World Of Kitsch | Help

Adobe Acrobat is the software that reads a type of file called 'pdf', which always looks the same (webpages appearance may vary). If a webpage offers 'pdf' files, it may let you download Adobe Acrobat. Without it, you won't be able to look at any 'pdf' file.

ADSL is a method of accessing the internet through ordinary phone lines which is quicker than usual. It needs a special modem and it also needs to be supported by your ISP.

The browser is the computer program which allows you to use the world wide web. The top few lines of this screen are the browser. It has different functions like Back, Forward, Home, Print, Favorite (or Bookmark) and History. It also has the Address box. The two main browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape.

A bulletin board is a web-based way to post messages so they can be read by other people. World of Kitsch provides a free messageboard.

A button on a computer screen is a small coloured box which is a link. A mouse button is something on the mouse that you click.

A byte of data is a very small amount of information, just one letter or one digit of a number. So we usually talk about thousands of bytes (kilobytes, KB), millions (megabytes, MB), or even billions (gigabytes, GB). A 1KB file is small. A floppy disk holds about 1MB. Hard disks have gigabytes of data.

The cache is where a computer stores data (such as webpages) that may be needed again. Loading a webpage from the internet for the first time is slower than going back to it (when the computer uses its cache). Use the Refresh button to get the up-to-date version of a webpage, rather than the cached version.

A CD-ROM stores data and looks like a CD. Unlike a hard disk, it can be moved between computers. It holds much more information than a floppy disk. CD-ROMs are mostly used for software.

A chatroom is where people 'talk' to each other using the internet. Some chatrooms are web-based, while some use special software, which has to be downloaded. World of Kitsch provides a free chatroom.

Click means pressing the left-hand (or only) mouse button once. 'Double-click' means pressing it twice in quick succession. If you don't know whether to click or double-click, try clicking, and if nothing happens, then double-click. If nothing still happens, then press the Enter key on the keyboard. The internet only requires single clicking.

To connect to the internet is to start the telephone call which connects your computer with all the other computers in the internet. The telephone call continues until you disconnect.

A cookie is some data that a webpage stores on your computer when you visit that webpage. Cookies cannot contain viruses. They enable the webpage to remember what you did last time, how often you've visited the webpage, and so on. World of kitsch uses cookies in accordance with its privacy policy. For more help enabling cookies, click here.

Crash means 'Help! This computer has stopped working!', plus probably several other expletives! Switching it off, and on again may be all it needs to fix it.

Data is anything that can be handled by a computer. It is often called 'information', but can be text, sound, pictures, programs or games. A collection of data is called a file. Data is measured in bytes.

Debug means take the errors out of a computer program. Unfortunately some webpages still contain errors (bugs). Sometimes you get an error window asking you if you want to debug the webpage. Click on No.

A desktop computer is a personal computer, which is too big to be portable. It contains the disk drives, modem, hard drive and processor. It has a separate keyboard, and a screen like a television. It usually has a mouse and a printer. It may have a scanner, speakers and perhaps other hardware as well. It may need its own desk!

A digital camera works like a normal camera, but stores the photographs on little cards (like disks) instead of on film. You can then put the photographs straight into your computer to look at them, print them out or put them on the internet, rather than having to wait until they've been developed.

A discussion forum allows people to exchange views (generally on common interests) via the world wide web. Their comments are organised into topics called threads. You can comment on previous comments, or start a new thread.

The domain name is the key part of an internet address. A web address starts with the domain name which ends with the first /. The domain name of this website is www.worldofkitsch.com, and all its webpages have web addresses beginning with that. You can tell something about a website from its domain name. If it ends .uk, then it is British. A .co.uk means a British company, .gov.uk is a UK government site and so on. An email address has its domain name after the @. Email addresses do not contain www.

dot com or (.com) is the ending for the domain name of the website of an American company (or a company that wants to look American). It is used to refer to new companies trying to make money from the internet, but is also used by long-established companies.

A drop-down menu is a common way to select from a range of choices on a webpage. World of Kitsch has a drop down quick links menu at the top of every page - try it now!

An e-mail group communicates through e-mails sent to the whole group. This is the same as an e-mail list. World of Kitsch has an e-mail list where you can find the latest developments on the site.

An email address contains @. To send someone an email, you need their email address. Don't confuse this with a web address. To contact world of kitsh you can e-mail help @ worldofkitsch.com.

The Enter key on the keyboard is the big key, a few keys to the right of the letters P and L. If something should be happening, but isn't, try pressing the Enter key.

