|
SSL Certificates
A URL that begins with “https://” (instead of “http://”) indicates that information is being transmitted over a
secure connection and the company has been issued an Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
Bandwidth
The capacity of a telecommunications network measured in terms of the amount of information it can carry in analog "hertz" or digital "bits" per second.
Bundling
The combining of either network functionalities or end-user services into one integrated package for provision by a supplier to a customer. In the former case, major operators of public networks have often required that competing service providers seeking inter-network connection purchase all the necessary functionalities (e.g., switching and signalling) in one package, rather than providing some of these elements on their own.
Cyber-cash
On the Internet, customers often purchase products or services by giving their credit card information to a supplier, who then submits a debit to the customer's account with a credit card agency. Cyber-cash provides a new alternative, for which no one standard approach is dominant.
SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT
Computer programs are considered "literary works" for the purpose of copyright law. The 1980 amendments to the Copyright Act define a computer program as a "set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result."
Analog
The transmission of sound and visual information in the form of waves in the frequency spectrum. For example, in an analog telephone transmission the human voice is transmitted as sound waves that can be detected by the ear.
Browser software
The multimedia software employed by users to access the World Wide Web, the aspect of the Internet that transmits pictures, sound, etc. At present, the most popular "browsers" include Mosaic, Netscape, and Microsoft Explorer. Users can download these "browsers" from computer "servers" that are connected to the Internet.
Bit
A "binary digit," the smallest unit of measurement having values of 0 or 1. Bits are used to record the size of a data file on a computer, the capacity per second of a network, and so on.
On-line
A "live" connection to a computer network over telecommunications lines, in which a user interacts with other computers on a network to send electronic mail, read information stored on another system, or download information to his or her own terminal.
Wiretap Act
Rule on the degree to which the federal Wiretap Act protects the privacy of e-mail, by deciding whether the act applies to e-mail held in temporary storage.
|
Did You Know?