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T E L E C O M M U N I C A T I O N S T E R M S ARCHIVED FILE: An archived file is a file that has been compressed by a special program so that it will use less disk space. When you see a .ZIP, .ARC, .ARJ, .LZH, .PAK, or .ZOO extension, it indicates that the file is in a compressed archived format. ASCII: Pronounced ASK-EE. An ASCII file is a file saved in a format called ASCII, also called a text file. ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII can also be offered as a transfer protocol used for sending ASCII files. See description below. ASCII PROTOCOL: ASCII protocol should only be used for plain text files and should be avoided when possible because it does not offer any error correction. ASYNCHRONOUS: When signals are sent to a computer at random intervals, they are said to be asynchronous. Start and stop bits tell where the information begins and ends. Synchronous transmition sends data at timed intervals, eliminating the need for start and stop bits. AT COMMAND SET: Hayes compatible modem commands. AT commands start with the letters AT. Incidently, the AT stands for ATtention! AUTO ANSWER: The capability of a modem to be set to automatically answer incoming calls. AUTO DIAL: The capability of a modem to automatically dial the phone via a telecommunications software program. AUTOMATIC SPEED SENSING: The capability of a modem to automatically determine another modem's speed and adjust itself accordingly. BAUD: The speed at which data can be transmitted between two modems. This term comes from J. M. E. Baudot (1845-1903) who was a French pioneer in printing telegraphy. Bits Per Second (bps) is the usual way BAUD is expressed. However, bits per second (bps) and baud are not the same. The modem manufacturers and the people who sell modems use the term "baud" when they really mean "bits per second." BBS: A Bulletin Board System (BBS) is a computer system that is set up with software and a modem(s) to allow other computer users with modems to access information on the computer. BINARY FILE: There are two basic kinds of files, ASCII and binary. Data that is not plain text (ASCII) is binary. For example, a .GIF picture file is not a plain text file but a binary file. Each dot in the picture is recorded as a 0 or a 1. This is called a bit which stands for binary digit. Any file that does not use characters must be represented as binary data. If you get on the Internet, you may need to choose a file transfer type--ASCII or binary. It is wise to choose binary because the transfer protocols for binary files will include error correction and will transfer all kinds of files, including ASCII and binary. BIT: BIT stands for BInary digiT which is the most basic unit of information in the binary numbering system. BPS: Bits Per Second. The modem's speed is measured in bps. BLOCK: A group of bytes that are treated as a unit when receiving (downloading) or sending (uploading) files. Most blocks are 128 or 1024 bytes long. BYTE: A byte contains eight bits. A byte can store one letter or other character. A byte is a unit of measure for a computer's memory and also for disk data storage. The disks we buy are expressed in how many bytes of storage that they will hold. One kilobyte (k) is 1,024 bytes. CARRIER: Before a modem sends data, it sends a tone called a carrier which has a fixed frequency and amplitude. COM PORTS: These are also called serial ports. A connector on the outside of the computer where you can plug in mice and modems. IBM-compatible computers can have as many as four COM ports. These are designated COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4. CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read Only Memory. They are optical storage devices that can store huge amounts of data. These are becoming very popular as the price continues to fall. CHAT: To type at your keyboard to someone online and have a "conversation." COMPRESSED FILES: A compressed file is a file that has been compressed by a special program so that it will use less disk space. When you see a .ZIP, .ARC, .ARJ, .LZH, .PAK, or .ZOO extension, it indicates that the file is in a compressed archived format. CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check. Used to determine if an error in data transmission has occurred. DATA BIT: BIT stands for BInary digiT and is the smallest unit of information. A bit is either represented by a zero or a one. A computer word that actually holds the information is called a byte. DATA BYTE: The number of bits used to represent one byte in telecommunications. This number is usually 7 or 8. Most BBSs require you to use 8 bits. Many commercial online services such as CompuServe require you to use 7 bits. You use software to change this setting. You need to match your system to the host system that you are calling. DEDICATED LINE: A phone line that is only used for the computer. DIP SWITCH: DIP is an acronym for Dual Inline Package. These are tiny switches that you can set using a pointed object such as a top to a ball point pen. DOWNLOAD: To receive a file from a computer or online service. DOOR: A gateway to allow a user to run a program while online. Many BBSs have DOORS to play online games, etc. DUPLEX: This term refers to how the characters appear on your screen. With full-duplex both parties can communicate simultaneously. With half-duplex only one modem at a time can transmit. ECHO: Characters that appear on your screen from your computer. See DUPLEX above. E-MAIL: Electronic mail. You can receive or send e-mail on a BBS or online service. You can type it in from your keyboard or prepare it in advance using a program that can save a file in ASCII format. EXTERNAL PROTOCOL: An external protocol is a protcol (software) which can be added to you modem software. See PROTOCOL below. FILE: A collection of information that is stored on a disk as a single unit and has a file name. FLAME: A nasty and personal attack on somebody online. A person who does this sort of thing is called a FLAMER. Such attacks can lead to FLAME WARS. FLOW CONTROL: The way modems tell each other to stop sending or restart sending data. There are two types of flow control. The first is software flow control known as XON/XOFF. The second type of flow control is hardware flow control RTS■CTS. FOSSIL DRIVER: FOSSIL is an acronymn for Fido/Opus/ SEAdog Standard Interface Layer. A FOSSIL driver is software that replaces your computer's internal BIOS routines for the serial port driver. Such a FOSSIL driver may provide a faster means of accessing the serial port. BBS doors and external file protocols sometimes require fossil drivers. FREEWARE: This is a program that is similar to public domain software, except that it is copyrighted. A freeware program has copyright restrictions; however, the author is not requesting a registration fee. Also, see SHAREWARE and PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE. FTP: File Transfer Protocol. A protocol system used to transfer files on the Internet HAYES-COMPATIBLE: If your modem is Hayes-compatible, then it will accept a set of commands like those used by modems made by Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc.. HOST: This is the computer that you are calling (the one to which you are connected). This can be another computer, a BBS, or a commercial online service. HS/LINK: This is a high speed bi-directional file transfer protocol. It sports all kinds of goodies like: 32 bit CRC protection, batch file transfers, and aborted file crash recovery. HS/LINK uses Full-Streaming-Error- Correction and can send and receive data in both directions at once. This means you can upload and download at the same time. It also works great for just sending or receiving files in one direction. HS/LINK will even allow you to enter into CHAT mode while sending and receiving files. HS/LINK is a shareware program and can be used as an external protocol with most telecommunications programs. IRQ: Interrupt ReQuest. Physical connections between hardware devices and interrupt controllers. You need to configure expansion boards so each has its own IRQ address. You can run into trouble if two (or more) expansion boards are assigned the same IRQ. To avoid trouble, read the documentation that comes with each board. If you have Windows 3.1 or DOS 6.0 or higher, run the MSD (Microsoft Diagnostic Utility) program. KERMIT: A data transfer protocol that can be used to send files between computers. It was developed at Columbia University. KERMIT can be very slow and was named after the frog with the same name. KERMIT is even slower than XMODEM. You would be well advised to avoid this toad. KILL: To delete a file or message. LOGON: To enter your user ID and password so you can gain access to a BBS or online service. LOG OFF: To enter the commands to get off a BBS or online service. MAIN MENU: The starting menu that allows access to almost everything on the BBS or online service. MNP: Microcom Networking Protocol. A hardware error correction protocol for transferring data (levels 1-4). However, MNP 5 is a data compression protocol which includes MNP error correction. MODEM: Modem is an acronym for MOdulator-DEModulator. A modem is a device that allows a computer to communicate and transfer files with other computers over a telephone line. NEWBIE: Someone who is new to computers or is new to the Internet. NRAM: Non-volatile RAM. A modem with NRAM can store information even when the power to the modem is off. NULL MODEM CABLE: A modem-eliminator adapter used to connect two computers for telecommunications. You can purchase these at Radio Shack or your favorite super computer store. OFF-LINE: When your computer is not connected to another computer via a modem. ONLINE: Being connected to another computer via a modem. PAGING: To issue a command that rings the SYSOP's computer speaker indicating that someone wants to talk to him. See CHAT above. PARITY BIT: This is the eighth bit of a character which has a value set to 0 or 1. Both computers must use the same parity bit to communicate. PASSWORD: A secret word that you type in to obtain access to a BBS or online service. PROTOCOL: A set of rules which govern the transfer of data in telecommunications. These rules define error control, line control, start up control, and other communication problems. PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE: Software that is not copyrighted and can be freely distributed without restrictions. RS-232: A serial port. You plug mice and modems and other goodies into serial ports. ROUND TABLE: A multi-user conference or forum. SCREEN CAPTURE: This should be a feature of your telecommunications software. With screen capture turned on, your telecommunications software saves whatever scrolls across your screen to a text file. A screen capture text file is often called a capture log file. SCRIPT: A collection of commands, instructions, or text that can be executed by your telecommunications program. SELF-EXTRACTING FILE: A self-extracting