If you are an experienced Internet user, do you remember when you first connected? Do you recall all the lingo that you had to sift through to gain an understanding of what was going on? If you are a new user, you may well be feeling that frustration now. If you are new to the net (or a veteran in need of a brief refresher) you may find the following of interest. If you are familiar with these, you are on the road to mastering "net speak".

Client:

A client is a program that requests information from a computer know as a file server. There are numerous Internet clients including Netscape, Eudora, CuteFTP, and mIRC. These programs are called clients because they are served information by a server computer.

FTP:

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is an Internet application that lets you transfer files from a remote computer to your computer. These files can include documents, photographs, and computer programs.

Host Computer:

A host computer is a computer that is connected to the Internet and allows users to access it. Host computers are located all over the world. In 1995 there was estimated to be over 5,000,000 host computers connected to the Internet. This number is growing on a daily basis.

HTML:

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is a formatting language that is used to create documents on the world wide web. If you are using Netscape, click on "view" and then "document source" to see the HTML used to create this web page.

Java:

Java is a computer programming language used to develop web applications. Java applications are downloaded as part of a web page and run locally on your computer. These applications bring versatility to a web page by allowing special effects such as animation.

TCP / IP:

TCP / IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. This is the common language computers use to communicate on the Internet.

Telnet:

Telnet is an Internet application that lets you connect to a remote computer and run programs or search through information. Today, the World Wide Web is a more popular way of making this connection.

World Wide Web:

The World Wide Web is also referred to as WWW. The web is a system that allows you to jump from one document (or computer) to another document (or computer) simply by clicking on a choice.

Shell Account:

A shell account is an option for connecting to the Internet. With this type of connection, your computer acts as a "dumb" terminal. It simply sends commands to your service provider's computer which does the actual communication with other Internet computers. Most serious Internet users greatly prefer a SLIP / PPP account.

SLIP / PPP:

SLIP stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol; PPP stands for Point-to-Point Protocol. SLIP / PPP are types of connections that you can make when connecting to the Internet. With these types of connections, your computer is physically connected to the Internet.

URL:

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. The URL is the name of the location where information is stored on the World Wide Web. If you are using Netscape, look for "location" which shows the URL for this page (http://ny.frontiercomm.net/~bjenkin/computer.htm).

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The trend, as shown in the table, is to move to higher screen resolutions and greater numbers of colors. This is desirable because images become sharper, more accurate in color, text becomes easier to read, and you can fit more information on the screen at one time. However, as the screen resolution increases, more computer horsepower is required to handle all those pixels. This is why you need a fast Pentium machine, with a graphics accelerator to handle the intense demands of high resolution movie clips.

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Rewriteable optical disk technology is also available and quickly declining in price.

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I taught an after-school science and technology club at the school my children attend during the 1994-95 school year. The club was open to interested students in grades 5-8. I had about 20 students in the class (out of a total of 60 students in those grades). When we were studying computers, I lugged in my old 8088 IBM PC (1981 vintage) and allowed the students to perform a dissection of the system unit and monitor. The kids really enjoyed it (and it was much less messy than dissecting frogs!). It gave them a chance to identify and learn about the parts that make up the inside of a computer. If we dissected a modern system unit, here are some of the things that we would see:

3.5-Inch Floppy Drive:

The 3.5-Inch floppy drive is commonly used in today's PCs. These disks are the ones that you see every day (the ones that American Online and Compuserve send every week so that we don't have to buy any more). They have a rigid case and a capacity of 1.44 Megabytes.

CD-ROM Drive:

The CD-ROM drive is a data-storage system for personal computers using a compact disk on which large amounts of information can be stored. Please refer to the "CD-ROM" heading on the Computer Circle for a lot more information.

Central Processor Unit (CPU):

The CPU is the part of the computer designed to carry out or execute programs. The whole point of the computer is to carry out a series of steps called a program. Please refer to the "Processor Power" heading on the Computer Circle for a lot more information.

Clock Chip:

The clock chip is located on the motherboard and it sets the work pace for the whole computer. Hence, a 90 megahertz Pentium computer is slower than a 133 megahertz Pentium computer.

