Hacker  Computer Terminology  The term "hacker" originally referred to a computer expert--someone who could make any computer push the envelope by employing techniques that the rest of us might never understand. Folks who enjoy breaking into computers are properly called something else.

hard drive  Computer Terminology  A disk inside the computer that stores and processes information.

heat sink  Computer Terminology  A part of an electronic device that keeps the device cool by channeling heat away from it. A heat sink can be as simple as a series of dimples or fins added to the component's shape or as complex as a self-contained fan that literally blows the heat away.

HHOK  Chat Room Acronym  Ha Ha Only Kidding.

HOYEW  Chat Room Acronym  Hanging On Your Every Word.

HTML  Internet Terminology; HyperText Markup Language:  The language used to write web pages (like this one!)

HTTP  Internet Terminology; HyperText Markup Language:  Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Thanks to this protocol, the Web server you connect to knows what to send you whenever you click a link, and you see the appropriate Web page in your browser.

IAWC  Chat Room Acronym  In A While Crocodile.

InterNIC  Internet Terminology  Internet Network Information Center. Among its other services, the InterNIC registers domain names and makes sure that no two organizations get the same one. It's a big job and growing, but InterNIC registration remains one of the best bargains among online services. If nobody has the domain name you propose, you can reserve it yourself for two years for about $70 or less, and the price has been dropping over time.

IRQ  Computer Terminology  IRQ stands (loosely) for "interrupt request line", one of several connections on your computer's motherboard over which a device--such as a hard disk controller, built-in modem, or sound card--can "talk" with your computer's CPU (main chip). Each IRQ can handle only one device.

ISP  Internet Terminology; Internet Service Provider:  A company who provides access to the Internet utilizing telephone lines.

Java  Internet Terminology  Java is a programming language created specifically for the Internet. With Java, developers can easily create compact, interactive, animated miniprograms called "applets" that can be embedded in Web pages and used in Web browsers (provided the browsers are "Java-enabled").

JAM  Chat Room Acronym  Just A Minute.

Kermit  Internet Terminology  Why define a term that's so out of date, you're only likely to overhear it as part of a meaningless conversation between reminiscing retro-nerds? Because retro-nerds are the last people you want lording it over you. So here's one you can throw back at them: Kermit, a really old modem protocol that some BBSs used to require but that, even in its heyday, played second fiddle to other now-outdated protocols such as Xmodem, Ymodem, and (you guessed it) Zmodem. Essentially, Kermit was the protocol you tried when the others didn't work.

Keyword  Computer Terminology  is a word you search on when you search a database or the Internet. In most cases, for your search to be successful, you have to pick a keyword that the creators of the database or Web site have chosen to INDEX, or mark as a keyword.

livewire  Computer Slang  People who work around computer systems and know how to operate them.

LOL  Chat Room Acronym;  Laughing Out Loud.

MANIAC Computer Terminology;  Mathematical Analyzer Numerator Integrator and Computer--a low-tech name for what was in its time a very high-tech piece of equipment. MANIAC was a computer built at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in the late 1940's and early 1950's. It's mostly remembered today for its use in the development of the hydrogen bomb.

Mirror Site  Internt Terminology  A mirror site is a replica of an existing Web site. Set up on another server, it effectively divvies up the traffic so that more people can have faster access to the site

mosiac  Internet Terminology  Mosaic was the first Web browser that actually let you see pictures on the same screen with text (at the time, other browsers required you to display graphics in a separate program or window).