| UA | User Agent - See User Agent. |
| Unix | (or UNIX) (pronounced "you-nicks") A powerful family of Operating Systems commonly used on Servers, including many Web Servers. Not for the faint-hearted, since it's not what you'd call "user-friendly". There are versions of Unix and its Open Source look-a-like, "Linux", for virtually every size and type of computer, from palm-tops to mainframes. Unix has been around for a lot longer than Windows, and Unix systems and applications are available that can do anything that Windows can do. However, Unix has never lived up to its potential as a desktop system, probably because of the Unix world's unhealthy disdain for the needs of the Mass Market. These are the busy, ordinary people who don't care what it's made of, as long as it looks OK and is easy to put together. Preferably ready-assembled in a choice of colours. Microsoft has always understood this, and made billions as a result. |
| Unmanaged | The opposite of "Managed". You plug it in and it works, without needing a network engineer to set it up. Usually used to describe Switches and other types of Network Hardware. |
| Upload | Transferring files such as documents or programs from your local computer to a remote computer. Updating your Web Site is an example of uploading. The opposite of Downloading. |
| URI | Uniform Resource Identifier - The same as a URL except that URIs can also refer to local resources, such as files on your own computer. A URI can include the "backslash" character if the local Operating System uses them, whereas a URL cannot, e.g. file:///C:\Docs\LessonPlan.doc. |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator - Internet-speak for an address, usually a Web Site address. A fully-formed URL starts with a Protocol, e.g. http:// or ftp://, but Web site addresses are normally quoted without the protocol because Browsers assume they should use the HTTP protocol unless told otherwise. URLs are a subset of URIs. |
| Usenet | The system that supports Newsgroups. |
| User | An individual who uses a computer. Usually a user will identify him/herself to the computer system by "logging on" with a Username that usually also has a Password. See also Authenticate, Login. |
| User Agent | A Browser. Technically, User Agent covers all the various devices that can be used to process a Web Page, including screen readers used by blind people, and Internet-enabled fridges used by technophilic morons. |
| User Profile | Windows terminology for the collection of settings, preferences and sometimes personal documents that belong to a specific User or group of users. In a well set-up Network, it is usual for user profiles to be stored centrally on a Server so that the user is not tied to a specific PC |
| Username | The name by which you, as a user, are known to a computer system or part thereof. Usernames are always unique (no two the same) within the system to which they apply. All versions of Windows from Windows 95 onwards, and most other desktop Operating Systems, can be set up to allow every user to Login with a username, which usually lets each user change their desktop to suit themselves. In a school environment this is nearly always a bad thing, which is why there are tools and methods to curb and control the freedom of users! Typically a username has an associated Password, without which it cannot be used. |