B

Bandwidth
The range of transmission frequencies a network can use. The greater the bandwidth the more information that can be transferred over that network at one time. The term bandwidth also broadly includes throughput, meaning the amount of data sent.
Baseband
A transmission method in which a network uses its entire transmission range to send a single signal.
Baud
A unit of speed in data transmission, or the maximum speed at which data can be sent down a channel. Baud is often equivalent to bits per second. Named after J. M. E. Baudot (died 1903).
BBS
This is an acronym for Bulletin Board System, a computer equipped with software and telecommunications links that allow it to act as an information host for remote computer systems.
BinHex
A file conversion format that converts binary files to ASCII text files.
Bit
A contraction of binary digit, a bit is the smallest unit of information that a computer can hold. Eight bits is equivalent to a byte. The speed at which bits are transmitted or bit rate is usually expressed as bits per second or bps.
Blog
A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in cronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominantly.
Broadband
A general term for different types of high-speed, high-bandwidth connections to the Internet, including DSL and cable.
Browser
A type of software that allows you to navigate information databases; examples are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Byte
The number of bits used to represent a character.

Browser

Banner Ad
A (most often graphic) advertisement placed on a web page, which acts as a hyperlink to an advertiser's web site.

Bandwidth
A measure for the speed (amount of data) you can send through an Internet connection. The more bandwidth, the faster the connection.

Baud
The number of symbols per second sent over a channel.

BBS (Bulletin Board System)
A web based public system for sharing discussions, files, and announcements.

Binary Data
Data in machine readable form.

Bit (Binary Digit)
The smallest unit of data stored in a computer. A bit can have the value of 0 or 1. A computer uses 8 bits to store one text character.

BMP (Bitmap)
A format for storing images.

Bin Hex
A file format commonly used in sending large files and images over the Internet.
Blogs or Blogging
A blog (short for web log) is a way for someone to present a running journal for a wide variety of readers. They have been made to be very simple to create and maintain. Sometimes readers can add their own entries or comments to the blog
Bookmark
A way for web browser users to mark a web page they want to return to later.
Browser safe colors
The 216 colors that will not get dithered on monitors that only display 256 colors. A very large GIF that contains a complete list of browser safe colors is here.

Bookmark
In web terms: A link to a particular web site, stored (bookmarked) by a web user for future use and easy access.

Browse
Term to describe a user's movement across the web, moving from page to page via hyperlinks, using a web browser. (See Web Browser).

BPS (Bits Per Second)
Term to describe the transmission speed for data over the web.

Browser
See Web Browser.

Byte (Binary Term)
A computer storage unit containing 8 bits. Each byte can store one text character.


B Channel

Bearer Channel. It is a 64 Kbps communication channel in ISDN.

Backbone

Main high-speed network connection composing the Internet. Backbones are operated by major telecommunications companies like Sprint, MCI, or AT&T. Internet backbone maps are here.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred over the network in a fixed amount of time. On the Net, it is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or in higher units like Mbps (millions of bits per second). 28.8 modem can deliver 28,800 bps, a T1 line is about 1.5 Mbps.

Basic Rate Interface (BRI)

A BRI line is one of two access methods for ISDN (the other one is Primary Rate Interface - PRI). A BRI has two 64 Kbps B channels and one 16 Kbps D channel.

Baud

The rate at which bits are transmitted over a communication link. Baud is the number of transitions (that are used to encode bits) that take place in one second.

Binary

Data represented in binary format uses only two digits - 0 and 1.

binary mode

FTP client mode used to transfer binary files (multimedia files, executables and other data files). Not suitable for transferring normal text files.

Bit

(Binary DigIT) the smallest unit of information, comprising of either a 1 or 0.

Bit rate

The speed at which bits are transmitted over a communication link. Expressed in bits per second (bps).

Body

The part of an email message that contains the actual text of the message.

Bookmark

A way of storing a frequently visited website address. It is then easier to access the website in the future.

Bot

An automated piece of software that can be used in chat rooms or to crawl the web.

BRB

Be Right Back

Bridge

A network device used to connect two LANs using different cabling.

Broadcast

Sending a packet to all machines on the network.

Browser

Computer program that allows to search the World Wide Web and displays the content of the webpages. Examples are Mosaic, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera and Internet Explorer.

Browser sniffing

The process in which the web site tries to determine what kind of web browser the user is using. This is done to suit the website to the particular capabilities of the browser.

BTW