`
`Microsoft
`
`09mputer
`DIctIon W
`:
`Fifth Editiv‘
`
`
`. Fuh‘y updated with the Iatest
`technologies, terms, and acronym;___
`I Easy to read, expertly Htustrate'tt- '
`
`. Definitive coverage of hardware,-
`software, the Internet, and more!
`
`
`
`

`

`PUBLISHED BY
`Microsoft Press
`
`A Division of Microsoft Corporation
`One Microsoft Way
`Redmond, Washington 98052-6399
`
`Copyright © 2002 by Microsoft Corporation
`
`All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
`or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging-in—Publication Data
`Microsoft Computer Dictionary.--5th ed.
`p. cm.
`ISBN 0-7356-1495-4
`
`l. Computers--Dictionaries.
`
`2.
`
`lVIicrocomputers--Dictionaries.
`
`AQ76.5. M52267
`004'.03--dc21
`
`2002
`
`200219714
`
`Printed and bound in the United States of America.
`
`23456789 QWT 765432
`
`Distributed in Canada by H.B. Penn and Company Ltd.
`
`A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
`
`Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide. For further informa-
`tion about international editions, contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft
`Press International directly at fax (425) 936-7329. Visit our Web site at www.microsoft.com/mspress.
`Send comments to mspinput©microsofi. com.
`
`Active Desktop, Active Directory, ActiveMovie, ActiveStore, ActiveSync, ActiveX, Authenticode,
`BackOffice, BizTalk, ClearType, Direct3D, DirectAnimation, DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectMusic,
`DirectPlay, DirectShow, DirectSound, DirectX, Entourage, FoxPro, FrontPage, HotInail, IntelliEye,
`IntelliMouse, IntelliSense, JScript, MapPoint, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Mobile Explorer, MS-DOS,
`MSN, Music Central, NetMeeting, Outlook, PhotoDraw, PowerPoint, SharePoint, UltimateTV, Visio,
`Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual FoxPro, Visual InterDev, Visual J++, Visual SourceSafe, Visual Studio,
`Win32, Win32s, Windows, Windows Media, Windows NT, Xbox are either registered trademarks or
`trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States andfor other countries. Other product and
`company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
`
`The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places,
`and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product,
`domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred.
`
`Acquisitions Editor: Alex Blanton
`Project Editor: Sandra Haynes
`
`Body Part No. X08-4l 929
`
`

`

`Contributors
`
`Peter Aiken
`
`Bart Arenson
`
`Janice Borzendowski
`
`Jerome Colburn
`
`Duane Hanson
`
`Andrew Himes
`
`Robert Howecton
`
`Annette B. Jackson
`
`Larry S. Jackson
`
`Thomas A. Jackson
`
`Chris Kinata
`
`llana Kingsley
`
`Robin Lombard
`
`Thomas A. Long
`
`William G. Madison
`
`Illustrators
`
`Travis Beaven
`
`David Holter
`
`Alton Lawson
`
`Thomas P. Magliery
`
`David Mason
`
`Terrence M. McLaren
`
`Wallace Parker
`
`Charles Petzold
`
`Phil Rose
`
`John Ross
`
`David Rygmyr
`
`Aimée Truchard
`
`Michael Vose
`
`Bruce Webster
`
`Judson D. Weeks
`
`Tom Winn
`
`JoAnne Woodcock
`
`Rob Nance
`
`JoelPanchot
`
`

