RoofersCoffeeShop.com is writing a series dedicated to helping you get online. So you have your computer and you are all hooked up on the internet. Then you freeze. What do I do with all this stuff? Well first just get your feet wet. There is a round blue Internet Explorer Circle on your desktop - click on it. When the screen pops up, you will see on top and area that starts with http://www. If you click in there, type in www.google.com and hit your enter key, you will get to Google. This is a search engine. Type in anything you are curious about. Type in Roofs and hit enter. What will come up is a directory of web pages that all pertain to roofing in one way or another. Pretty cool, huh? There is so much information out there and we want to teach you how to utilize it.
First what we are going to do is explain a lot of the terms that go with the Internet. We have compiled a dictionary of terms so that when we start going through all this, you have a quick reference guide.
Anti-Virus Program Software that monitors a computer for viruses and eliminates them before damage occurs. Yes, there are free ones but if you pay a little you get a lot more. Sometimes the money is just worth it.
Bandwidth A measurement of how much information can be transmitted at a given time over the Internet.
Blog A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web.
Bookmarking A way of storing pointers to favorite Web sites in your browser.
Browser An application that displays a Web page. Also known as a Web browser.
Cookie Piece of information sent by a Web Server to a Web Browser that is saved and to send back to the Server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the Server.
Email Electronic Mail. Text messages sent through a network to specified individual or group. Email messages can also carry attached files.
FTP File Transfer Protocol. The Internet protocol that allow the viewing, downloading, and uploading of files on remote computers. Firewall Software or hardware that limits certain kinds of access to a computer from a network or other outside source.
GIF Graphic Interchange Format. A bit-mapped color graphics file format that is the preferred one to use if you want to put a graphic (as opposed to a photo) on a Web page.
Data Encryption A process that transforms information into random streams of bits to create a secret code for data security.
Domain Name Denotes the name of a specific Internet area controlled by a company, school, or organization.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language. The standard for adding tags to a text file, so that the file is able to be interpreted by a Web browser.
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The Internet protocol that the Web uses to send information to the client, so the client browser can view Web pages.
IP Address The number that identifies your machine as unique on the Internet. Without it, you can not use any Internet protocols.
ISP Internet Service Provider. A company that provides direct access to the Internet.
JPEG Joint Photographic Expert Group. JPEG is the preferred file format to use if you want to put a photograph on a Web page.
LAN Local-Area Network. A group of computers, usually in one building, that are physically connected in a way that lets them communicate and interact with each other.
Link A word or phr
