| NAT | Network Address Translation - A method of disguising the IP Addresses of computers on one Network from computers on another. Typically used by Proxy Servers to help protect a local network (LAN) from prying eyes on the Internet. |
| Navigate | The process of finding your way from one place to another; applied to the Web this is typically achieved by clicking on a series of Links on a Web Page. |
| Net | Rather passé contraction of Internet. |
| NetBEUI | An obsolete network Protocol. NetBEUI cannot be used to connect to the Internet, and has therefore dropped out of use, except accidentally. |
| Netiquette | Etiquette on the Internet. Applies mainly to Newsgroups and ChatRoom, where there are rules of behaviour which you transgress at your peril. Basically netiquette amounts to common sense and good manners, but to find out what the rules for a specific activity are, look for a FAQ: the rules will probably be in the FAQ or in the vicinity. |
| Netmask | Contraction of Subnet Mask. |
| Netscape | The original graphical Browser. Netscape was once the dominating market leader and was available for many types of computer, but its market share has dropped drastically since Microsoft started giving away Internet Explorer for free. Netscape is the name most people use, but Netscape's browser is actually called "Netscape Navigator". The most widely-used version of Netscape was 4.x, but this has now been superseded by the completely new and much better version 7, based on Mozilla's Gecko engine. The intervening Netscape 6 is not recommended as it holds, according to ExpertsExchange.com, "the record for the most Bug reports in history, somewhere around 69,000". Even better than Windows. |
| NetWare | A major Network Operating System (NOS), produced by Novell. Originally Netware used its own network Protocol, IPX/SPX, but recent versions have bowed to the inevitable and can now use TCP/IP exclusively. |
| Network | A collection of computers that share resources or services. The computers on a network don't all necessarily communicate directly with each other. Most networks have clearly defined "Servers", that provide the shared services, and "Clients" that use those services. The most common reasons for networking computers are: to have common storage space (provided by "Fileservers"), to share printers (provided by "Print Servers") and to share an Internet connection (provided by a Router and probably including a Firewall and a Proxy Server). The connections can be over electrical wiring (network cabling or telephone wires), fibre-optic cabling, wireless links (usually radio or microwave) or a mixture. |
| Newsgroup | Newsgroups are a way of keeping in touch with a community of people who share your keen interest in a very specific topic, for example person-centred counselling or backgammon. Newsgroups are essentially E-mail conversations that are published publicly on the Internet, using a system called USENET. In fact USENET pre-dates the Internet and there are still some Newsgroups that are not on the Internet. There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Newsgroups and they are organised in a hierarchical structure. Major Search Engines such as Google include newsgroup articles in their indexing and will return relevant articles in their search results. |
| NIC | Network Interface Card - A piece of Hardware that is necessary to connect a computer to a cable-based local Network. It is increasingly common for an NIC to be built into the computer these days, in which case it is called an "adapter" rather than a card. Almost all built-in NICs are the Fast Ethernet type. |
| NN | Netscape Navigator - See Netscape. |
| NNTP | Network News Transfer Protocol - The network Protocol used to connect to Newsgroup Servers. |
| NOS | Network Operating System - An Operating System with features specifically designed to provide Network services and usually found on Servers. |
| Novell | A major networking Software publisher, creators of NetWare. At one time Novell was the market leader in its sector, but it has lost out heavily to Microsoft and Unix. |
| NT | Microsoft Windows NT - See Windows NT. |