`

`Internet Engineering Task Force
`
`Internet robot
`
`proposed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
`Acronym: IESG.
`
`Internet Englneerlng Task Force 11. See IETF.
`
`Internet Explorer n. Microsoft’s Web browsing software.
`Introduced in October 1995, the latest versions of Internet
`Explorer include many features that allow you to custom-
`ize your experience on the Web. Internet Explorer is also
`available for the Macintosh and UNIX platforms. See also
`ActiveX control, Java applet, Web browser.
`
`Internet Foundatlon Classes 11. A Java class library
`developed by Netscape to facilitate the creation of full-
`feature, mission-critical Java applications. Internet Foun-
`dafion Classes (IFC) comprises user-interface objects and
`frameworks intended to extend Java’s Abstract Window
`
`Toolkit (AWT) and includes a multifont text editor; essen-
`tial application controls; and drag-and—drop, drawing]
`event, windowing, animation, object persistence, single-
`thread, andlocalization frameworks. See also Abstract
`Window Toolkit, Application Foundation Classes, Java
`Foundation Classes, Microsoft Foundation Classes.
`
`Internet gateway n. A device that provides the connec-
`fion between the Internet backbone and another network,
`such as a LAN (local area network). Usually the device is
`a computer dedicated to the task or a router. The gateway
`generally performs protocol conversion between the Inter-
`net backbone and the network, data translation or conver-
`sion, and message handling. A gateway is considered a
`node on the Internet. See also gateway, Intemetbackbone,
`node (definition 2), router.
`
`Internet Group Membershlp Protocol n. A protocol
`used by IP hosts to report their host group memberships to
`any immediately neighboring multicast routers.
`Acronym: IGMP.
`Internet home n. See smart home.
`
`Internet lnformatlon Servlces n. Software services that
`
`support Web site creation, configuration, and management,
`along with other Internet functions. Internet Information
`Services include Network News Transfer Protocol
`
`(NNTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Simple Mail
`Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
`Internet Inter-ORB Protocol n. See IIOP.
`
`activities related to e-mail transmission over the Internet.
`
`The goals of the Internet Mail Consortium are related to
`the promotion and expansion of Internet mail. The group’s
`interests range from making Internet mail easier for new
`users to advancing new mail technologies and expanding
`the role played by Internet mail into areas such as elec-
`tronic commerce and entertainment. For example, the
`Internet Mail Consortium supports two companion speci-
`ficafions, vCalendar and vCard, designed to facilitate elec-
`tronic exchange of scheduling and personal information.
`Acronym." IMC.
`
`Internet Namlng Servlce n. See WINS.
`
`Internet Prlntlng Protocol n. A specification for trans-
`mission of documents to printers through the Internet.
`Development of the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) was
`proposed in 1997 by members of the Internet Engineering
`Task Force (IETF). Intended to provide a standard proto-
`col for Internet-based printing, IPP covers both printing
`and printer management (printer status, job cancellation,
`and so on). It is applicable to print servers and to network-
`capable printers.
`Internet Protocol n. See 1P.
`
`Internet Protocol address n. See IP address.
`
`Internet Protocol next generatlon n. See IPng.
`Internet Protocol number n. See IP address.
`
`Internet Protocol Securlty n. See IPSec.
`Internet Protocol verslon 4 n. See IPv4.
`
`Internet Protocol verslon 6 n. See IPv6.
`
`Internet reference model n. See TCP/IP reference
`model.
`
`Internet Relay Chat n. See IRC.
`
`Internet Research Steerlng Group n. The governing
`body of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF).
`Acronym: IRSG.
`
`Internet Research Task Force n. A volunteer organiza-
`tion thatis an arm of the Internet Society (ISOC) focused on
`making long-term recommendations concerning the Internet
`to the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). Acronym." IRTF.
`See also Internet Society.
`
`Internet Mall Consortlum n. An international member-
`
`Internet robot n. See spider.
`
`ship organization of businesses and vendors involved in
`
`283
`
`

