Web Glossary - B
- Background
- Color of the page when blank. Even if you choose to have a background image, you still need a background color, which will come up first. A minority of people surf with the images turned off on their browser for quick research and they will not see your background. A background image is placed on a page over the page color. It is usually a small image that is repeated over the page. It is not a good idea to use a large file because of the length of time it takes to load.
- Bandwidth
- Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred over an Internet connection. It is usually expressed in bits, kilobits or megabits per second. 28.8 Kbps modem can deliver 28,800 bps, a T1 line is about 1.5 Mbps (1,500,000 bps).
Related Terms: Bit (Binary DigIT), BPS (Bits-Per-Second), Broadband, Dial-up Connection, OC (Optical Carrier), T1
- Baud
- See BPS (Bits-Per-Second)
- BBS (Bulletin Board System)
- An electronic bulletin board on which people can carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without all being connected to the computer at the same time. Many BBSs are on a membership basis.
- Binary
- Base 2: A numbering system with only two values: 0 and 1.
- The language that computers speak. At its most basic level, all data in a computer system is binary code.
- Any file that contains non-textual content, such as images or executable files.
Related Terms: ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), Bit (Binary DigIT), Byte, CGI-BIN
- Bit (Binary DigIT)
- The smallest unit of computerized data.
Related Terms: ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), Bandwidth, Binary, BPS (Bits-Per-Second), Byte
- Blog
- Short for weblog, a blog is an online journal that is often updated daily with entries that represent the personality and opinions of the author.
- Bookmark
- Bookmarks allow you to store the name and locations of interesting sites on your computer.
Related Terms: Browser, URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
- BPS (Bits-Per-Second)
- A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.
Related Terms: Bandwidth, Bit (Binary DigIT)
- Broadband
- A high bandwidth Internet connection such as DSL or Cable.
Related Terms: Bandwidth, Cable Internet, Dial-up Connection, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
- Browser
- A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.
Related Terms: Address Bar, Bookmark, Cache, Cookie, Frame, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Refresh
- Byte
- A set of bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 bits in a byte.
Related Terms: ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), Binary, Bit (Binary DigIT)