Display Card:

This card in combination with a high-resolution monitor will bring colorful, crisp video images to the screen. Please refer to the "Video" heading on the Computer Circle for a lot more information.

Hard Drive:

Hard disk drives get their name from the fact that the magnetically coated disks themselves are rigid platters made of an aluminum alloy. Because of many factors, including the fast speed of rotation and the high recording density, hard disks need to be in an environment free from dust and other contamination. For this reason, hard disks are generally sealed inside the disk drive. Today, storage capacities of 1 Gigabyte (1000 megabytes) are very common.

Memory:

Memory (often called RAM - Random Access Memory) is where the computer's processor finds programs and data when it is doing its assigned tasks. The memory is like an activity center, a place where everything is kept when it is being worked on. The computer's memory is just a temporary space (like a scratch pad or chalkboard) where the computer scribbles while work is being done. Unlike our memories, the computer's memory is not a permanent one; when you turn the computer off, everything is lost from the memory. Today's computers typically have from 8 to 32 Megabytes of RAM.

Modem:

The word modem stands for modulator/demodulator, which is what it does. Most modems are used to send information between computers over regular telephone lines. Early modems were capable of sending only 110 BPS (bits per second) over the phone line. Today's modems commonly send data at rates of 28,800 BPS.

Power Supply:

The computer is an electrical device. It needs power for all of its components to function properly. And, while you plug the computer into the wall to connect it to 110-volt alternating current, this is not the kind of power the machine uses. Instead, the chord from the wall plug attaches to a power supply, an electronic device that converts the standard household current that runs your vacuum cleaner and micro-wave oven into a form the computer can use.

The power supply takes in a nominal ll0-volt alternating current and puts out a 5- and 12-volt direct current. Direct current does not change directions from negative to positive like alternating current; instead, it provides a constant voltage at a fixed polarity. Direct current is the type of current supplied by your car battery and is the type of power your computer needs.

Tape Drive:

The tape drive is a magnetic-tape storage device that is usually used together with hard disk drives. Tape drives, which access data very slowly, regularly back up, or duplicate, the data on the hard disk drives to protect the system against loss of data during power failures or computer malfunctions.

Sound Card:

Sound cards are quite popular today as a result of multimedia applications. A sound card (or adapter) plugs into one of your PC expansion slots and attaches to a stereo amplifier and speaker combination to produce high quality sound.

System Board (Motherboard):

Many of the components that make up your computer are housed on a single printed circuit board called the system board or motherboard. Usual components housed on the motherboard include the CPU (central processing unit), computer memory, I/O interfaces (serial port, parallel port, keyboard interface, disk interface, etc.), and the bus (which enables the CPU to talk to other components that are not integrated with the motherboard).

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The Central Processor Unit (CPU) is the part of the computer designed to carry out or execute programs. The whole point of a computer is to carry out a series of steps or instructions called a program. To perform this miracle, the processor must be able to do the following:

1. Read and write information in the computer's memory.
2. Recognize and execute a series of commands or instructions provided by the programs.
3. Tell other parts of the computer what to do (orchestrate the operation of the computer).

This increase in microprocessor horsepower translates to the ability of today's personal computers to perform tasks hundreds of times faster than the early personal computers of 1980.

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Bits and bytes are the units of data that a computer uses. Following are some commonly used terms:

Bit:

A bit is a binary digit that has a value of 1 or 0. It is the smallest unit of information that a computer handles.

Byte:

A byte is a group of 8 bits. Bytes are important because they are the main practical unit of information that a computer handles.

Kilobyte:

A kilobyte represents approximately 1 thousand bytes of data. The exact value is 1,024 bytes.

Megabyte:

A megabyte represents approximately 1 million bytes of data. The exact value is 1,048,576 bytes.

Gigabyte:

A gigabyte represents approximately 1 billion bytes of data. The exact value is 1,073,741,824 bytes.

Terabyte:

A terabyte represents approximately 1 trillion bytes of data. The exact value is 1,099,511,627,776 bytes.

