A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

B

bandwidth
One of the major problems on the Net; everyone wants more bandwidth. Bandwidth is the carrying capacity of any communications technology, the amount of information (usually measured in bits-per-second) that can be sent through the Internet (or other network) connection.

baud
Modem speeds are measured by their baud rate, the rate at which they send and receive bits of information.

BBS
Bulletin Board System. Also called simply a bulletin board. Used on the Internet to allow people to communicate by uploading (posting) and downloading files from a central location. Unlike with chat, the individuals using a BBS do not have to be online together.
BBS Sites on the Internet will give you a huge selection of all kinds of bulletin boards.


beta
A beta is an early release of a product, such as software, to a limited group of people (usually called beta testers) in order to perfect the product. While the product is "in beta," the "beta testers" report any "bugs" they find.

.bin
A common Mac file extension. Files ending in ".bin" have been encoded in MacBinary format. To decode a .bin file, you need a program like Stuffit Expander.

BinHex
BINary HEXadecimal. A conversion format used to make Mac files readable by other computers on the Internet. Used primarily by email programs to translate non-ASCII (nontext) files into text files.

bit
The smallest unit of computer data — either a zero or a one. Modem speed, for instance, is measured in bps, or bits per second.

biz.
Name of the business-related set of newsgroups.

boot
To "boot" is to start a computer; usually the process is called rebooting. Often, after you install some new software on your computer, you are asked to "reboot," i.e. shut down and restart your computer.

bookmark
Used as a noun or verb. A bookmark is an address of an Internet site saved by your Web browser so the site can be quickly loaded and displayed. Also called favorites.

NEXT >>