Glossary

Browser
A program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.

Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general.

For example, the domain names:

learningfast.com.au

Download
The act of transferring information (normally  files) from the Internet to your computer.

E-mail
Electronic Mail - Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. Email can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses (Mailing list).

Home Page or Homepage
Several meanings. Originally, the web page that your Browser is set to use when it starts up. The more common meaning refers to the main web page for a collection of web pages, e.g. Check out so-and-so's new Home Page.

Internet/Net
The vast collection of interconnected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved in the late 60s and early 70s. The Internet  connects roughly over 100 000 independent networks into a vast global Internet.

ISP (Internet Service Provider) Just like you have a telephone service provider (e.g.Telstra), you have to subscribe to an ISP if you want Internet access. Major ISP's in this country are Optus and Telstra. There are many others.

Netscape
A well-known and commonly used browser; many people use "Netscape" as a generic term to refer to the web or to browsers in general.

Online
Connected to the Internet/Net. To work online you must have created a connection to the Internet via a network or by dialling up to your Internet Service Provider.

Search engine
A web-based tool that finds web pages based on terms and criteria specified.

Server
A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW Server, or to the machine on which the software is running, e.g. Our mail Server is down today, that's why email isn't getting out.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator- The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet/Net that is part of the world wide web (WWW). A URL looks like this:

http://www.learningfast.com

web page
A file accessible by a web browser on the world wide web. web pages can contain text, sounds, pictures, movies, and hypertext links to other web pages.