Computer/Technical Jargon

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USB: Universal Serial Bus. This is now the most common connection between the computer and its components. USB 1.1 transfers data at 12 megabytes per second per port and USB 2.0 at 480 megabytes per second per port. All the devices combined on the same port cannot transfer data faster than those speeds. If all the devices on the port tried to communicate at the same time, their speeds would slow down greatly. The advantage of USB over FireWire is you can connect many more devices by just buying a USB hub instead of another internal card and USB devices are more commonplace. However, USB requires a computer unlike FireWire.

Usenet: Often called newsgroups, this is a collection articles to a bulletin board type system. Usenet is one of the oldest functions of the internet. It was conceived in the 1979 at Duke University and created in 1980 at Duke and UNC. The usenet looks a lot like e-mail. It is simple, allows sending files, and fairly anonymous. There is no way to verify a user's identification, just like in e-mail. If a person chooses not to use their real name, it would take a court order to find out who the real poseter is. The usenet is alive and well. It is still a great way to get answers to questions. You just have to know how and where to post. Individual newsgroups have name and identifiers at the beginning. Below are the major prefixes and what they mean:

`alt.`	The newsgroups is not moderated.
`binaries.`	The newsgroups is for posting files.
`comp.`	Computer related topics.
`humanities.`	Art, music, and such related topics.
`misc.`	Miscellaneous topics.
`news.`	Usenet announcements.
`rec.`	Recerational topics.
`sci.`	Science related topics.
`soc.`	Social related topics.
`talk.`	Various talking point, including controversial topics.

Even though the usenet is fairly anonymous, you can still prosecuted and sued for what you post. Also, messages expire after a certain time. This time depends on the news server.

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