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negotiation
netscape
NCSA
netiquette
network
newsgroup
newsreader
news
server |
negotiation
Tweet! Squawk! SCREEEECH! That racket your modem
makes when you go online is negotiation. Your modem
is "talking with" the modem at the other
end of the line, figuring out how fast each modem
can go and how it wants to handle those bit and
bytes. Once they've figured that out, your modem
is ready to move the information going to and from
the Internet. Top
Netscape
As of this writing Netscape is the leader
in Web browser software with its Netscape Navigator
(currently in version 4), and a host of related
products. Netscape Communications Corp., as it
is formally known, came into being in April 1994
through the efforts of Jim Clark, former chairman
of Silicon Graphics, and Marc Andreessen, the
development brains behind the NCSA Mosaic browser.
While they were unmatched until mid-1996, Netscape
is currently locked in a struggle with Microsoft
for control of the Web browser market.
Top
NCSA
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications
(NCSA), is best known to Web surfers as the developer
of NCSA Mosaic, the first graphical World-Wide
Web browser. NCSA is a scientific research center
that takes on computing challenges in the interest
of science, engineering, education, and business.
Based at the University of Illinois, NCSA began
with a grant from the National Science Foundation
and today takes on complex problems involving
billions of numbers at a time -- not to mention
cyberspace technologies and virtual reality.
Top
netiquette
It's a combination of the words "network"
and "etiquette," but it's more than
a cute play on words. This informal code of manners
governs online conduct, from simple cases such
as leaving your Caps Lock key off while inputting
messages (upper-case words are taken by readers
as shouting and result in "Ouch! My ears!"
responses. See flame for
stickier issues, such as where and how to post
commercial messages to newsgroups.
Top
network
A network is any connection of two or more
computers made for the purpose of sharing resources.
These resources could be information, software,
or equipment. Networks come in various forms,
local-area networks (LANs), wide-area networks
(WANs), and other beasts such as intranets, internets,
and now extranets.
Top
newsgroup
Perhaps you've already discovered the wild
and woolly world of Usenet, which has tens of
thousands of lively discussions -- called newsgroups
-- on every topic you can imagine. Several conversations,
called "threads," are usually going
on at once in any group; participants take these
discussions seriously and often respond to anything
they see written ("posted") to the group.
Unfortunately our district does not offer newsgroup
access. However, if you have another Internet
Service Provider, you can find a group you'll
enjoy, by searching sites such as the Usenet
Info Center Launch Pad.
Top
newsreader
A newsreader is a piece of software that lets
you read Usenet (see Usenet) discussions. Most
newsreaders let you subscribe to one or more newsgroups,
select and read others' postings, and post your
own deathless prose. A good newsreader will organize
the posts into their respective threads (link)
and remember the posts you've already read and
not show them to you again.
Top
news
server
A news server is the computer at your ISP
that runs the necessary software that gathers
and distributes newsgroup information to the ISP's
subscribers. Your newsreader software, which runs
on your PC in order to read and post messages,
gets all its information from the news server.
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