file is a compressed file. The file contains a file or group of files that has been compressed to save space. When a self-extracting file is run, other files pop out (emerge) from it. These are often found on BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) and in shareware. It is best to copy self- extracting files to the hard drive where they will have plenty of room to expand. SHAREWARE: Shareware is a method of marketing software for the program's author. Shareware programs are copyrighted. The manuals for these programs are usually found on the disk in the form of a text file. You can print the manuals using your printer. You can obtain these programs for trial use from shareware distributors for a copying fee of just a few dollars per disk. Shareware programs require a separate payment to the author if found useful. Shareware is a wonderful deal for the consumer, because you get to "Try before you buy." There are many great programs that are distributed as shareware. SNAIL MAIL: Mail that is delivered to a box mounted on a post outside a house, business, or apartment. START/STOP BITS: In telecommunications, start/stop bits signal the beginning and the end of the 7 or 8 bit data character. SYSOP: An acronym for SYStem OPerator. The person who runs and operates a BBS computer. TELNET: Telnet is software that allows you to directly connect to other computers on the Internet. If your Internet access provider offers full Internet access, he will offer Telnet. THROUGHPUT: By using data compression, a modem can achieve a greater rate of useful data bits sent than its rated speed. This is referred to as the modem's throughput. UART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter. These are chips that will facilitate synchronous and asynchronous serial communications. UPLOAD: To send a file to another computer using a modem. V.14: A standard in data conversion used in all V.32 and V.32 bis modems that conform to the CCITT recommendations. CCITT stands for Consultive Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony. *Note that the acronym CCITT is used repeatedly below. To reiterate, it means Consultive Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony. V.17: The CCITT standard that specifies fax transmission and reception at 14,400 bps. V.21: The CCITT standard that specifies modem transmission at 300 bps. V.22: The CCITT standard that specifies modem transmission at 1200 bps with a fallback rate of 600 bps. V.22 bis: The CCITT standard that specifies modem transmission at 2400 bps. V.32: The CCITT standard that specifies modem transmission at 9600 bps with a fallback rate of 4800 bps. V.32 bis: The CCITT standard that specifes modem transmission at 14,400 bps with a fallback rate of 12,000 and 7200 bps. V.32 terbo: An unofficial standard that specifies modem transmission at 19,200 bps with a fallback rate of 16,800 and also the rates supported by V.32 and V.32 bis. V.34: A CCITT standard that specifies modem transmission at 28,800 bps with many fallback rates. V.42: A CCITT error correction protocol which includes MNP 1-4 and supports LAPM error correction. V.42 bis: A CCITT standard for data compression. A modem equipped with V.42 bis also includes V.42 error correction and MNP-5 data compression. You will find that almost all new modems being sold today comply with V.42 bis CCITT standards. You will want to look for this feature when purchasing a modem. V.FAST: An unofficial standard that specifies modem transmission at 28,800 bps with fallback rates. This is also known as the V.FC. X.400: A CCITT standard for global e-mail. X.500: A CCITT standard for keeping track of people who use the X.400 system. XMODEM : A file transfer protocol developed by Ward Christensen in 1978, and it is still popular today (but slow). It uses a built-in error checking technique (checksum) to insure that data is being sent without errors. The file being sent is transfered in a series of 128-byte blocks. XMODEM CRC is another version of XMODEM with a somewhat more reliable error correction scheme. XMODEM-1K is another variation of XMODEM with built-in checksum error checking. XMODEM-1K sends a file in a series of 1024-byte blocks, so it is much faster than XMODEM. YMODEM: A file transfer protocol that uses 1024-byte blocks to send files. It is faster that XMODEM and uses a similar check-sum error-correcting scheme. On a noisy line YMODEM can give poor results. Another varient is YMODEM-Batch. YMODEM-Batch allows you to send serveral files in a row. Another version is called YMODEM-G. With YMODEM-G there is no error correction, so both modems rely on the internal error correction of the modems (V.42). On a good line this can be one of the very fastest protcols for transfering files. However, ZMODEM is much more reliable and is the transfer protocol that this writer recommends. ZIPPED FILE: A compressed file that contains a file or a collection of files. A zipped file has an extension of .ZIP. You need the latest shareware version of a program called PKUNZIP.EXE to unzip a zipped file. At this writing, the latest version is PKZ204G. ZMODEM: The Zmodem protocol has become the industry standard for file transfer. You will want this feature in your telecommunications software. Zmodem is fast, has excellent error checking, and can even resume an interrupted file transfer if you select this option on your communications software. This ability is sometimes referred to as "crash recovery." ==========================================================