancelBunny, CancelPoodle, and CancelMoose |
| CancelBunny | or CancelPoodle - a nickname for people who delete Usenet messages posted to newsgroups (they claim because of copyright infringement). The CancelBunny cancels other people's posts, taking advantage of a loophole in the overall Usenet posting mechanism. |
| Cancelmoose | An individual who wages war against spamming. |
| carrier | This is another name for a phone connection. When you see the external modem light labeled CD flash, you know the modem is receiving a carrier detect (CD) signal, and that it's hooked up to another computer. |
| cascade | A series of reply posts to a message on a BBS |
| case sensitive | When it matters if letters are typed in uppercase or lowercase. Some computer programs and network services are case sensitive: "XYZ" is considered different data than "xyz." Some Internet users are case sensitive too: It bugs them if they receive messages typed in all CAPITAL LETTERS (it's the visual equivalant to shouting). |
| Catch-UP | A Web browser based service that provides software update information. Find and download the latest software releases and keep your software up-to-date with ease. |
| CD-ROM | Compact Disc - Read Only Memory - An optical storage technology that uses compact discs. CD-ROM technology was originally used for encyclopedias, dictionaries, and software libraries, but now they are often used in multimedia applications. One CD-ROM can hold about 600 megabytes, or the equivalent of 700 floppy disks. |
| cellpadding | The syntax used to control the "padding" or area around the contents of a table's cell. In HTML, tables are used as a layout tool which allows an HTML author to render text and graphics on a Web page in columns and rows. There are many options available with tables and cellpadding is one of them. |
| cellpadding vs cellspacing | Cellpadding is the space allowed between text and the inside edge of a cell in a table. Cellspacing is the distance between cells in a table. |
| cellspacing | The syntax used to control the "spacing" between the cells of a table. In HTML tables are used as a layout tool which allows an HTML author to render text and graphics on a Web page in columns and rows. There are many options available with tables and cellpadding is one of them. |
| Cerf, Vincent | President of the Internet Society (ISOC) and co-creator of the transmission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), which enables computers to talk to each other over the Internet. Cerf proved that a network can reconfigure itself so that no communications are lost. He did this by simulating the Defense Department's network's breakup (the Internet), and "glued" it back together using mobile radios in Strategic Air command aircraft. |
| CERN | The Conseil Européen pou la Recherche Nucléaire or the European Laboratory For Particle Physics - Known globally as CERN this is the birthplace of the World Wide Web. CERN is one of the world's largest scientific laboratories and an outstanding example of international collaboration of its many member states. Imagemaps which are seen on the Web, used to be coded in a format developed by CERN. More popular however became the format developed by the NCSA, and more recently imagemaps are coded as client-side which allows a browser to interpret the codes rather than a map file which would have been on a server. |
| Certificates | A digitally verifiable authorization given by a recognized authority for: 1) access, 2) use of a cryptographic key, and 3) authority to act. This authorization includes the identification of the issuing authority and a specific expiration date. |
| CGI | Common Gateway Interface - The standard for running programs on a server from a Web page. Gateway programs, or scripts, are executable programs which can be run by themselves. They have been made external programs in order to allow them to run under various (possibly very different) information servers interchangably. Gateways conforming to this specification can be written in any language which produces an executable file. Some of the more popular languages to use include: C or C++, Perl, Python, TCL, shells, and many others. Some of the most common CGI scripts found on the Web are programs which process the information a user might enter on a form or whenever an imagemap is "clicked" on - although most imagemaps these days are done via a client side script which resides in the HTML file itself. SEE ALSO: FastCGI. |
| cgi-bin | CGI binary - A directory on a server which "houses" all of the CGI programs. When you see this as a directory in your browser's URL window, it usually means you are either running or about to run a CGI program. |
| channel | A virtual area where Internet Relay Chat (IRC) users communicate in real time. There are thousands of channels located on the Internet. |
| chat | A form of interactive online communication that allows you to have real time conversations with others on your computer. Chatting on the Internet can take place via Web pages at places known as chat rooms or on IRC channels. Either way, when participating in a chat discussion, your messages are instantaneously relayed to other members and their messages are instantaneously relayed to you. |
| chat room | A site on the World Wide Web where any number of computer users can type in messages to each other (chat) in real time, creating an online conversation. These messages usually appear on an area of the screen next to the user's nickname or handle. Most chat rooms have a particular topic (which you are expected to discuss) but there are some that are purely for meeting other people. Some chat rooms are designed as elaborate 3D environments allowing a visitor the abilty to select an avatar which represents you in this meeting place. For a list of popular chat room acronyms click on the more button below. |
