| A | B |
|---|
| Service sector | The part of the economy that provides consumers with services rather than goods. |
| Downsize | To dismiss numbers of permanent employees in an attempt to make operations more efficient and save money. |
| Bill Gates | A college drop out, and founder of Microsoft, now the wealthiest man in the world. |
| GATT | The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade--an international agreement first signed in 1947. In 1993, the agreement was amended to create the World Trade Organization, which seeks to lower trade barriers and establishes rules for resolving trade disputes. |
| Information superhighway | A proposed computer communications network that would link people and institutions throughout the world, providing individuals with services such as libraries, shopping, movies, and news. |
| Internet | A worldwide network, originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, that links computers and allows almost immediate communication of texts, pictures, and sounds. |
| E-mail | The electronic messages that are sent and recieved over the Internet and other computer networks. |
| Telecomunications Act | A law enacted in 1996 to remove barriers that had previously prevented communications companies from engaging in mroe than one type of communications business. |
| Magnetic resonance imaging | A technology--often called MRI--used by physicians to produce cross sectional images of any part of the human body. |
| Genetic engineering | The alteration of the molecular biology of organisims' cells in order to create new varieties of bacteria, plants, and animals. |
| Urban flight | A migration of people from cities to the surrounding suburbs. |
| Telecommute | To work at home for a company located elsewhere, by using such new communications technologies as computers, modems, and fax machines. |
