Newsbin

Glossary

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Glossary of Terms

Includes NewsBin specific, Internet related, and just plain silly definitions of words. These words are defined specifically from the standpoint of a NewsBin User. Other definitions for the same words most likely exist. If you would like to contribute to this list, or request that a word or NewsBin feature be defined, send your term (and definition if you know it) to the webmaster.

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A
Automatic Download
a feature of NewsBin that automatically downloads every binary attachment to every post in every selected group.  It does abide by any filters set and continues to download until the last groups is processed, unless Recycle Servers mode is selected, in which case it will start over after the amount of time specified in the Restart Delay.
 
Automatic Startup
a feature that tells NewsBin to start downloading as soon as the program is started.  Works the same as hitting the Start Header Download button.  Works in conjunction with Automatic Download mode.
 
Automatic Shutdown
a feature that tells NewsBin to close itself after the last file of the last post in the last selected group is downloaded.  Works in conjunction with Automatic Download mode.
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B
bandwidth
Refers to the capacity of an internet connection in terms of amount of data that can be transferred in a defined period of time.  For example, the raw bandwidth of some cable internet connections if 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second).  Used in a sentence: "NewsBin will eat all your available bandwidth for breakfast and will beg you for more."
 
Bandwidth Limiter
Feature of NewsBin under the Setup menu on the Network tab the tells NewsBin not to eat all your bandwidth and to save some for your other applications.  The setting is set in bits per second so to ask NewsBin to only use half of your 1.5Mbps bandwidth, set it to 750000 (750,000 bits per second).
 
beta
a version of software that is currently undergoing development but runs well enough to be subjected to a few brave souls.  NewsBin releases typically spend close to a year as beta software.  The cycle starts with a core set of hardened NewsBin users and then it is made available to the general public for wider beta testing.
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C
Connection
An established communication with a server.
 
Connection Limit
The maximum number of connections allowed to a given server at any one time.
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D
dexter
boy genius with secret lab under his family's home.  Also a faithful servant of NewsBin as the webmaster, documentation guy, and handling all other business matters for NewsBin.  Owner of DJI Interprises, LLC
 
Download Limit
The maximum amount of data a server will let you retrieve over a period of time.
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E
Enabled
When enabled, things are considered for use.
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F
Fill
A part or file re-posted after the original posting for the purposes of making a post complete.
 
Filters
These prevent posts that do not match them from being displayed, just like an oil filter stops stuff that isn't oil from going through.
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G
GIF
Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) - Invented by CompuServe for efficient transmission of graphics. The format can only support 256 colors, or 8 bits. The newer revision, 89a, allows for multiple images in one file to simulate animation. Unisys owns the patent to a form of compression used in GIF files, and thus you may want to use the newer and completely free PNG format instead of using GIF files. 
 
Groups
see newsgroups
 
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H
header
the portion of a post that contains the subject line among other information such as date, news server, and unique post ID.  NewsBin downloads and displays the subject portion of the header to represent a post.  The complete post is not downloaded unless NewsBin is told to do so.  The terms header and subject are sometimes used interchangeably even though the subject is really just a portion of the header.
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I
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J
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) - This is a method of storing graphic images. It was specifically made for storing more than 256-color images. It compresses pictures much better than the GIF way (GIF is meant to store graphics of 256 colors or less). You can also set the amount of compression you would like for the graphic; however, the higher the compression the less quality the picture has. On the down side, even at 100% quality (or 0% compression) the graphic is not perfect. JPEG files use the extension ".jpg."
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K
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L
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M
Master Splitter
A program used to split files up into smaller pieces by simply chopping the original up.
 
 
MP3
extension portion of a filename for a file containing music.  MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3)  is a compression standard for audio. It enables compression of CD-audio by about 10x, depending on the bit and sampling rate. It does not stand for MPEG-3, but rather it is the audio part of the MPEG-1 audio / video compression standard.
 
