Internet Dictionary
Click on a letter to see the relevant terms: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z

Narrowband At the time of this writing, the Internet is narrowband for most users, meaning its speed is very slow. The reason is simple enough. The typical data modem has a speed of only 28.8 Kbps. Since 8 bits make 1 byte, 28.8 Kbps equals 3.6 Kbytes per second. To give you some idea of what this means, consider the following example. Assume you want to download a file of 100 Kbytes. As an approximation, it will take 100/3.6 sec, or 28 sec. The actual download speed may be better or worse than this for the following reasons. If the file is compressed before transmission, the throughput will be higher. On the other hand, every TCP/IP packet includes source and destination addresses, which reduces the throughput. Furthermore, congestion and bottlenecks also reduce the throughput . During times of heavy congestion, the throughput may drop under 1 Kbps.

NC Network computer. In its simplest form, this is a dumb terminal connected to the Internet. The software and data for this type of computer are stored on application servers. The advantage of this approach is that you do not have to upgrade, backup, virus-protect, or otherwise be concerned with maintaining the software and data on your computer. It will be done for you at the server level.

Netscape Navigator A browser from Netscape Corporation. Like any browser, it lets you download and view web pages.

Network Two or more computers connected in such a way that they can share files, printers, and other peripheral devices. There are two basic models for networks: server-client and peer-to-peer. With a server-client network, one of the computers (the server) has a large hard disk loaded with files that it allows all other computers (clients) to use. With a peer-to-peer network, all of the computers can share their files and access files on other computers.

Newsgroup These are discussion groups, similar to bulletin boards, where a user can post a message about a particular topic. If other users respond to message, you get an on-going discussion about the topic. As more people reply to other replies, you get a thread or series of replies. Some of the threads become quite lengthy.

Newsreader A program that lets a client read the messages in a newsgroup.

News Server A server that controls access to a newsgroup.

NNTP The protocol used with news servers for reading and posting messages.

Node Any device that has an IP address, including computers, printers, and other peripherals. For instance, every web server is a node because it has a fixed IP address that allows you to communicate with it. Also, every time a user connects to the Internet, his or her computer is assigned a temporary IP address. Because nodes have unique addresses, traffic can be routed between any two nodes on the Internet.

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