Broadband Jargon

[daytrader 203]

Broadband Jargon

 

Broadband's full of jargon, isn't it? Don't panic. We locked some geeks in a room and didn't let them out until they told us what it really means:

 

Why "Up to"?

 

As in: up to 2Mb

 

This one's all about Broadband speed. A few things can affect it, like:

 

* The number of people on a website at any one time

* The performance of your computer

* The number of people sharing your network at any one time

* How far you are from the telephone exchange, if your broadband comes down a phone line (ADSL). This doesn't affect cable broadband though.

 

All this means no one can guarantee your broadband speed for sure. Not even

 

What does 'Mb' mean?

 

'Mb's short for 'megabit'. It's used to talk about internet speed, e.g. megabits per second (Mbps). It just lets you know how much information you can download in a second, and so how fast your connection is. Bigger Mbps = Better internet connection.

 

How many Mbps do I need?

 

As a rough guide:

 

Up to 2Mb: Perfect if you want web, email access and simple downloading

 

Up to 8Mb: Good if you need more speed to send photos or download files. Just the job if you want to download music

 

Up to 20Mb: Great if you want to download music videos, albums or play online games

What are KB, MB and GB then?

 

Data is measured in bytes. Kilobytes (Smallest) , Megabytes (Bigger) and Gigabytes (Huge): Want the numbers? Here you go:

 

* 1,024 bytes = 1 kilobyte (KB)

* 1,024 kilobytes = 1 megabyte (MB)

* 1,024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte (GB)

 

What's a usage cap? Or a download limit?

 

Same thing really. Caps and limits just stop you downloading more than a certain amount of stuff from the internet.

 

If you use the internet all day everyday, downloading movies and music, and software, etc, you'd need a big limit.

 

Just use it a bit, few emails, bit of surfing around, then you'd get away with a small download limit.

 

To give you an idea, a typical music track is 5MB (5 Megabytes).

A 2 hour DVD quality film is 1GB (that's 1 Gigabyte).

 

Download limits vary all over the place. And not everyone has them.

 

Virgin Broadband give you unlimited downloads so you never need to think about all this stuff.

What's an ISP?

 

'Internet Service Provider's all it means. The people you get your internet from, like Virgin Media or BT.

What's ADSL?

 

'Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line'. Well, you did ask!

 

It's a type of broadband which uses a standard phone line. The type used by BT, AOL, Orange, Sky etc. And Virgin Media when you're not in a cable area.

What's bandwidth?

 

The speed at which data moves between your computer and the internet.

Bigger the bandwidth, faster the experience.

What's VOIP?

 

'Voice Over Internet Protocol.' A way you can make phone calls over the internet.

What's a firewall?

 

Looks at what's coming and going from your computer and blocks anything suspicious.

What's a 'Pop-up blocker'

 

Every now and then, when you're surfing, an unwanted message might'pop-up' on a website. They're usually adverts. This lets you choose if you want them or not.

What's Anti-Virus?

 

Some email attachments and websites may contain computer programmes called viruses. They can damage your computer or its contents. Anti-Virus software protects you from them. Just as well, really!

Privacy Manager?

 

Just something that protects your personal information online.

Parental Control. What's that?

 

Software that lets you control what your kids see on the internet and who they talk to.

[What's spyware?

 

You don't want this on your computer. It's software that snoops around at your personal stuff. Don't worry, you can get software to protect you from all this. Sometimes it's free as part of a package.

What's a router and what does it do?

 

This is a box that allows you to transfer data between different computers and networks.

What's a Modem?

 

Sometimes it's inside your computer. Sometimes it's outside. It lets you send and receive files from the internet.

What's wireless?

 

Wireless means you can go online anywhere in the house. It also means that several people can go online at the same time and no more messy wires around the house.

What's a telephone exchange?

 

It's an actual building which has lots of special equipment including telephone switches which allow you to make phone calls. It also helps make ADSL broadband work. Remember, with ADSL broadband, the further you live from the exchange, the slower the broadband speed you can get.