| checkbox | In HTML, a way to allow the user to interact with the material on a Web page by clicking on a box or other input element. |
| clickable graphic or imagemap | An image or graphic with areas made to allow a user to click on them. An imagemap can have many different areas which are hyperlinks or "hot". These clickable areas are called links and can take you to different sections of a Web site or to other Web sites. For example, an image of a country might allow users to click on a city or region which will then bring up information or another Web page about that place. |
| click here | A common and overused term on the World Wide Web to try and get a user to press their mouse button. The words "click here" can be either hypertext or a clickable graphic which links to another Web page. |
| click rate | The percentage of impressions that resulted in users clicking on an ad banner. |
| clicks | A term used in the online advertising industry, it refers to the number of times a user presses their mouse button on an ad banner. This term is also used to describe the number of Web pages a person must go through (by pressing a mouse button) in order to reach a certain destination, as is the case when used in a sentence like "It's three clicks in". |
| clickstreams | The paths a user takes as he or she navigates cyberspace. Advertisers and online media providers are developing software that can accurately track users' clickstreams. Tip of the hat to Gareth Branwyn. |
| client | A remote computer connected to a host or server computer. Also refers to the software that makes this connection possible. |
| CMYK | Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black - These are the four basic design inks; they're used to create a full spectrum of color on a printed or digital page. |
| CNET: The Computer Network | A company that has a network of Web sites, television programs, and a radio station about the Internet. Their Web sites include: cnet.com, shareware.com, download.com, news.com, search.com, mediadome.com, activex.com, browsers.com, and more. Their TV shows are: CNET Central, theweb, the new edge, and TV.com. |
| Client/Server | Client/server computing is widely used on the Internet. In the client/server model, a program (known as a server) which manipulates, processes, or stores data resides on a host machine. The server itself provides only a limited interface to humans, but it presents a very rich interface to other programs. These other programs are called clients. A client typically resides on another machine (often a desktop computer) and connects to the server over a network. The client program provides the machine/human interface that the server lacks. |
| Client-Server Interface | A program that provides an interface to remote programs (called clients), most commonly across a network, so these clients can access some service such as databases, printing, etc. In general, the clients act (indirectly) on behalf of a human end-user. |
| cobweb site | A World Wide Web site that hasn't been updated for a long time. A dead Web page. |
| Cof$ | Abbreviation for the Church of Scientology, used by its detractors on the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup. |
| Cold Fusion | A server application for developing large and complex Web sites. Available for Windows NT and SPARC Solaris, Cold Fusion Application Server is tightly integrated with the Cold Fusion Studio and provides a complete system for building and deploying dynamic Web applications. |
| .com | A type of Internet domain assigned to URLs which are business or commercial entities (for example, www.netlingo.com). There is also .edu, .gov, .net, and .org. SEE ALSO: country codes. |
| COM | Although it's in all capital letters, COM is not an acronym. It's a contraction of communications, and it's used to describe the serial port on a PC. COM is generally used in conjunction with a number, as in COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4. |
| command line | The location where one tells UNIX host systems what you want it to do by entering commands. |
| commerce server | A server which allows the abilty for online transactions to take place via a secured socket layer (SSL) and a credit card. |
| communications software | A program that tells a modem how to work. |
| compression | The process of making computer data smaller so less is needed to represent the same information and, consequently, the information takes up less disk or file space and may be transmitted in less time. SEE ALSO: file compression |
| configure | To change software or hardware actions by changing their settings. Configurations can be set or reset in software or manipulated by changing hardware jumpers, switches or other elements. |
| configuration | A general-purpose computer term that refers to the way your computer's operating system is set up. It can also refer to the total combination of hardware components -- central processing unit, video display device, keyboard and peripheral devices -- that make up the computer system. The configuration is also at work in the software settings which allow various hardware components of a computer system to communicate with one another. A "vanilla" configuration means the standard "clean" and "no frills" version of a computer's configuration (no device drivers or extra settings). This is what a technician might set a system to when trying to troubleshoot a problem with a computer's hardware. |
