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Baud :
Origin of the name : a mister BAUDOT invented many decades ago
the telex system, and the associated data coding technique. It
measures, for a signal, the speed of state changing. It can
correspond to more than the number of bits transmitted per
unit of time.
Backbone Network :
A high-speed transmission facility, or an arrangement of such
facilities, designed to interconnect lower-speed distribution
channels or clusters of dispersed user devices.
Bandwidth :
1) The range of frequencies that can be passed through a
channel. A channel carrying digital information has a data
rate proportional to its bandwidth. 2) The signal-to-noise
ratio of a modulate signal is tested within a range of
frequencies on either side of the carrier frequency. This
range is also called a bandwidth.
Base Memory :
Refer to "Conventional Memory".
Basic Rate Interface :
The Integrated Services Digital Network basic rate interface
consists of two 64-Kbps data or voice channels, which are
designated as B (bearer) channels. The interface also has a
16-Kbps signaling or packet-data channel designated as the D
(delta) channel. The interface is, therefore, often referred
to as 2B+D
Baud Rate :
A measure of the speed at which computers send data from one
device to another, typically 300, 1,200 or 2,400, with the
higher numbers representing faster transmissions. One Baud may
carry one or some bits of data per second.
BBS :
(Bulletin Board System) A computerized meeting and
announcement system that allows people to carry on
discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements
without the people being connected to the computer at the same
time. In the early 1990's there were many thousands
(millions?) of BBS around the world, most are very small,
running on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some
are very large and the line between a BBS and a system like
AOL gets crossed at some point, but it is not clearly drawn.
Benchmark :
A routine or program used to evaluate computer performance.
Binary Large Objects (BLOB) Support :
The storage and retrieval of "binary large objects" bytes
streams of data that may represent images, sound, or video.
BLOBs have meaning to client application programs and need not
be interpreted by the server.
Binhex :
(BINary HEXadecimal) A method for converting non-text files
(non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed because Internet
e-mail can only handle ASCII.
BIOS :
Basic Input Output System. In as DOS system, software residing
in ROM which provides the basic functionality of the computer.
B-ISDN :
Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network. A high-speed
(greater than ISDN primary rate), asynchronous, time division
multiplexed transmission facility, or an arrangement of such
facilities, designed to provide a wide range of audio, video
and date application in the same network.
Bit :
Abbreviation for binary digit, the minimum unit of binary
information. A bit can have only two states, on or off, which
are commonly called one and zero.
Bitmap Police :
Character set generated using a method which handles each
character as a pixel set. Contrarily, the vectorial polices
handle the characters by representing their shape, thus being
independent of the actual size.
BITNET :
(Because It's Time NETwork (or Because It's There NETwork)) A
network of educational sites separate from the
Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged between BITNET
and the Internet. Listserve ®, a popular form of e-mail
discussion groups, originated on BITNET. At its peak (the late
1980's and early 1990's) BITNET machines were usually
mainframes, often running IBM's MVS operating system. BITNET
is probably the only international network that is shrinking.
Blob :
Binary Large Object. A generic term used to describe the
handing and storage of long strings of data by middleware.
Typically associated with image and video. Refer to Binary
Large Object Support.
Blog :
(weB LOG) A Blog is basically a journal that is available on
the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging"
and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are
typically updated daily using software that allows people with
little or no technical background to update and maintain the
blog.
It is common for Blogs to be available as RSS feeds.
Blogosphere or Blogsphere :
The current state of all information available on Blogs
and/or the sub-culture of those who create and use Blogs.
BNC :
Interface type between a computer and the LAN.
Boot :
On a PC, operation consisting of initializing the system. This
is done automatically at power-on, or on request, when
pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Del keys. The previous state of the main
storage is lost.
Boot sector :
Instructions allowing the hard disk to load the DOS operating
system. This record is one of the privileged targets for
viruses, because it is executed at each computer power-on.
Bpi :
Bits Per Inch. The number of bits recorded per linear inch of
recording surface.
Bps :
Bits Per Second. Basic unit of measure for serial date
transmission capacity ; the number of binary digits
transmitted over a communications channel in a second. On a
classical dial-up line, this speed was 1,200 in the 70s, 4,800
in the 80s. It is now (1995) commonly 14,400 and 28,800 is
arriving. With compression techniques (now common in modems
and routers), this speed is multiplied by a factor 2 to 3,
thus allowing a throughput approaching 10,000 characters per
second (or more than 30 million characters per hour).
Bridge :
A relatively simple device that passes data from one
local-area network (LAN) segment to another without changing
it. The separate LAN segments that are bridged use the same
protocol.
Broadcast (Emission) :
The process of sending a signal or message from one station on
a network to multiple stations on the network at the same
time.
Browser :
A Client program (software) that is used to look at
various kinds of Internet resources.
BTW :
(By The Way) A shorthand appended to a comment written in an
online forum.
Bus :
-
In
data communications, a network topology in which stations
are arranged along a linear medium (e.g., a length of
cable).
-
In
computer architecture, a path over which information travels
internally among various components of a system.
Button :
In a graphical user interface, an icon symbolizing a button is
used to allow the user to select among options, or to confirm
an action.
Byte :
A group of eight bits handled as a logical unit. |
