Landing Page
An email can contain a main link to direct you to a specific page on a website. When you click on this link you are brought to a page on the sender's website and this is known as the landing page.

LAN (Local Area Network)
A combination of personal computers, servers, and communication devices that are connected to share data files, resources and applications. Located in close proximity, such as on the same floor or in the same or nearby buildings.

Leased Line
A permanently open telephone connection. No dial up is necessary.

Legacy System
A Legacy System is a computer system which has survived from earlier days in the customer's IT history. A common example is VMS (no longer manufactured since Compaq acquired DEC). Information stored in an old system can be unreadable by a new system - legacy systems typically require some program to translate them into the new format.

Link
A hypertext facility that allows a connection between two objects on the Internet , whether they be text, video, audio or graphics.

Log File
A Web server normally produces a log file that can measure website activity through detailed visitor analysis. For example, a log might measure the number of visitors, what pages they looked at, the time they spent on each page, the page they viewed before and after your web page etc.

Login (a.k.a. Log On or Login)
The act of connecting to or accessing a remote computer system, network, server, or Web site. To login, you must provide a username and a password. For example, if you call your ISP's tech support, they may ask if you're currently logged in to the server; if you are not, they may ask you to try and log on.

Logoff (a.k.a. Log Out)
To disconnect from a network, remote system, or Web site. Doing this usually means you will have to login again to regain access.

Logistics
Logistics involves planning the flow and storage of finished goods from warehouses to distribution centers and end customers. This vital, and often over-looked, sector is likely to benefit greatly from an increasing dependence on e-commerce.

MBR (Master Boot Record)
This refers to the first sector on a hard disk or other disk media. When a computer boots up, it searches for a master boot record (usually on the floppy first, then the primary C: hard drive) and based on what the master boot record says, loads up an operating system. Thus, if the master boot record becomes corrupt or is tampered with by a virus, it can cause your computer to be unable to boot.

MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems)
A manufacturing execution system is a factory floor information and communication system with various functional capabilities. It consists of functions such as resource allocation and status.

Meta Tags
The HTML codes that contain information about the content of a Web page and Website. Meta Tags are frequently used to enhance the display and effectiveness of search engine listings.

Micropayment
A low-value financial transaction ranging from a few pennies to a few dollars or pounds. Micropayments were posited as an important concept in breaking down initial resistance by Internet users to spending money on online content.

Middleware
Middleware is a communications layer that permits applications to interact across hardware and network environments. Common examples are IBM MQSeries and Microsoft MSMQ.

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
The standard for attaching non-text files to standard Internet mail messages. Non-text files include graphics, spreadsheets, formatted word-processor documents, sound files, etc. An email program is said to be MIME Compliant if it can both send and receive files using the MIME standard. When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they are converted (encoded) into text - although the resulting text is not really readable.

MIS (Management Information System)
MIS is a term used to describe the department that oversees all computer hardware and software used by a company.

Mobile Computing
Mobile Computing refers to the use of any computer that is not hard-wired to the central or host system with which it needs to interact. The required interaction occurs through a wireless, real-time connection, a batch synchronisation procedure, or a combination of wireless and batch.

Modem (MOdulator, DEModulator)
A device that you connect to your computer and to a phone line, that allows the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.

MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations)
MRO products are those goods and services that a company purchases which are not used in production or offered for resale. Typical MRO purchases include manufacturing supplies, computers and office supplies.

MRP (Materials Requirement Planning)
A basic MRP system uses data about existing component stocks, the company's production plans and the number and type of components used in each of the company's products to generate a list of the number and type of components to be purchased. More sophisticated MRP systems also schedule production and can be integrated with accounts packages etc. MRP software packages are increasingly being supplanted by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. However they are still used by many manufacturing companies, particularly smaller ones.

MRP II (Materials Resources Planning)
An enhancement to "basic" MRP, this is the "closed loop" process, which includes all manufacturing resources for "What If" pro-active process simulations.

Net Device
A specialised device that isn't a full-fledged computer that connects to the Internet to perform specialised chores, such as sending and receiving email or adding Web content to a television.

Netiquette
The code of conduct and unofficial rules that govern online interaction and behaviour. For example, you should not TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, AS IT INDICATES YOU ARE SHOUTING.

Network
In its most simple form, a network consists of two or more computers connected to each other by an appropriate transmission medium that allows them to share data. More complex networks can be developed from this basic principle - networks can be interconnected in different ways and even dissimilar networks can be linked.

Network Computer
Network Computer is a low-cost personal computer for business networks configured only with necessary equipment and are intended to be centrally managed and maintained.

Node
A Node is any device connected to a network. Each device has a unique network address.

ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity)
ODBC is a database programming interface from Microsoft that provides a common language for Windows applications to access databases on a network. ODBC is made up of the function calls programmers write into their applications.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
A company that has a special relationship with computer producers: OEMs buy computers in bulk and customise them for a particular application; then they sell the customised computer under their own name. The term is really a misnomer because OEMs are not the original manufacturers; they are customisers of other people's products.

OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing)
Online Analytical Processing is a category of software tools that provides analysis of data stored in a database. OLAP tools allow users to examine various dimensions of multidimensional data. The main component of OLAP is the OLAP server.

Online Discussion Groups
Users who are geographically dispersed but who are linked virtually based upon a shared set of interests.

Online Procurement
Online procurement describes purchasing, which takes place between companies using services such as the Internet , Electronic Data Interchange or Electronic File Transfer. Two companies, one the supplier and the other the purchaser, transmit inquiries, orders, invoices, payments etc. directly through their computer systems.

Online Shopping
An online shop should reproduce the experience of shopping offline. When you buy over the counter, you go into the shop, you pick out your purchases, you place them in a shopping basket and then you pay for them.
This is mimicked on the website by:
1. Going to the shopping area on the site and browsing or searching through the web catalogue.
2. Putting your choices "into the shopping cart", a piece of software which keeps a record your purchases.
3. Paying for your purchases, most commonly by credit card, which will involve giving your credit card details and personal information online. All this information has to be protected by encryption.

On-Line Transaction Processing
On-Line Transaction Processing is a type of computer processing in which the computer responds instantly to user requests. Each request is known as a transaction. It is also known as transaction processing. This is contrasted with "batch processing".

Open Architecture
An architecture whose specifications and key parameters are open to the public. This can refer to "open standards".

Open Source
Open Source refers to software products that are freely available and offered by development communities online. They come with no warranty but are usually very well tested by development groups. Open Source software can help reduce costs, but only a limited number of products are available via this channel. The most renowned open source product is Linux. This is a free UNIX-type operating system see www.linux.com.

OSP (On-line Service Provider)
A company that provides its own on-line services and, usually Internet access.

OSI (Open Systems Interconnection)
A set of internationally accepted and openly developed standards that meet the needs of network engineers.

PIPM (Page Impressions Per Month)
Used in on-line advertising to measure the number of visitors a site receives

Payment Solutions: Online Transactions
Online transactions allow the customer to buy directly from you over the web. The most common payment method at the moment is by credit card. Newer forms of electronic payment like electronic wallets and electronic cheques are currently being developed.

To set up a credit card payment system on your website you need:

• an acquiring bank that will establish an Internet merchant account
  
• payment processing software to transfer the credit card details between your bank and website
  
• a secure certificate for to encrypt and protect the credit card details
  Your ISP and your bank will determine which types of software you will need to carry out secure transactions.
  

PDF (Portable Document Format)
Platform independent file format created by Adobe (see Acrobat Reader). Created for offline reading of brochures, reports and other documents with complex graphic design. When you download a .pdf file, you get the entire document in a single file.

P2P (Peer2Peer)
P2P networking enables direct communication or sharing of information between individual users (or more specifically, their computers. The power of P2P is its ability to harness the power or data of a large number of decentralised computers, thereby providing capabilities that would be difficult, expensive, or time-consuming on a single large computer.

Peripheral Device
Any hardware device connected to a computer, such as a monitor, keyboard, printer, disk, tape, graphics tablet, scanner, joy stick, mouse etc is know as a peripheral device.

Permissive Marketing
A form of online marketing where you have to give permission in order to receive company and product information. Unsolicited email, better known as spam, is one of the most annoying side affects of being online. If you want to set regular emails to clients make sure that you get permission before you send out anything.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
Term used for any small, mobile, hand-held device that creates, stores or sends personal and financial information. Used for both personal and business use.

PDM (Product Data Management)
PDM systems control product-related data and associated workflow processes throughout the enterprise. PDM systems support user-directed functions such as data vault and document management; workflow and process management; and product structure management.

PPP (Point to Point Protocol)
The Protocol for a dial up connection to an ISP.

Port
To translate a computer application into another computer languages so it can be read on another operating system, or platform.

Portal
A web site that is used to get to another site. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalogue of web sites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer email and other service to entice people to use that site as their main "point of entry" (hence "portal") to the Web.

POP (Post Office Protocol)
Management of Internet Mail.

Private Key
The key forming part of a pair, which is known only to its owner and is used to encrypt a document.

Protocol
This is an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. The protocol determines the following:

• the type of error checking to be used
  
• data compression method, if any
  
• how the sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a message
  
• how the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message
  

Proxy Server
A server that sits between an ebusiness Client application, such as a Web Browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server. Proxy servers have two main purposes. The first is to improve performance for users, for example where it can swiftly respond to information requests by saving searches for a certain amount of time, thereby fetching the information quickly when it is requested. The second purpose is to filter requests e.g. to block staff from accessing certain sites.