COMPUTER COOKIES, FOOD ? Times have changed. Words just don't mean what they used to. To try and make sense of this increasingly technical world we live in, Encarta editors decided to look at some words that have a taken on new meanings in recent years. 1. Browser: not a person in a store who is "just looking." This is a type of software that lets your computer read HTML documents (and access related files and software) on the Internet, intranets, or your local hard drive. 2. Footprint: no need to worry about dirty shoes on the carpet. In terms of your computer, a footprint is the amount of surface area it (or another device) takes up on your desk (or floor, or wherever you keep your computer). 3. Icon: no religious symbolism here. In computer talk, an icon is simply a small image displayed on a computer screen, representing an item on the computer that the user can access. They make computers a little more people-friendly. 4. Bug: not an insect or creepy-crawly. This is an error in coding or logic that causes a program to work incorrectly. 5. Hack: not to chop something with an axe. In the technical world, hack means to explore a computer (or other technical system) in order to sneak into the system, or figure out how it works. 6. Monitor: not a person who watches to make sure everyone behaves. In computer talk, a monitor is what you watch. It is the device that displays images the computer generates. 7. Dump: not the place you take your trash. This means to transfer data without processing or doing anything to it. 8. Server: not the person who asks if you'd like to see the dessert menu. In the world of computers, a server is a computer in a network that stores programs and files that other computers in the network can access. 9. Mouse: not a rodent. This is a device that enables you to control a computer by "touching" items on the computer screen with the cursor it controls. 10. Paste: not sticky adhesive. In the land of computers, paste is a verb, meaning to insert words or images that have been removed or copied from one document (or place within a document) into a new document (or a new place within a document). 11. Boot: not footwear. This is the process of starting or resetting a computer. 12. Surf: no water involved here. One surfs the Web in much the same way one channel surfs: moving from one Web site (or channel) to another. 13. Worm: not a wiggly creature that helps your garden grow. Computer worms are programs that propagate themselves across computers, usually by copying themselves in a computer's memory. A worm can copy itself over and over. Usually a worm is introduced into a computer system as a joke, or with the intent of destroying or damaging information. Bottom line: worms are not good for computers. 14. Cookie: not a tasty treat baked in the oven. On the World Wide Web, a cookie is a block of data generated by a Web site you have visited. It is stored on your computer and the site uses it to identify you when (and if) you return to the site. Encarta World English Dictionary contains thousands of definitions. 2/16/01 - Lupco