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Applet: A small program that performs a limited set of tasks. Internet-based programs that use the Java programming language are often referred to as applets.

Appliance: Apparecchiatura.
A device, machine, or piece of equipment, especially an electrical one that is used for a special purpose.

Array: Assortimento, mostra.
Specific meaning: a data structure within which a set of elements is arranged in a prescribed way so that each element can be addressed by a single variable name and position within the same data structure. There are two common types of array: vector and matrix. Struttura numerica. General meaning: large group of things or people, especially when shown or positioned in an attractive way.

Arrow Keys: Frecce direzionali.
Also called direction keys. Keys used at times to navigate around the screen, especially in text areas. Arrow keys have arrows pointing up, down, right, and left.

ASCII: Caratteri ASCII.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange computer character set (text and symbols) that enables transfer of text and data between different computing systems. This international standard provides only very plain text without options for font modifications.

ASP: (1) Application Service Provider that provides individuals or enterprises access over the Internet to applications and related services. (2) Active Server Pages. ASP script extensions contain either Visual Basic or Java script code. When a browser requests an ASP page, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser.

Audio: Voice, music, and other sounds recorded and stored in analogue or digital form. The term RealAudio refers to a helper-app (plug-in) that allows www users to hear audio files in real time.

Bandwidth: Larghezza di banda.
Capacity (range) of transmission frequencies on a network as expressed in cycles per second (hertz) or bits per second that determines the amount of data, audio, and video that can flow over the network. The higher the frequency, the higher the bandwidth.

Banner graphic: A component of a Web page containing an advertisement that is usually an inch or less tall and spans the width of the Web page. The banner contains a link to the advertiser's own Web site.

Batch processing: Operazione automatizzata senza intervento utente.
A system that takes a set (a "batch") of commands or jobs, executes them and returns the results, all without human intervention. A batch system typically takes its commands from a disk file and returns the results to a file. Often there is a queue of jobs, which the system processes, as resources become available. Since the advent of the PC, the term "batch" has come to mean automating frequently performed tasks by storing those commands in a "batch file ".

Baud: A unit of speed in data transmission, or the maximum speed at which data can be sent down a channel. Baud is often equivalent to bits per second.

Beta Software: Software versione Beta.
Software companies often release test, or beta, versions of their software before the final commercial release. Some vendors release beta software only to select users, others make it available to the general public. Beta software may include serious flaws, and most vendors don't provide technical support for beta releases.

Bit: Binary digit (0,1) but also the smallest unit of data in binary notation.

Bps (Bits per second): This is a measure of transfer speed that is commonly used in modems.

Board: Scheda.
A hardware component that fits into the expansion slot of a computer unit and expands the capabilities of the computer. A board can enable the computer to communicate with an external hardware device. Alternate terms are card, expansion card, interface card, interface board.

Bookmark: Segnalibro.
A user-defined place mark that enables the user to return to a particular screen or starting point after accessing related information. Bookmarks may also be used to locate sections on related topics.

(To) Boot: Avviare.
To load system software. A computer boots up when you turn it on. You "reboot" the computer when you restart it.

Broadband: Banda larga.
A transmission medium capable of supporting a wide range of frequencies, typically from audio up to video frequencies. It can carry multiple signals by dividing the total capacity of the medium into multiple, independent bandwidth channels, where each channel operates only on a specific range of frequencies.

Broadcast: Trasmissione.
A transmission to multiple, unspecified recipients. On Ethernet, a broadcast packet is a special type of multicast packet which all nodes on the network are always willing to receive.

Browser: A type of software that allows you to navigate information databases; examples are Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.

Bug: Baco.
An unintentional error in software or hardware. For software bugs the application may stop altogether or produce unexpected results. There are various stories of where the term originated; the most famous from about 50 years ago credited to a moth that was squashed between components of an ancient computer.

Bus: The internal pathways (data bus, address bus, and control bus) of wires connecting various parts of a computer. A local bus connects the CPU with peripherals directly, so as to improve performance speed. The term "bus" can also apply to standards for connecting electronic components other than computer components. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is the common bus used on PCs.

Bytes: Grouping of eight bits. While a bit can assume only two states, 0 and 1, a byte can store from 0 up to 256 different states. Most of the time a character is stored in a byte. Therefore, a byte can store up to 256 different characters. The standard ASCII character set consists of 128 characters; the additional characters generally used in PC software brings the total number of characters up to 256.

Cache: A storage area in both RAM (cache memory) and disc drives (cache controllers) that keeps frequently accessed instructions more readily accessible.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface): CGI provides a standard way to run gateway programs or scripts, on a web server. CGI programs can process data from web page forms, generate web pages dynamically from database and perform many other useful functions.

Chat Lines: Real time Internet conversations (written or oral) that transpire in real (synchronous) time as opposed to conferencing.

(To) Click: Cliccare.
To press the mouse button once (such as pointing it to the location you want to open).

Client: A computer that has access to services over a computer network. The computer providing the services is a server.

Cookies: Applets that enable a web site to collect information about each user for later reference. Web Browsers like Netscape Navigator set aside a small amount of space on the users hard drive to record detected preferences. Many times when you browse a web site, your browser checks to see if you have any pre-defined preferences (cookie) for that server if you do it sends the cookie to the server along with the request for a web page.

Crash: Complete computer system failure. Necessitates a reboot of the system.

Cut and paste: Taglia e incolla.
Just like when we were in Kindergarten, only using the PC instead of scissors and glue. This allows us to remove sections from one document (cut) and place them in another document (paste).

Cyberspace: A term coined by William Gibson in his fantasy novel "Neuromancer" to refer to a near-future computer network where users mentally travel through matrices of data. The term is now used to describe the Internet and the other computer networks.

Cyber-miscreant: Pirata informatico.
A person doing mischief on the Internet, a hacker or a cracker.

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