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System Lingo

Computer enthusiasts and professionals certainly speak a unique language. What do all these words mean? It would be impossible to explain them all because it would take the entire space of my web site. However, let's scratch the surface and discuss a few that you may hear.

BIOS:

BIOS (or ROM-BIOS) is short for Basic Input / Output System. ROM-BIOS is a set of programs that are built into your computer to provide low-level control and supervision operations.

Bus:

The bus is part of a computer's circuit board that establishes a common pathway (or set of wires) that different parts of the computer use to communicate.

C or C+, or C+ +:

A very powerful programming language used by many computer programmers.

Cache:

Memory that is used to temporarily store data that goes to and from the hard disk. The use of cache substantially increases the speed of your computer because reading and writing to cache are very fast compared reading and writing to a hard drive. Frequently used data will often reside in cache memory which is quickly accessed.

Expansion Card:

A circuit board that plugs into an expansion slot on your PC's motherboard. Expansion cards greatly expand the capabilities of your computer (e.g. sound, video, communication).

IDE / EIDE:

IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics; EIDE stands for Extended IDE. IDE is a very popular interface from your hard disk drive to your computer.

Intranet:

A powerful internal networking system that is similar to a microscopic Internet.

SCSI:

SCSI stands for Small Computer Systems Interface. SCSI is an interface that is used with hard disk drives and other peripherals that is gaining in popularity.

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Dr. Bob's PC - year 2010

I AM EXCITED! I get goose bumps just thinking about the computer that I will be purchasing in the year 2010. Even though I want the time to pass slowly, (very, very slowly), I eagerly anticipate ordering my new machine and taking delivery. Let me share with you what I will be getting. It will knock your socks off!

A Micron Millennia 2050 standard with the following features:

IntRix Decium Processor:

The IntRix (a result of the Intel - Cyrix merger of 2006) decium processor has amazing horsepower. It runs at a speed of 10,000 MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second) compared to 20 MIPS for the old 486 machines.

4 gigabytes SHP RAM:

Plenty of space with this machine. Included are 4 gigabytes of SHP (Super High Performance) RAM. When you turn the machine off, a low voltage is supplied by battery that allows memory contents to remain active. This allows for nearly instantaneous boot-up when you turn the machine on.

Optical Drive:

Forget old hard disk drive technology. This baby comes standard with a 250 gigabyte optical storage unit. This technology is based on three dimensional storage (layering) on read / write optical disks.

EMS (Eye Movement Selector):

Mice are still around, outside and occasionally in your house, but not around your PC. My new unit will be equipped with an EMS (Eye Movement Selector) system. This system is simple to use. You look at the area of the screen that you want to click, and give the verbal command. Two micro-cameras precisely calculate where you are looking, and when you give the verbal command, you are there!

36 Inch Concave Display:

This is the greatest! A 36 inch concave display that gives you about 120 degrees (partial wrap-around)of viewing pleasure! The screen has a resolution of 1800 x 2400 pixels and takes up most of your peripheral vision. Virtual reality games are great fun using this display technology.

VCI (Voice Command Interface):

That keyboard was taking up too much room on my table and giving my fingers cramps anyway! VCI (Voice Command Interface) is great. All commands are entered by voice. The computer has the capability of understanding all words in its 350,000 word dictionary. You have a small remote "clicker" that signals the computer that you are talking to it (instead of to someone else in the room).

7 Channel Sound Card:

To add to the virtual reality capability of this machine, it has a 7 channel sound card that sounds "out of this world!" You have a center front speaker, 2 lower front speakers, 2 upper front speakers, and 2 rear speakers. The sound is all around. (You should try out the virtual waterfall screen saver. You can hear the water falling.)

Sat Modem:

Communications are fantastic with this machine because it features a satellite modem with full up-linking capability. The days of super slow 28.8K and ISDN are long gone (alleluia)! With the help of a 6 inch narrow beam dish, you can view real time video on the Internet.

In consideration of where we have been, and with a little speculation concerning where we might go, there you have Dr. Bob's prognosis.

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