 
MPG
extension portion of a filename for a file containing a movie.  MPG is a compressed format created by the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG)
 
multi-part post
a (typically) large file that was uploaded to a news server by breaking it into equal parts and stored as many separate posts using a similar subject heading.  See post.
 
 
multi-threaded
Multi-Threaded - Some operating systems allow multiple parts, or threads, of a single process to run simultaneously. These OSs are referred to as multi-threaded. UNIX is a multi-threaded OS, as is Windows NT
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N
New
Any post which did not exist on the server the last time you downloaded headers from that group.
 
NewsBin
Also written as Newsbin (the author and I go around and around about the correct representation).  The Fastest Usenet Binaries in the World!
 
newsgroups
method used on usenet to differentiate discussion topics and type of content. Groups containing the word "binaries" typically contain posts with encoded attachments representing binary files such as images, music, movies, or programs.
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O
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P
PNG
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) - PNG is an image format that uses lossless compression, similar to the GIF format. How the PNG format differs however, is that the GIF format involves licensing LZH compression standard from Unisys. PNG is a public domain format that was designed to replace GIFs. Support for PNG is currently included in the most recent versions of Internet Explorer, Navigator, and the Opera browser. 
 
POS
acronym meaning "Piece of Shit".  Commonly used as reference to non-NT based windows operating systems such as Windows 95/98 and ME or to software that just doesn't do what it should or is very unreliable.
 
Post
a message and/or file uploaded to a news server comprised of a header and a body.  Can be used as a noun or a verb as in "That was an awesome post" or "I just posted a naughty picture of my girlfriend".  Very large files are typically broken up into many different posts, with similar subjects so they can be downloaded separately and re-combined.  These types of posts are called multi-part posts.
 
Post ID
Every post has a unique identifier called Post ID. When you delete or download a post, newsbin adds this identifier to a list. This is the postid cache.  It uses the list to keep track of what to show as downloaded or not.
 
poster
person who posts content to a usenet newsgroup.  Identified in NewsBin as the email address supplied NewsBin allows you to filter out certain posters if need be.
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Q
Quade
as known in the NewsBin Forum.  This is the author of NewsBin working (literally) out of his garage.  (Ok, so he turned his garage into his office/bedroom/workout room/gameroom, but it is true!)
 
Quidditch
Just wanted another "Q" word. No, we won't go there.  
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R
rar
rar (.rar) - This is the file extension of a type of compressed file created by the WinRAR program by RarSoft. It is considered by many to be more versatile than other compression programs on the market such as WinZip. 
 
Recycle Servers
a feature that tells NewsBin to start over from the beginning of your list of selected groups when it is done.  Waits for the amount of time specified in the Restart Delay.  Only works in Automatic Download mode.
 
Restart Delay
a setting that tells Recycle Servers mode how long to wait before starting over.
 
robot
software that can be configured to perform iterative tasks that a common human would become weary of. For example searching newsgroups for certain type of file, downloading the files, and decoding them such as, well, NewsBin of course!
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S
Sequential
Occurring one after the other.
 
Simultaneous
Occurring at the same time.
 
Signature Cache
A list of signatures for all files downloaded.
 
Size
The total amount of data to be downloaded.
 
Smite
extremely active participant in the NewsBin Forum.  Also is an elite t-shirt wearing beta tester and in a constant battle with dexter for a higher forum post count.  If he ever catches up with Quade, something is seriously wrong with him.  ;-)
 
Spool
The file in which all the headers for a group are stored.
 
Stackable
In order to pass the filters, the item must pass all of the filters. No one takes precedent.
 
subject
portion of a post's header that is the poster's description of the content that was posted.  Typically includes attached binary file but it is sometimes incorrect.
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T
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U
usenet
a huge bunch of Internet discussion groups that replicate across the Internet every so often. Topics cover a plethora of things including technical discussions, politics, how to cure acne, and, of course, the ever prevalent flame wars. However, the most infamous use of the newsgroups is the distribution of binary pictures, music, movies, and evil warez.
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V
Virus
a self-distributing program. Usually designed to cause harm to infected computers.
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W
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X
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Y
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Z
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