Some terms:
- browser - The program you use to view web pages. For most people this is Internet Explorer, with revisions up to the current version 7. Other possible choices are Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, Firefox and others.
- caret - A small, black triangle that indicates the presence of a drop-down menu. Click on the caret to see the choices available.
- client - A computer that is using resources made available on a server, another computer.
- default - The way something is set up if there are no changes made.
- flash - Flash Video, a video format that allows streaming to your computer.
- hover - Stop with the mouse pointer over something for a few moments.
- html - Hypertext markup language, the language used to create web pages. A basic html web page doesn't change unless someone changes it.
- http - Hypertext transfer protocol, the protocol that transfers web pages from a server to a client.
- javascript - A client side scripting language, javascript allows a web designer to write web pages that "do" things on the client's computer.
- php - Php hypertext preprocessor. A server-side scripting language, php allows a web designer to write web pages that "do" things, such as making queries to a database, and displaying the results.
- server - A computer that makes resources available to one or more other computers.
- sitemap - A simply laid out page with links to all the content on a site.
- sql - Structured query language. A way to make queries to a database very quickly and efficiently.
- streaming - Sending an audio or video file in a format that lets the file start playing before it's finished downloading.
- wma - Windows media audio, an audio format that allows streaming to your computer.
- wmv - Windows media video, a video format that allows streaming to your computer.
Some common abbreviations:
- adn - Any day now
- afaik - As far as I know
- afk - Away from keyboard
- asap - As soon as possible
- bbiab - Be back in a bit
- bbiaf - Be back in a few
- bf - Boyfriend
- brb - Be right back
- cul8r - See you later
- faq - Frequently asked questions
- fud - Fear, uncertainty and doubt
- fwiw - For what it's worth
- fyi - For your information
- gf - Girlfriend
- hand - Have a nice day
- ianal - I am not a lawyer
|
- idk - I don't know
- iirc - If I remember correctly
- imho - In my humble opinion
- lol - Laugh out loud
- np - No problem
- omg - Oh my gosh
- otoh - On the other hand
- pita - Pain in the arm
- roflmao - Rolling on the floor, laughing my arm off
- rtfm - Read the fine manual
- thx - Thanks
- tia - Thanks in advance
- ttyl - Talk to you later
- wysiwyg - What you see is what you get
- ymmv - Your mileage may vary
|
Sizes and speeds:
Sizes - each entry on a row is the same size
| |
|
|
|
|
1 bit |
| |
|
|
|
1 byte |
8 bits |
| |
|
|
1 kilobyte |
1024 bytes |
8,192 bits |
| |
|
1 megabyte |
1024 kilobytes |
1,048,576 bytes |
8,388,608 bits |
| |
1 gigabyte |
1024 megabytes |
1,048,576 kilobytes |
1,073,741,824 bytes |
8,589,934,592 bits |
| 1 terabyte |
1024 gigabytes |
1,048,576 megabytes |
1,073,741,824 kilobytes |
1,099,511,627,776 bytes |
8,796,093,022,208 bits |
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, there's one problem. The prefixes "kilo", "mega" and "giga" are borrowed from the metric system, where they mean one thousand, one million and one billion. So the hard-drive manufacturers have decided to use those numbers, since it makes their drives seem bigger. To them, the table looks like this:
Sizes - each entry on a row is the same size
| |
|
|
|
|
1 bit |
| |
|
|
|
1 byte |
8 bits |
| |
|
|
1 kilobyte |
1000 bytes |
8,000 bits |
| |
|
1 megabyte |
1000 kilobytes |
1,000,000 bytes |
8,000,000 bits |
| |
1 gigabyte |
1000 megabytes |
1,000,000 kilobytes |
1,000,000,000 bytes |
8,000,000,000 bits |
| 1 terabyte |
1000 gigabytes |
1,000,000 megabytes |
1,000,000,000 kilobytes |
1,000,000,000,000 bytes |
8,000,000,000,000 bits |
It's a lot simpler, but there's a difference of 73,741,824 bytes for every gigabyte. That's why, when you bring home a 250 gigabyte hard drive, Windows shows only 232 gigabytes. It's not that 18 gigabytes are wasted...they're not there! When abbreviating sizes, a lower-case "b" is used for "bits", and an upper-case "B" is used for "bytes". So kilobytes would be "KB", megabytes "MB" and gigabytes "GB".
