| A | B |
|---|
| Analog | Electrical signal made up of sound waves. |
| Backbone | The central heart of the internet - made up of many universities, corporations and government networks |
| Bandwith | A range of frenquencies that transmit voice and data through copper phone lines. |
| bps | Bits per second - how information speed is measured pover cable and phone lines |
| Broadband | A "dedicarted" connection to the internet using Cable or DSL which is always on. |
| Cable Modem | Connects your computer to TV cables in order to access the internet |
| Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) | Uses a different frenquency (or bandwith) of the telephone lines to connect to the internet. |
| DSL reciever | Also called a DSL Modem -- needed to connect your PC to the internet via DSL lines |
| Fiber Optic Cables | Cables made up uf thick bundles of glass filaments to connect the backbone of the internet. |
| FiOS | A fiber optic commuication network providing internet, TV, and telephone service. |
| Host ID | The part of the Ip address that identifies your specific node (or computer) |
| Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) | Started in 1984 to make internet faster, but died out when cabel and DSL came in. |
| Internet Protocal Address (IP) | Created by the computer's operating system to identify your computer on the internet. |
| Internet Service Provider (ISP) | Companies that lease connections to the internet |
| Kbps | Kilobytes per second -- used to measure internet speed |
| Line Filter | Needed on your phone line when you have DSL so you don't hear digital static from the computer data when talking to someone. |
| Mbps | Megabyte per second -- a measurement of internet speed |
| Neighborhood Switch | A central connection point for neighborhood telephone lines that connect them to the city switch that then connect them to other cities. |
| Network ID | The part of the IP address that identifies what network your computer is connected to. |
| Node | Any machine attached to a computer network. |
| Protocal | A common set of rules and guidelines. |
| Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) | How the world's different telephone systems are networked together |
| Router | Provides connection points for the internet and determines the route of the data. |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocal/Internet Protocal -- A common set of rules and guidelines for exchanging data over the internet. |
| U-verse | Fiber Optic technology owned by AT&T for extremely fast transfer of data. |
| VDSL | Very-high ditrate DSL - fiber optic cables that can transfer internet data extremely fast. |
| WiFi | Technology to wirelessly connect to the internet or network. |
