There are so many tech terms that seep into our everyday conversation. How many times have you said URL lately? Most of the acronyms and terms stem from programming lingo and actually are quite technical in nature.

As a tech guy, it drives me crazy when bit and byte are used interchangeably because they have totally different meanings in relation to technology and programming. So, let’s uncover some acronyms and terms that have become prevalent – and sometimes, wrongly used:

Bit, Byte and Nibble
You have heard of bits and bytes, but how about a nibble?

• A bit is a single numeric value in the binary system, either a 1 or a zero. It encodes digital information such as an IP (Internet Protocol) address, so it can be shared on the network. The speeds we typically talk about are in bits.  For example, my Internet runs at 10Mbs (roughly 10 million bits per second).
• A byte relates to data storage and is the equivalent of 8 bits. For example a 10GB hard drive contains roughly 10 billion bytes (or 80 billion bits).
• A nibble is a playoff of the English word bite. It is often also referred to as nybble or nyble to relate to its larger counterpart, the byte. A nibble is the equivalent of four bits. Yes, two nibbles make a byte. This is not commonly used because most microprocessors use groups of 8 or 16 bits.

WAN, LAN, MAN and PAN
Say that five times fast. It sounds like a line out of a Dr. Seuss book. LAN is most commonly used, but they all relate to an area network.

• WAN, or Wide Area Network, covers a broad area and links across metropolitan, regional, national or international boundaries. Businesses and government entities use WANS to relay data among employees, customers and vendors across various locations.
• MAN, or Metropolitan Area Network, is smaller than a WAN and is most often used when cities or college campuses create large area networks for users. A MAN is typically owned by one organization, but used by many individuals for public purposes. It is smaller than a WAN.
• LAN, or Local Area Network, covers a smaller geographic area than a WAN. It interconnects computers within a limited area, such as an office building, school or home.
• PAN, or Personal Area Network, is used to transmit data between nearby personal devices such as a mobile phone to a Bluetooth.

URL, HTTP and HTML
The Internet is now so much a part of our lives that these terms have become commonly shared. But what are we really saying when we use them?

• URL is short for Uniform Resource Locator and most commonly known as a web address. When used with HTTP, it creates the path to a specific web page.
• HTTP is the base for data communication on the Internet. It’s the first four letters of a URL and is short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Technically speaking, it is the application process used to distribute the information.
• HTML is the language used to create web pages. It is short for HyperText Markup Language.

We could keep going. I will be sharing more about one that is just surfacing now, WebRTC, in my next blog. What terms do you want to know more about? Share them in a comment below or on Marco’s Facebook page.