A file is a collection of data. You need the correct program to use a particular file type. You can open a file (so you can look at it), close it (when you've finished with it), save it (if you have changed the data), execute or run it (if it's a program), play it (if it's music) and print it (if it's writing or pictures). A webpage is a file, and so is each picture on a webpage. Every file has a name. Files are kept in folders.

Flash is software used on webpages. Simple webpages are written in HTML. Flash webpages have special effects, but they take longer to load and you may need to download the Flash software to see them.

A floppy disk stores about 1 million bytes of data. You can save data from one computer onto a floppy disk, and then take the floppy disk to another computer to use the data. Be careful of viruses, though.

A folder is a place for storing files. There are so many files in a computer that they have to be organised so you can find them, so you group them in folders.

Frames on some webpages divide the webpage into different parts. When you click on a link or scroll up or down, only part of the webpage changes. The web address doesn't change when you move between webpages. World of Kitsch does not use frames.

Freeware This is software available freely, without charge. Unlike shareware, there is no trial period and the software can be used without cost.

A hard disk stores data permanently in your computer. You will probably never see it. It stores your operating system. The reason that it takes so long to switch on a computer is that lots of programs have to be copied from the hard disk to the computer's memory. These programs can't stay in memory all the time, because it's too small. Everything in memory disappears when you switch the computer off, or it crashes. When you save a file, you usually save it to the hard disk (although you can save it to a floppy disk).

Hardware is the bits of a computer that you can touch, made of metal, plastic, wires etc. It includes the screen, keyboard, mouse and printer, as well as the actual computer. See software.

A hit is one visit to a webpage. Some webpages count how many people have visited them, and proudly display the number. Alternatively, a hit is a link found by a search engine.

The Home button goes to the computer's homepage (not the website's homepage). You can make World of Kitsch your default homepage (the first webpage that you see when you connect onto the internet). Find out more.

HTML is how webpages are written. It includes the text, pictures, links, and instructions for formatting the webpage. To see some HTML, click on 'View' on the top of the screen, then 'Source'. To write webpages without learning HTML, use a program that lets you design the webpage easily and then turns this into HTML. You will also need webspace on your server and some software to transfer your webpage onto the internet.

http:// stands for 'hyper-text transfer protocol'. This begins nearly every web address (look in the address box at the top of this screen). However, when you type a web address, you start with the www. The computer will put http:// back in for you.

An icon is a small picture on a computer screen. You click or double click on it to make something happen (like starting a program).

The Internet is a network of millions of computers, connected by telephone lines. It contains both the world wide web and email.

An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is a company that can connect you to the internet. It has a computer called the server.

Java is a computer langauge. Simple webpages are written in HTML and don't do much except let you read them. However, some webpages do clever things, carried out by Java programs called applets. These can take a little time to start.

A search key is one or more words that you type into a search engine, so it can find webpages containing those words. Try it now by typing a word into the search box at the top of this page.

A computer language is used for writing computer programs. Luckily you can use a computer without knowing anything about computer programming langauges.

A laptop computer is a personal computer, which is portable (just). It combines a keyboard, a flat screen, disk drives, modem, hard drive and processor in one brief-case shaped unit. This unit also contains a roller-ball, a joystick or a touchpad instead of a mouse.

A link is the part of a webpage that you click on to go to another webpage. Click here for help using links on World of Kitsch.

The loading of a webpage starts when you click on a link or enter a web address. It finishes when the finished webapge appears on your screen. This can take a few seconds, or, in extreme cases, several minutes. Webpages can be slow to load because another computer is busy, or your server is busy, or there are big pictures on the webpage, or it is a long webpage. While the webpage is loading, the browser symbol to the top right of the screen rotates, a message appears at the bottom of the screen, and the mouse pointer changes to an eggtimer. If you want to stop a slow webpage loading, click on the Stop button.

To log on to the internet means the same as to connect to the internet. But you can also log on to an email service, and the term crops up elsewhere. It means 'start something'. To stop something, you log off.

A mailing list enables members of a group to send emails to the whole group at the same time. World of kitsch provides a mailing list to members which you can join by clicking here.

Computer memory (sometimes called RAM) is where the computer does its work when it is switched on. The speed of a computer and the size of its memory are the two main factors governing its cost. When buying a computer, make sure that it has enough memory to do what you want it to do (like using the internet). Memory is measured in bytes (usually megabytes or MB).

A midi file is another way of presenting music. These files are more basic than mp3 and do not contain speech or lyrics. The World of Kitsch music section uses midi technology.

A modem is a piece of hardware which lets your computer and your telephone talk to each other so you can be connected to the internet. The speed of a modem is measured in bps. A slow modem can slow down your use of the internet. However, there is no point in having a modem which works faster than the telephone line.

