Glossary of Internet Service Related Terms

IANA

An organization who oversees core internet infrastructure management parameters, including port assignments.

ICANN

The not for profit organization responsible for managing the internet’s domain name system, including IP address space allocation.

Icon

An icon is a small image, usually a symbol, used to graphically represent a software program, file, or function on a computer screen. Icons make it easier to recognize and locate these things

Image Gallery

A collection or compilation of photos and graphics. Or in reference to web hosting features, the ability to store and compile photos and graphics with a prefab software.

Image Map

An image map is a graphic divided into regions or "hotspots.", that when clicked, accesses a web page that is linked to a particular region. A typical example of an image map is a website that offers national information organized by state. Clicking on a state on a map of the United States calls up the appropriate page.

IMHO

An abbreviation for in my humble opinion, this term is used in various online communications, such as e-mail messages or postings to newsgroups or BBSs; it usually appears in brackets like this: . Using this term is a way of making sure that others understand that you are merely expressing your opinion on a debatable subject without passing judgement.

Impressions

The number of people who have seen a specific banner ad. There has been much debate over how to value and therefore charge for advertising space on a Website. Impressions is a more relevant business measurement than hits because it aggregates all the hits per page to measure the number of people who have seen a specific Web page. Online ad rates are often determined by the number of impressions. Impressions are also referred to as page views. Impressions refer to the downloading of the image from the server, not the actual clicking on the ad, so even though a page loads with an ad on it and no one sees or clicks on it, it counts as an impression.

Inbound Links

A hypertext link to a particular page from elsewhere, bringing traffic to that page. Inbound links are counted to produce a measure of the page popularity. Searches for the inbound links to a page can be made on Altavista, Infoseek and Hotbot or with the Google Toolbar's "backward links".

Infobot (or mailbot)

An email address that automatically returns information requested by the user.

InfoSeek

One of the larger search engines. It has been combined with Go.com. Very sensitive to page popularity in its positioning algorithm

Inline Graphics/Video

Inline graphics and inline video are graphics (including photos) and video that are embedded in a web page. Inline graphics are displayed in a web browser as part of the document, and do not require a separate external viewer application to be seen. Likewise, inline video refers to a video clip embedded in a web page that runs in real time without requiring a separate player.

Intellectual Property

Content of the human intellect deemed to be unique and original and to have marketplace value—and thus to warrant protection under the law. Intellectual property includes but is not limited to ideas; inventions; literary works; chemical, business, or computer processes; and company or product names and logos. Intellectual property protections fall into four categories: copyright (for literary works, art, and music), trademarks (for company and product names and logos), patents (for inventions and processes), and trade secrets (for recipes, code, and processes). Concern over defining and protecting intellectual property in cyberspace has brought this area of the law under intense scrutiny.

Internet

The global network of networks that connects more than three million computers (called hosts). The Internet is the virtual space in which users send and receive email, login to remote computers (telnet), browse databases of information (gopher, World Wide Web, WAIS), and send and receive programs (ftp) contained on these computers.

Internet account

Purchased through an Internet service provider, the account assigns a password and email address to an individual or group.

Internet server

A computer that stores data that can be accessed via the Internet.

Internet Service Provider

Also called an ISP or access providers, Internet service providers refers to the remote computer system to which you connect your personal computer and through which you connect to the Internet. Internet service providers that you access by modem and telephone line are often called dial-up services. CPU-NET.COM is an ISP or internet service provider.

Internet site

A computer connected to the Internet containing information that can be accessed using an Internet navigation tool such as ftp, telnet, gopher, or a Web browser.

Internet Telephony

Internet telephony is the conversion of analog speech signals used on current telephone systems into digital data, allowing calls to be sent over the Internet, bypassing long distance charges. While the Internet was first devised as a way of transmitting data, it is now being used to make voice calls. Internet telephony is projected to explode as the costs plummet.

InterNIC

InterNIC was originally started as a joint effort between Network Solutions and AT&T, to perform many of the functions now performed by ICANN. The InterNIC is no longer functioning, but hosts an information site regarding domain name registrations.

Interstitial

Advertising creative placed in-between the origin website and the destination website, either physically or in time. Also called a pop-up window. The interstitial is analogous to the advertising inserts in the Sunday paper that usually go straight to the trash. Newer concepts called superstitials or metastitials attempt to be more acceptable to consumers by being less intrusive, subtle and more interesting with the use of rich media components such as video.

Intranet

An intranet is basically an internal Internet designed to be used within the confines of a company, university, or organization. What distinguishes an intranet from the freely accessible Internet is that an intranet is private. Until recently most corporations relied on proprietary hardware and software systems to network its computers, a costly and time-consuming process made more difficult when offices are scattered around the world. Even under the best of conditions, sharing information among different hardware platforms, file formats and software is not an easy task. By using off-the-shelf Internet technology, intranets solve this problem, making internal communication and collaboration much simpler.

IP Address

An IP address is a numeric code that uniquely identifies a particular computer on the Internet. Just as a street address identifies the location of your home or office, every computer or network on the Internet has a unique address, too. Internet addresses are assigned to you by an organization called InterNIC. You register your address with InterNIC as both a name (whitehouse.gov), which is referred to as the domain name, and a number (198.137.240.100), which is generally referred to as the IP address or IP number

IP Delivery

Also called cloaking, this technique presents different content depending on the IP address of the client. It is very difficult to view pages hidden using this technique, because the real page is only visible if your IP address is the same as (for example) a search engine's spider.

IP Number - Internet Protocol Number

Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique number called an IP number, or Internet Protocol number. An IP number is like a name identifying that computer. It consists of four sections separated by dots. An example of an IP number is: 165.113.245.2

IRC

An acronym for Internet Relay Chat, IRC is a program that allows you to carry on "live" conversations with people all over the world by typing messages back and forth across the Internet. You can talk in groups or in private with only one person. IRC consists of "channels," that are usually devoted to specific topics. Anyone can create a "channel" and any message typed in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel

ISDN

An acronym for Integrated Services Digital Network, ISDN lines are connections that use ordinary phone lines to transmit digital instead of analog signals, allowing data to be transmitted at a much faster rate than with a traditional modem

ISP

ISP....short for Internet Service Provider, a company that provides access to the Internet. For a monthly fee, the service provider gives you a software package, username, password and access phone number. Equipped with a modem, you can then log on to the Internet and browse the World Wide Web and USENET, and send and receive e-mail. In addition to serving individuals, ISPs also serve large companies, providing a direct connection from the company's networks to the Internet. ISPs themselves are connected to one another through Network Access Points (NAPs). ISPs are also called IAPs (Internet Access Providers).