| connect | To get online. To make the connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). |
| connectivity | The state of being connected to the Internet or some other type of computer network. On the Internet, if you lose your connectivity then you are no longer online and must redial into your ISP. When ISPs get alot of users signing on all at once, the connectivity tends to be poor. Sometimes someone may ask "what is your connectivity?", this usually means what kind of speed does your Internet connection support, like 28.8 or T1. |
| connect time | The amount of time you spend connected to an online service provider or ISP. |
| content | The information contained in a Web site, including the structure in which it is presented. Web sites often get judged and rated on the quality, quantity and navigational flow of this information. |
| content provider | A Web site which provides dynamic and updated information on a consistent basis on the Internet. This information, or content, can be in the form of news, entertainment, games, employment listings or dictionary terms. The term "content provider" originated from "online service providers (OSP)" such as AOL and CompuServe which provided updated news and information for a subscription charge. Most major content providers on the Internet, such as CNET and MSNBC, provide theirto users for free. |
| context sensitive menu | A menu that appears when you click on the upper right button of your mouse (PC's), or when you click and hold down your mouse button (Macintosh). |
| Conversation View | On the Microsoft Network, a display option pertaining to bulletin boards and file libraries. Conversation View displays messages in an expandable heirarchical format, showing you the first message of each thread. |
| cookie | A special piece of information about you, something you clicked on, and/or your computer system which is stored in a text file on your hard drive. This information is usually accessed by a server when you connect to a Web site which wants to know some information about you or your system. One common occurance of a "handing of a cookie", would be when you as a user, log into a system through a Web site. After you enter in your username and password, a text file is saved by your browser for later access. This prevents you from having to log in again if you happen to leave the Web site and then return at a later time. Cookies are also used in the process of purchasing items on the Web. It is because of the cookie, that the "shopping cart" technology works. By saving in a text file, the name, and other important information about an item a user "clicks" on as they move through a shopping Web site, a user can later go to an order form, and see all the items they selected, ready for quick and easy processing. |
| CoolTalk | CoolTalk is a realtime audio and data collaboration tool specifically designed for the Internet. Users can enhance interpersonal communications and avoid long distance phone charges. CoolTalk is redefining how people communicate whether it is across the country or around the world. CoolTalk provides full-duplex audio conferencing, allowing both users to speak and be heard simultaneously. Unlike audio-only Internet products, CoolTalk includes: a Chat Tool and a Shared Whiteboard for textual and graphical data conferencing. CoolTalk allows you to talk and work collaboratively with friends and associates on the Internet anywhere in the world. You can share baby pictures with an old friend in Iowa, finalize an advertising campaign with a client in Chicago, meet with your business associate in Florida and visit with a family in Connecticut. It avoids long distance phone charges, by turning the Internet into a telephone. |
| cornea gumbo | A visually noisy, overdesigned, Photoshopped mess. "Gawd, we've got to redesign that page, it's become total cornea gumbo." |
| country codes | In a URL or e-mail address, instead of seeing the "usual" .com (.net, .org, or .gov) you may see a two letter abbreviation. This signifies the country in which the Web site originates from. Click on the more button below to see a list of all of the codes. |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit - Look for the most powerful microprocessor chip in your computer, and that'll be the CPU. The Intel Pentium and Motorola 68040 chips, for example, handle the central management functions of a high-powered PC and Mac, respectively. Sometimes the term CPU is used to describe the whole box that contains the chip along with the motherboard, expansion cards, disk drives, power supply, and so on. Both uses are widespread, but only the first is really accurate. |
| cracker | One who breaks security on a system. Coined circa 1985 by hackers in defense against journalistic misuse of hacker. An earlier attempt to establish `worm' in this sense around 1981--82 on Usenet was largely a failure. Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion against the theft and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings. While it is expected that any real hacker will have done some playful cracking and knows many of the basic techniques, anyone past larval stage is expected to have outgrown the desire to do so except for immediate, benign, practical reasons (for example, if it's necessary to get around some security in order to get some work done). Thus, there is far less overlap between hackerdom and crackerdom than the mundane reader misled by sensationalistic journalism might expect. Crackers tend to gather in small, tight-knit, very secretive groups that have little overlap with the huge, open poly-culture this lexicon describes; though crackers often like to describe *themselves* as hackers, most true hackers consider them a separate and lower form of life. Ethical considerations aside, hackers figure that anyone who can't imagine a more interesting way to play with their computers than breaking into someone else's has to be a loser. |
