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Glossary W What is a winmodem? Winmodem is a generic term for a software modem, which itself is a modem that uses a program in place of hardware for certain specific functions. In technical terms, winmodems lack an instruction processing chip called a controller; these are referred to as controllerless modems. Winmodems that also lack a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) are referred to as HSP (Host Signal Processor) modems. The term "Winmodem" is actually a registered trademark of 3 Com/U.S. Robotics. It was first applied to the U.S. Robotics Sportster line of 33.6k controllerless modems and was later the name for the controllerless 56k Sportsters as well. But while Winmodem is a registered trademark, most people have accepted the word winmodem as covering both controllerless and HSP modems made by any manufacturer. Because winmodems lack a controller and sometimes a UART, they depend on the computer's CPU for these functions. For this reason, if you have a slow CPU, the modem can take a significant amount of processing power away from applications. You must load appropriate software and drivers before a winmodem will function properly. Most winmodems will work only with Windows 3.x, 95, 98, and Me. In most cases, they will not work with either Windows NT or 2000, or with DOS. To determine whether the modem you are planning to purchase is compatible with Windows NT or 2000, check the hardware compatibility list at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp Note: U.S. Robotics has merged with 3Com. You can find more information at: Also see: What is a wireless LAN?A wireless LAN, or WLAN, uses wireless technology to allow computers to communicate. A WLAN can be either an extension to a current network, or an alternative to a wired network that uses traditional media. Use of a WLAN adds flexibility to networking. A WLAN allows users to move around in a building and maintain computer connections wherever they are, without depending on wiring that restricts their range of motion. WLANs provide all the features of wired LANs, but without the wires. The only difference to the user is speed, which ranges from 1 to 10Mbps. WLANs can cover areas ranging in size from a small office to a large campus. Most commonly, WLANs employ access points that provide access within a radius of 100 to 300 feet. Many companies are developing WLAN technology. You can find more information at the Wireless LAN Association Web page, from which information for this document was adapted. WLANs use electromagnetic waves to transmit data. Currently employed methods of wireless data transmission are described below. Narrow-band technologyNarrow-band technology uses only a specific radio frequency to receive and transmit data. This technology keeps the radio frequency very narrow, which provides more lines of communication and limits interference from other radio signals. Spread spectrum technologySpread spectrum was developed by the military to provide secure wireless transmissions. This technology uses more bandwidth than narrow-band; however, spread spectrum provides a much more reliable way to transmit data. It provides a stronger signal, which is easier to distinguish from noise. To receive data, the recipient must know the parameters of the spread spectrum signal being broadcast. If not, it appears as noise. There are two ways that spread spectrum can transmit: frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology and direct-sequence spread spectrum technology.
Infrared technologyInfrared technology systems use very high frequencies to transmit data. IR is the technology your television remote control uses. IR is very limited in the amount of data it can carry. It also needs a clear line of sight from both ends. Weather conditions make this wireless technology difficult to use. It also does not solve mobility issues, so it lacks the prime advantage of a WLAN. Reactive IR, or RIR, does not need a clear line of sight, but is limited in scope to areas the size of a small office. Related online NETg tutorials (IU only)
Networking Foundations Part 1 If you haven't used NETg before, see the Knowledge Base document What do I need to know about accessing NETg from the Knowledge Base? Also see:
What is the World Wide Web? The World Wide Web is a way of exchanging information between computers on the Internet, tying them together into a vast collection of interactive multimedia resources. The Web is built around hypertext and hypermedia. A hypertext document has certain keywords or phrases linked to other online documents. A person reading a hypertext document about dogs, for example, might be able to select the highlighted word "beagle" and call up another document for more information about that particular breed. With documents intertwined by links into a web of information, you can select paths to browse online resources, a process often referred to as surfing. Hypermedia extends the concept of hypertext to other forms of information, including images, sounds, and even video clips. A person reading a hypermedia document about dogs, for example, might select a picture of a beagle and hear the sound of a dog barking. The World Wide Web also subsumes previous Internet information systems such as Gopher and FTP. These resources can still be accessed through the Web, but the Web provides a wealth of additional capabilities not previously offered by these more restricted connection methods. Thousands upon thousands of computers around the world are now connected to the Web and offer a tremendous variety of information and services to visitors. These online documents composed and supported by various people and organizations are generally referred to as pages. Web pages are available for an amazing variety of tasks ranging from the playful to the serious. You can access Web pages that let you search databases of mailing lists, see pictures of your favorite band and its concert schedule, or take a virtual tour through a foreign country. Thousands of links to new services are added to the Web each day, and its growth has been explosive. Web browsers To use the World Wide Web, you need access to a Web browser, a program that lets the computer you're using communicate in the Web's language with other computers on the Internet. For more information about browsers, see the Knowledge Base document What is a browser? Creating a Web page You can also use the World Wide Web to provide information to other people around the world. Web pages are generally sets of text files coded with special notation called HyperText Markup Language (HTML) that is interpreted as instructions by a Web browser program reading the file. See the references at the end of this text for more information about creating your own Web page. E-mail, Usenet, and the Web Note: The Web is not a particular computer or program; rather, it's a way for computers on the Internet to exchange information. For e-mail, you should use a shared system computer account or workstation-based mail programs such as Eudora or Microsoft Outlook. You can read Usenet newsgroups through some Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator. Related online NETg tutorials (IU only)
Internet and WWW Introduction If you haven't used NETg before, see the Knowledge Base document What do I need to know about accessing NETg from the Knowledge Base? Also see:
What is WINS? WINS is a service run on Windows NT servers to provide Windows clients a way to find other Windows based computers. WINS (Windows Internet Naming Service) resolves Windows network computer names (also known as NetBIOS names) to Internet IP addresses, allowing Windows computers on a network to easily find and communicate with each other. Utilizing a WINS server is essential for any Windows client computer to work with other Windows computers over the Internet. To utilize WINS services, you must insert the IP address of the WINS servers you wish to use into your TCP/IP networking configuration. Also see:
What is WinZip, and how do I install it? WinZip is a Windows based program that allows you to compress files and open previously compressed files in the zip format. WinZip has built-in support for most popular file compression and archive formats, including zip, gzip, BinHex (.hqx), cabinet (.cab), Unix compress, and tar. WinZip can also open the more seldom used ARJ, LZH, and ARC file formats, but requires that you obtain additional, external programs to do so. WinZip is shareware, which means you will have to pay the software author if you decide to use it. It is not free software. See the file license.txt, which is included with the software, for specific details concerning using and paying for WinZip. To install WinZip:
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What is WordPerfect TextArt, and how do I insert a TextArt object in my WordPerfect document? WordPerfect TextArt is a tool accessible from inside WordPerfect for Windows. It allows you to create and manipulate specially designed text that you can use for banners, headlines, titles, and logos. More specifically, it is an applet that creates objects embedded in WordPerfect documents using the Microsoft Windows Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) specification. You can even use it in applications other than WordPerfect. To insert a TextArt object in your WordPerfect document, from the Insert menu, select Object, then TextArt. TextArt objects behave like graphics boxes. You can move them and resize them. To edit a TextArt object, double-click the object. Also see:
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