A monitor is another word for a computer screen. You can buy them in different sizes, and if you have trouble reading the screen, you could consider getting a larger one.

A mouse lets you communicate with your computer. It has a ball underneath. As you roll it around on the table or mouse mat, a pointer moves around the screen. You click on a button on the top (left button for PCs; a Mac mouse only has one button) to choose the thing that you're pointing to.

MP3 is a way of compressing music so it can be downloaded easier from the web. There are a lot of MP3 files on the web, but many are illegally breaching copyright.

Netiquette defines acceptable behaviour on the internet. Our terms of use define some of these acceptable protocols or you can view our guide to netiquette.

Netscape is a browser. It is available on CD-ROMs from computer magazines and elsewhere. It uses similar terms and buttons as the other browser, Internet Explorer, except it says Bookmark rather than Favorite.

A network of computers is a number of computers connected together so they can share data and programs. The most famous network is, of course, the internet.

Online means logged on to the internet (and so possibly running up your telephone bill). You may be able to do some work offline.

An operating system is the software which makes the computer work (eg. Windows). It handles the files, makes sure the various bits of hardware talk to each other, runs the different programs when you want them. Sometimes it crashes!

A password is a word only known to you (you hope!) which you type in to confirm your identity or to access information private to you (such as emails). It appears on the screen as a row of asterisks (****) to prevent someone reading it over your shoulder.

PC stands for 'personal computer'. PCs contain a processing chip made by Intel, and an operating system by Microsoft. All PCs work in similar ways, but vary in speed and size. A Mac is another kind of PC made by Apple computers.

A plugin is some software that you will need to do certain things on the internet, such as listen to music, or watch a film clip. Shockwave Flash and Adobe Acrobat are plugins. You may be given the opportunity to download the relevant software.

The Print button prints out the whole of a webpage. A printer is a piece of hardware which prints out things from your computer. There are different types of printers. If you buy a personal computer, then an inkjet printer is usually part of the package. A laser printer is a better (and more expensive) printer usually used for commercial computing.

A processor is another word for the processing chip. The processing chip of a computer is the hardware that makes it work. All other hardware either stores data, or communicates with people or other computers.

Computer programs are collections of instructions which make a computer do something. They are sometimes called software. Word processors, paint programs, computer games, browsers are all types of programs.

The Refresh button (which Netscape calls Reload) loads the current webpage again. You might want to do this, either because you think that the webpage might have changed, or because you've changed your mind after clicking on Stop.

A scanner is a piece of hardware. It works a bit like a photocopier to convert pictures and text into a form that can by used in word processing, or on the Internet.

A scroll bar on a webpage enables you to see the whole webpage. There is a scroll bar to the right of this screen. Scrolling up or down means moving up or down a webpage. Occasionally, you may need to scroll left or right as well.

A search engine is a website, which finds webpages about information that you're interested in, using a search key. A site search is a search engine which only examines webpages within a single website. World of kitsch has both of these embeded into the site. more...

Your server is the computer belonging to your ISP. Everything you do with the internet goes through your server. If your server is busy, then everything runs slow. Your server may also store your email until the next time you connect to the internet when it will download it. It may offer webspace for your own website.

Shareware is software which is available freely but which has use restrictions on it, which can be removed by payment of a fee.

Shockwave Flash is software which produces clever effects on some websites. Unfortunately if you don't already have the software, the clever effects won't work. You may be given the opportunity to download the software.

A site map is a webpage within a website which describes how that website is arranged. Click here or click the document picture next to the location at the top of this page, to view the World of Kitsch site map.

The Stop button stops a webpage from loading. If you change your mind, and want to carry on loading it, click on the Refresh button.

A virus is a program written by a malevolent person, which copies itself from one computer to another. It might damage the computer's software as well.

WAP phones are mobile phones which can be used for the internet. Obviously they can only look at very small webpages. WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol. World of Kitsch is in the process of developing a WAP based site.

A web address takes you to a particular webpage. It is found in the address box at the top of the screen. It probably begins with www. and has dots (.) and slashes (/) in. Don't confuse it with an email address. Our web address is:
http://www.worldofkitsch.com

A website is a collection of webpages that have been created and linked together. The web address of a website is its homepage. A website may contain just one webpage, or a dozen, or hundreds!

A window is the box, headed with a blue bar, which shows you what is happening at the moment. You can have more than one window on your screen at the same time. In the internet, you sometimes get error windows, or adverts in little windows popping up.

To zip a file means to compress it using special software, such as Winzip. You can download such software from the internet. To use a zipped file, you need to unzip it first.

World of Kitsch would like to thank Cambridge On Line City for their contribution to the content of this page.

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