Vocaulary Words - Packet #2
Terms
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- Interactive TV
- Programming that responds to viewer input. Programming today is usually one of two types: games and sports programs that poll viewers to alter the outcome, or programming-on-demand systems that allow viewers to select programs to view at their convenience.
- Encryption
- The process of transforming secret information into a form that can't be understood by others. Encryption software, for example, could be used to prevent computer hackers from stealing credit card numbers sent over the Internet.
- Cable Modem
- A computer peripheral that lets PCs use cable TV networks to send and get data. Allows PC users to access on-line services and the Internet several hundred times faster than with today's faster analog phone modems.
- HTTP
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A common language for material on the Internet. Programmers creating documents for the World Wide Web use HTTP commands to create "hot links" to other documents on the Web.
- Backbone
- A high bandwidth network that ties together smaller networks designed for local traffic. On the Internet, backbones link regional segments of the public network.
- Applets
- Small software applications that can be retrieved from a network and used as needed. Can allow computer users to do word processing, spreadsheets or interactive games without storing the software on their own systems.
- Router
- A networking device that decides the path data packets will take across a network. Also forwards data from one network to another.
- Unix
- A computer operating system developed in 1971 and widely used in engineering, scientific and manufacturing environments. More recently, business users have taken to this industry-standard platform because it is adept at handling complex networking tasks.
- ISDN
- A standard for transmitting information digitally. Allows voice, data, graphic and video to be sent at one time over the same line and at high speeds.
- Download
- Using a modem to receive files, typically blocks of data, from another computer or an electronic bulletin-board service. The opposite term is upload, which means to transmit a file to another computer or on-line network.