Note: Some of these definitions were adapted from a list provided by Ursula Williams, Director of the Language Lab at Notre Dame University, which was distributed at the 1993 conference of the International Association of Learning Laboratories (IALL).

application - a computer program, as opposed to a file

ASCII - (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) a standard which allows different machines to exchange information. If you save text in an ASCII file (also sometimes called a text file), it can be opened by many different software programs on many machines. It can also be sent over the Internet easily.

backup - an extra copy of your file which is made as a precaution against disk failure

baud - a measure of speed of electronic transmission; the higher the baud rate, the faster the signal can be sent

byte - a measure of the size of a computer file or program; usually expressed in kilobytes or megabytes

CD-ROM - a compact disk which contains computer data as well as audio files. It usually cannot be altered.

crash - failure of a program or computer to operate

DOS - Disk Operating System; has also come to refer to an IBM or IBM- compatible computer

download - to receive files from another computer to your computer

floppy diskette - a portable medium for storing computer data which can be inserted into the disk drive of a computer. Floppies may be 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" in size.

format - (verb) to make a disk usable by a specific computer (same as "initialize") (noun) type of computer file

FTP - File Transfer Protocol; a way of sending computer files back and forth on the Internet

gigabyte - 1,073,741,824 bytes (abbreviation: gb)

Gopher - software which makes it possible to access information on the Internet

GUI - Graphical User Interface (pronounced "gooey"); refers to a computer operating system which makes use of icons as metaphors for operations

hard drive - a device for storing computer data which is attached to the computer. A hard drive may be external, or it may be inside the computer.

hardware - the computer and its physical parts

HyperCard - a commercial program sold by Apple Computer which runs on the Macintosh. It permits hypertext and hypermedia links to be created easily.

hypermedia - the non-linear delivery of video, audio, texts, and graphics

hypertext - a non-linear approach to information in which text is linked to other text in a non- linear way

initialize - to format a diskette, or make a disk usable by a specific computer

Internet - an international information network which consists of government, academic, and research institution networks. It is the means by which information is transmitted

via email, Gopher, Mosaic, and other software programs.

kilobyte - 1024 bytes (abbreviation: kb)

megabyte - 1,048,567 bytes (abbreviation: mb)

menu - list of options from which to choose in a computer program

modem - a hardware device which can be used to connect a computer to telephone lines and thus to the Internet

nerd - a person who spends a lot of time working at a computer.

Note: This term may be favorable or not, depending on your point of view!

Netscape - software which permits you to browse the World Wide Web

network - a system of computers which are linked together and can share information

peripheral - a hardware device which is attached to the computer, such as a printer, scanner, or external disk drive

platform - type or brand of computer; this is usually defined by the operating system (examples: DOS, Windows, OS/2, Macintosh)

RAM - random access memory, or temporary memory

server - a computer that sends programs and files to and receives them from other computers which are linked together on a network

site license - permission to make multiple copies of a software program for a given number of computers in a lab or office setting

software - the computer program, which sends a set of instructions to the computer

upload - to send files from your computer to another computer

virtual memory - using part of the hard drive of the computer for random access memory (RAM)

webserver- machine which sends out web pages

Windows - an operating system produced by Microsoft Corporation for IBM- and IBM-compatible computers which uses "GUI" interface

WWW - World Wide Web; also referred to as "W3;" that aspect of the Internet which useshypertext and multimedia techniques to navigate and browse

WYSIWYG - "What you see is what you get;" this refers to the characteristic of some softwareprograms in which what is seen on the screen looks exactly the same as what is printed out.