| crapplet | A badly written or profoundly useless JAVA applet. "I just wasted 30 minutes downloading this stinkin' crapplet!" Tip of the hat to Gareth Branwyn. |
| crawler | This term is practically synonymous with spider. However, since the advent of AOL's WebCrawler site, they are trying to protect the word crawler as a trademark. |
| CREN | Computer Research and Education Network is the new name for the merged computer networks, BITNET and Computer Science Network (CSNET). It supports electronic mail and file transfer. |
| CRC | Cyclical Redundancy Check - CRC is a mathematical technique used to check for errors when sending data by modem. Because some phone lines are notoriously crackly and can cause breaks in transmission, this is a crucial step. If the CRC fails to add up, the receiving end of a data transmission sends a NAK (negative acknowledgement or "say that again") signal until it does add up. CRCs are also used in tape backups and other streaming communications. |
| cross post | To post a message to several newsgroups simultaneously - an action usually frowned on in Internet culture. |
| CSS | cascading style sheets - A feature of HTML that gives both Web site developers and users more control over how Web pages are displayed. With CSS, designers and users can create style sheets that define how different elements, such as headers and links, appear. These style sheets can then be applied to any page on a particular Web site. So in theory all the pages can be formatted the same way much easier if a developer wants them that way. The term cascading derives from the fact that multiple style sheets can be applied to the same Web page. CSS was developed by the W3C. The specification is still evolving and is not fully supported by any current Web browsers. |
| CTS | Clear To Send - One of the nine wires in a serial port used in modem communications, CTS carries a signal from the modem to the computer saying, "I'm ready to start when you are." |
| CU-SeeME | CU-SeeMe (pronounced "see you see me") is a free video conferencing program (under copyright of Cornell University and its collaborators) available to anyone with a Macintosh or Windows and a connection to the Internet. With CU-SeeMe, you can videoconference with another site located anywhere in the world. By using a reflector, multiple parties at different locations can participate in a CU-SeeMe conference, each from his or her own desktop computer. Enhanced CU- SeeMe is White Pine Software's desktop video conferencing program for real time person-to-person or group conferencing. You can use CU-SeeMe over the Internet or any TCP/IP network giving you the power to communicate globally without expensive hardware. This software only solution runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers offering full-color video, audio, chat window, and white board communications. You can participate in 'Live over the Internet' conferences, broadcasts or chats. CU-SeeMe can be launched directly from Web pages with your favorite Web browser. All of this and more over your 28.8k modem, ISDN link or better. For audio-only telephony use, CU-SeeMe works effectively over a 14.4k modem. SEE ALSO: desktop video. |
| CyberAge Raider | An intuitive way to introduce an inexperienced home user to the Internet yet functionally rich enough for a seasoned power-surfer, CyberAge Raider makes navigating the Web a smooth experience. With an amazing 3D interface, negligible download times, and a built-in thesaurus to restructure and resubmit your query to any search engine from a one- stop launch pad, it has never been faster to search for information on the Web! Download CyberAge Raider and multiply your search capabilities while enjoying a live Star-Trek experience! |
| cybercad | The electronic equivalent of a lounge lizard. |
| cybernoir | Used to describe dark, trippy, weird "cyber" films and shows like "Wild Palms," "Tank Girl," and "VR.5." |
| cyberpunk | Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a not-so- distant, dystopian, over-industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and has evolved into a cultural label encompassing many different kinds of human, machine, and punk attitudes. It includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well. |
| cyberspace | A term coined by author William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer". Cyberspace is currently used to refer to the digital world constructed by computer networks, in particular the Internet. |
| Cybertown | The purpose of Cybertown is to create a virtual community where people can have fun, be entertained, learn things and explore the best of the Earth Internet. Cybertown is set in the latter half of the 21st century and is not far from this galaxy. It is populated mostly by people originally from Earth. Many of them left Earth after the Great War in the hopes that a new start would lead to more peaceful times. |
| Cybrarian | One who makes a living doing online research and information retrieval. Also known as a "data surfer" or a "super searcher." |
