| Hacking | To most people, the same as Cracking, i.e. illegally breaking into computer systems or Applications. However some "Hackers" do not regard themselves as malicious, but I wouldn't like someone to break into my house just to check out the decor and test my stereo, even if they didn't steal anything and closed the door quietly on the way out ! |
| Hardware | Any part of a computer system that you can touch is hardware - it's the stuff you can hit with a hard implement when it goes wrong, as opposed to Software which you can only swear at. Just to confuse matters, there is also "firmware" - a type of software that is typically embedded in a piece of hardware when you buy it, and without which the hardware won't work. Sometimes the firmware is the cause of a hardware malfunction, in which case upgrading the firmware may fix the problem. This is often the case with complex Network hardware such as Routers. |
| Home Directory | A storage area for documents that is specific to a particular user. Home directories are almost always situated on a Fileserver. Usually a user's home directory is not accessible by other users, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, in a typical RS infotech Network every pupil has their own home directory which other pupils are barred from, but teachers have full access to. |
| Home Page | The "entrance" page of a Web Site. The page that your Browser will display if you simply type in the Web site's address, without specifying a particular page. E.g. www.bbc.co.uk will take you to the BBC Web site's Home Page, whereas www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders will take you straight to the start of the EastEnders section. On most Web Pages there is a link to the site's Home Page, usually contracted to "Home" and depicted with a house icon. Home Page is also a setting in most browsers that allows you to specify a particular page (or a blank page) for the browser to display when it starts. Such browsers also have a Home Page button (which again looks like a house) that takes you to the page you have set, or to your ISP's site if you haven't bothered setting it yourself. |
| Hosting | Nothing to do with dinner parties. Usually refers to a service provided by ISPs (and others): effectively the ISP rents out space on its Internet-connected Servers for customers to use. The space normally comes furnished with various services. The amount of space, the extent of the services and the amount of Traffic allowed versus the price will basically determine the value for money, although of course there are other considerations such as security, reputation, size and location. There are lots of adverts for "free" Web space; as always, read the small print and see Free Lunch. If you want free hosted space, your own ISP is probably the best place to start. LGfL offers free hosting to its Lancashire schools. |
| Hotmail | A well-known and widely-used WebMail service, run by Microsoft. The basic service is free, but additional services are relatively expensive. There are much better solutions to your E-mail requirements. |
| HTH | Hope That Helps - - Shorthand often used by people who regularly contribute to Internet discussions such as Newsgroups. |
| HTML | HyperText Markup Language - A set of rules for creating documents that can be displayed in a Browser. Basic HTML is easy and rewarding to learn and can readily be taught to children. Most people who create HTML documents, including professionals, use some sort of tool to do some or all of the work. There is a great range of tools available, covering all ages and skill levels. The current version of HTML is 4.01, and it will probably be the last version because HTML is being replaced by XHTML. Most browsers are very tolerant of faulty or incomplete HTML, unlike XML that has to be correct, which is lucky because the vast majority of HTML documents on the Web are not strictly valid. If you want to know whether an HTML document is valid, W3C has a free online validator which we recommend you use. However, to save you wasting your time, note that a document without an HTML "document type definition" at the beginning is not valid HTML and will not validate! |
| HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocol - The Internet Protocol (communication language) used for requesting and sending HTML documents, i.e. Web Pages. |
| http:// | The first part of a fully described Web address, or URL. Usually followed immediately by www. It is nearly always left out because it is assumed. For techies: it actually indicates the Protocol that the Server at the specified address will use, which is assumed to be HTTP for Web Servers. |
| Hub | A box that allows locally networked computers to talk to each other. All the computers are directly or indirectly plugged into the hub. If there are only 2 computers, a hub is unnecessary. Hubs are now obsolete, because Switches have become just as cheap yet perform better. |
| HyperText | THE fundamental concept of the Web - a textual document that contains embedded Links to other documents. HyperText is the "HT" in HTML, which is currently the principal language used to create hypertext documents. HTML uses the Anchor Tag to create a link. |