`

`netgod
`
`netspionage
`
`source, including the ability to execute commands within
`transactions. A .NET Framework data provider also con-
`tains classes to populate a DataSet with results from a data
`source and propagate changes in a DataSet back to the
`data source.
`
`net .god a. A highly respected person within the lntemet
`community.
`
`nethead n. l. A person who uses the Internet as if
`addicted to it. 2. A Grateful Dead fan who participates in
`the rec.music.gdead newsgroup or some other forum dedi-
`cated to that band.
`
`nethuette n. Short for network etiquette. Principles of
`courtesy observed in sending electronic messages, such as
`e-mail and Usenet postings. The consequences of violating
`netiquette include being flamed and having one’s name
`placed in the bozo filter of one’s intended audience. Disap-
`proved behavior includes gratuitous personal insults; post-
`ing of large amounts of irrelevantmaterial; giving away the
`plot of a movie, television show, or novel without warning;
`posting offensive material without encrypting it; and exces-
`sive cross-posting of a message to multiple groups without
`regard to whether the group members are likely to find it
`interesting. See also bozo filter, flame?
`
`netlzen n. A person who participates in online communi-
`cation through the Intemet and other networks, especially
`conference and chat services, such as lntemet news or
`Fidonet. Compare lurker.
`
`NetMeetlng n. A software application developed by
`Microsoft Corporation to allow video conferencing among
`parties using personal computers connected via the Inter-
`net. NetMeeting allows participants in different locations
`to view each other, engage in teXt chat conversations, send
`and receive videos, exchange information graphically via
`an electronic whiteboard, share Windows-based applica-
`tions, and transfer files.
`
`.NET Messenger Servlce n. A popular instant-messag-
`ing service provided by Microsoft as part of the .NET
`strategy. With .NET Messenger Service, formerly called
`MSN Messenger Service, users can communicate using
`the Windows Messenger, included in Windows XP, or
`MSN Messenger applications. See also instant messaging.
`Compare AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger.
`
`.NET My Servlces a. A suite of XML Web services for
`managing and protecting personal information and interac-
`tions across applications, devices, and services. Formerly
`
`code-named HailStorm, .NET My Services is based on the
`Microsoft .NET Passport user-authentication system. The
`suite of .NET My Services includes services such as .NET
`ApplicationSettings, .NET Calendar, .NET Contacts, .NET
`Devices, .NET Documents, .NET Inbox, .NET Locations,
`.NET Profile, and .NET Wallet. See also .NET, Passport.
`
`NetPC 11. Short for Network PC. An industry-defined,
`Windows-based PC system that is small and meant to act
`as simply an access point. These PCs generally have very
`small hard drives, no disk drives, and are built to have a
`very low cost. Some older NetPCs can boot through
`remote access to a server and user server-based resources
`
`for most computing actions.
`
`net.perscnallty n. A slang term for a person who has
`attained some degree of celebrity on the lntemet.
`
`net.pcllce :1. Persons (usually self-appointed) who try to
`enforce their understanding of the “rules” that apply to
`conduct on the Internet. Their activities may be directed
`toward users who violate the rules of netiquette, spam-
`mers who send unsolicited advertising as e-mail or to
`newsgroups, or even people who post “politically incor-
`rect” comments to newsgroups or mailing lists. See also
`netiquette, spam.
`
`Netscape Navlgatcr a. The widely used family of Web
`browser programs, made by Netscape Corporation. Ver-
`sions of Netscape Navigator are available for the Win-
`dows and Macintosh platforms, and for many varieties
`of UNIX. Netscape Navigator, which is based on
`NCSA’s Mosaic Web browser, was one of the first com-
`mercially available Web browsers. In 1999, Netscape
`Corporation was purchased by America Online. See also
`Mosaic, Web browser.
`
`Netscape Netcastel' a. See netcasting (definition 2).
`
`Netscape Server Appllcatlon Programmlng
`Interface n. See NSAPI.
`
`Netspeak a. The set of conventions for writing English in
`e-mail, IRCs, and newsgroups. Netspeak is characterized
`by acronyms (such as IMHO or ROFL) and clarifying
`devices such as emotags and emoticons. Use of Netspeak
`should be governed by netiquette. See also emotag, emoti-
`con, IMHO, IRC, netiquette, ROFL.
`
`netsplonage a. Corporate-sponsored hacking of a com-
`petitor’s digital information for the theft of trade secrets.
`
`361
`
`