Monday, February 12, 2001		Bits & Bytes

Fortune cookie: An inane/witty/profound comment that can be found around the Net.

Leased line: A point-to-point dedicated link provided by the telecom infrastructure provider to carry data.

Lurk: Read messages in a Usenet newsgroup without ever saying anything.

Net.god: One who has been online since the beginning, who kows all and who has done it all.

NSF: National Science Foundation. Funds the NFSNet, a high-speed network that once formed the backbone of the Internet in the USA.

Offline: When your computer is not connected to a host system or the Net, you are offline.

README files: Files found on FTP sites that explain what is in a given FTP directory or which provide other useful information (such as how to use FTP).

Sysop: A system operator. Somebody who runs a bulletin-board system.

Terrestrial Link: An Earth based point-to-point data link (as opposed to VSAT, which is via satellite).

VT100: Another terminal-emulation system. Supported by many communications program, it is the most common one in use on the Net. VT102 is a newer version.