We find that many great business people write in a very technical and non-communicative way.  We carefully study your material and adopt it to the medium of the internet - shorten, re-write or simply adopt.

Alta Vista -The fast and comprehensive search engine service provided free by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

Applet - A Java program which can be embedded in a web page.

Arpanet - One of the networks which was the model for the Internet.

Avatar - A pseudonym and possibly a pseudo-personality adopted when participating in online social gatherings.

Bandwidth - A measure of the speed of a data transmission line as in "high speed line" is the same as "high bandwidth line".

Baud -The baud rate is a measure of the speed of a data transmission line. Roughly equal to bits per second (bps).

Browser -The software used to look at world wide web (web) pages. The two most common browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Dial Up - A connection to an ISP over the normal public switched telephone network.

Domain Names - If there were no domain names such as www.actinic.com, we would have to type in awkward and long lists of numbers to get at various sites and facilities on the Internet.

E-mail - Electronic mail. In contrast, traditional post is often referred to as "snail mail".

Encryption - A means of changing information so that only the intended recipient can read it.

Eudora - Popular software program for handling mail on both the PC and Mac. Check www.qualcomm.com for the latest news.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions. There is a FAQ for every Newsgroup on the Internet which explains the purpose and rules of the Newsgroup. FAQ's are also available on all sorts of other topics. The objective is that Internet users should read the FAQ to avoid asking simple questions and wasting everybody's time.

Firewall - A piece of hardware or software which restricts access from a network (usually the internal network of a large company) and the general Internet.

Flaming - (See also Spamming) Determined aggressive response to spamming, such as getting a group  of a dozen friends to send huge e-mails to spammer every 5 minutes to crash the spammers  mail system.

FTP - Stands for File Transfer Protocol. A way to move files between your PC and a web site.

GIF - Graphic lnterchange Format. A commonly used file compression format developed by  CompuServe for transferring graphics files between different computers.

Gopher - A way of finding information on the Internet which is in decline due to the rise of the web and search engines.

Home Page - The first page that you should see when going to another Internet site e.g. if you type www.actinic.com, the home page will be displayed.

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language. This is the standard tool used forcreating Web pages. It allows for the  presentation of information that contains links to related files.

Internet - Interconnected computer networks with some common standards that allow them to work collectively as one network.

IP - Internet protocol allowing communication across the Internet. The equivalent of English or French.

IRC - Stands for Internet Relay Chat. A way of talking to other people across the Internet in real time.

ISDN - A fast method of communicating across the telephone network which requires a special, more expensive connection and a special type of modem called an ISDN adapter.

ISP - Stands for Internet Service Provider. A company that provides Internet access to individuals and other companies. Examples of such companies are Pipex, UUNet, and BT. Also known as Internet Access Providers (IAP).

Java -  Programming language that supports enhanced features such as animation or real-time  updating of information. An easier version is referred to as Javascript.

JPEG - The other main graphics format used on the web (besides GIF). Suitable for photos or  images with high amounts of colors.

Link - A mechanism that allows a computer display to jump from one web page to another when the link is clicked with the mouse.

MIME - Multipurpose Internet mail extensions. A way of attaching non-text files like graphics to a mail message. MIME explains the type of file being sent and how to do the conversion. This means that MIM can work transparently for both the sender and the receiver when both are MIM enabled.

Modem - An electronic device which allows computers to communicate with each other over a phone line.

MSN - Microsoft's online service, which enables access to the full Internet.

Netiquette - A series of conventions, or rules, for people that use the internet. These include things like not posting advertisements in Newsgroups when the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) for the Newsgroup says its not allowed, and not sending mass unsolicited e-mail.

Netscape -The company that produces Navigator, currently the most popular Internet browser.

Network Computer - Supposedly the next big thing in computers, the Network Computer (NC) will be cheap, simple, and will come with Internet connectivity.

Network - A collection of links between computers enabling them to talk to one another.

Net - Shortened form of Internet.

Newsgroups - See Usenet.

Online Mall - A web site with many pages relating to different companies trying to sell products over the Internet.

Online Services - Companies that provide special services just for their members as well as Internet connectivity. The two largest are America Online (AOL) and CompuServe.

Ping - A command that lets you check across the Internet to see if another computer is alive and connected.

POP - Point of presence. A location from which the Internet can be accessed via dial up. Many Internet Service Providers have many POP's so that anyone can access their networks with a low cost or cheap rate phone call.

Presence Provider - Company that provides web sites, for a fee, to other companies.

Search Engine - A facility, available across the Internet, to search for web sites which contain particular words or phrases. See Yahoo and Alta Vista.

Shareware - Software made widely available that can be used for a small fee.

Sig Files - Signature files automatically added to the end of email messages or Usenet postings. Often give the name and other information about the sender.

Site - A collection of world wide web pages assembled by a company or person for viewing across the Internet.

Smileys -The name given for faces made up from normal keyboard characters, e.g. :-)

Soft Fulfillment -The ability to provide a product such as software or information electronically i.e. to fulfil without physically moving anything.

SPAM - Unsolicited mass emails or mass Usenet postings. frowned upon.

T1, T3 - A private leased circuit capable of transmitting data at 1.5 Megabits per second (T1) or 45 Megabits per second (T3).

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP specifies how data is sent across the Internet. It is also now used within many private networks.

Telnet - An Internet service allowing a computer to connect to another computer across the Internet as if the computers were next to each other.

Terminal adapter - Allows data to be transmitted over an ISDN line, much like a modem allows data to be sent over a normal phone line.

URL/IP - Universal Resource Locator. The form of Internet address used for the world wide web. An example is www.actinic.com.

Usenet - Also known as Newsgroups. A large number of discussion forums on different subjects. Anyone can join a group to listen and contribute to a discussion.

Uuencoding - Pronounced you-you-encoding, this enables binary files (typically graphics or programs) to be converted to ASCII so that they can be sent by e-mail.

VRML- Stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. A new standard that allows the real world to be modeled across the Internet.

Web - The World Wide Web is a set of electronic pages of mainly text and graphics available over the Internet. Pages can contain links to many other pages, which can be followed by clicking on. These pages and links are known as hypertext.

Web Site - One set of pages on the world wide web.

World wide web (WWW) - See web.

Yahoo - A popular search directory.