Biznet
	The Biznet is the collection of official biz.*
	newsgroups, as listed in Ed Hew's FAQ about the Biznet,
	posted to news.answers.  The biz.marketplace groups are
	a part of this collection.
  CD-ROM	Compact Disc Read Only Memory
	This digital storage method uses the same plastic discs
	as audio CDs, but instead of music, the discs can contain
	up to 640 megabytes of data and/or software.  Most CD-ROM
	drives have headphone jacks for playing audio CDs.
  Chain Letter
	A pyramid scheme in which you send money to a person at
	the top of a list, add your name to the bottom, then send
	that list to acquaintances and convince them to do
	likewise.  Chain letters, even those which purport to
	'sell' mailing lists, are prohibited at over 90% of
	Internet sites, and if propagated by e-mail or news will
	likely cause you to lose your account.
  COD		Collect On Delivery
	In COD transactions, the deliveryperson collects money
	from the recipient as the package is delivered.
  DOA		Dead On Arrival
	An item was broken when received.  Often used to express
	warranties with electronics; "Warranted against DOA" 
	See also WOA (Working on Arrival)
  EIDE		Enhanced IDE
	EIDE is the successor to the IDE hard drive interface,
	allowing for CD-ROM drives and hard drives larger than
	512MB.
  ESDI		Enhanced Small Device Interface
	ESDI is a high-performance hard drive interface for PCs
	that was popular a few years ago, but is quickly
	disappearing.
  FAQ		Frequently Asked Question
	An FAQ is an article on a newsgroup which answers many
	questions often asked by new readers in that newsgroup.
	FAQ also refers to each of the questions individually.
  Flames
	These articles or e-mail messages ridicule another or
	another's ideas, often in a stinging, blunt manner.
	Flames are a tradition on the Internet, and something to
	expect if you make a netiquette blunder.  Do not take
	them literally, but look for the suggestions presented.
	The tone is generally very negative, but the point is
	usually	clear.
  FD		Floppy Drive
	This computer storage device which reads 3.5", 5.25" or
	8" floppy disks.
  FS		For Sale
	Something is being offered in exchange for money.
  HD		Hard Drive
	Hard disk drives act as permanent storage devices for
	computers, and commonly come in sizes from 10 megabytes
	for older computers to 10 or more gigabytes for some
	business and research uses.  Note that physical capacity
	and usable capacity may be different for a given drive.
  IDE		Integrated Drive Electronics
	The standard hard drive interface for PCs sold today, IDE
	incorporates most of the electronics on the hard drive
	package, rather than on any interface cards.
  IMHO		In My Humble Opinion
	An American expression followed by an opinion about a
	current	issue.
  Internet
	The Internet acts as the carrier of billions of
	electronic messages, articles, and pieces of digital
	information annually.  This decentralized, worldwide
	computer network was initially developed in the U.S. by
	the military for its operations and by the National
	Science Foundation to promote communication in federal
	and scholastic research.
  MB		Motherboard
	The motherboard is the backbone of most computers,
	containing the CPU, memory, and other support.
  xxxMB		Megabytes
	The megabyte, or 1 million bytes, is a unit of computer
	memory and storage consisting of 8 million 1's and 0's
	which have meaning to a computer.  This abbreviation is
	often used to mention the storage capacity or online
	memory of a computer system, as in a 500MB hard	drive or
	4MB RAM.
  MCA		Micro-Channel Architecture
	MCA is a motherboard communication interface used by IBM
	in some IBM PS/2 computers.  It is technically superior
	to the standard ISA architecture for most uses, but it
	was poorly marketed, and is quickly disappearing.
  Meg		Megabytes
	See megabytes.
  MFM		Modified Frequency Modulation
	MFM is a physical method of storing data on a hard drive.
	This interface was the original IBM PC standard, but is
	not compatible with most systems manufactured more
	recently.
  MLM		Multi-Level Marketing
	A legitimate means of merchandise or service distribution
	where members can actively engage in sales or in sales
	force recruitment.    For every sale made by a
	salesperson you recruited or anyone under him, you
	receive a portion of the commissions.   Because of
	improprieties in the past, the US Government tightly
	regulates the ways in which MLM operators can present
	their business.
  MO Drive	Magneto-Optical Drive
	This hard storage device is similar to a rewritable
	CD-ROM.
  OBO		Or Best Offer
	This means that the stated price is negotiable.
  OEM		Original Equipment Manufacture
	OEM equipment or software is intended to be used to make
	original equipment rather than to be used for spare parts
	or as an after-market add-on.  It is often used with both
	computer hardware and software to describe items intended
	to ship only with complete computer systems.
  Pyramid Scheme or Ponzi Scheme
	A money-making opportunity popularized by Ponzi and
	illegal	in the United States in most forms.  This scheme
	involves an individual convincing others to pay him for
	the right to solicit others for payment in turn.  By
	recruiting more	people than the number of people you pay
	for this right,	you supposedly make money.  In reality,
	the people at the bottom of the pyramid never get paid by
	anyone and lose.  Such schemes are strictly forbidden at
	most Internet sites, and will cause you and your system
	administrator great grief if you try to propagate such a
	scheme by e-mail or over the newsgroups.  Occasionally,
	merchandise sales are involved.  (see MLM for a	similar
	legitimate opportunity).
  RAM		Random Access Memory
	RAM is the main operating memory for most computers.  It
	is erased when the computer is turned off.
  RLL		Run Length Limited
	This method of encoding data on hard drives is often
	used to describe the successor to MFM, although it uses
	very similar hardware.  It exists only on old PC systems.
  SCSI		Small Computer Standard Interface
	This is a modern device interface, faster than IDE, which
	supports hard drives, CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, and
	other media storage.  Most of the electronics for this
	interface are contained on the interface card.
  SIMM		Single In-line Memory Module
	This is a way of packaging RAM for easy installation.
	SIMMs come in 72 and 30 pin varieties for different
	computers, and have been the standard for most computers
	manufactured in the last several years.
  SIPP		Single In-line Pinned Package
	SIPPs are a type of RAM which come in 30 pin varieties,
	but are rarer than SIMMs.  SIPPs can be	converted to
	SIMMs with the appropriate adapters.
  Spam
	Posting an advertisement or advertisements to a large
	number of inappropriate newsgroups, often including
	groups which don't allow ads.  You'll hear from your
	system administrator if you try it.
  Usenet
	The collection of official newsgroups in the Big 7
	hierarchies:  misc, news, soc, rec, comp, sci, talk.
	These groups are propagated primarily, but not
	exclusively, over the Internet.
  Velveeta
	Posting several times to one newsgroup, particularly if
	it would have been reasonable to combine all of the
	content	in fewer posts.  Also, articles which are
	reposted too frequently.
  WOA		Working On Arrival
	The item works when it is tried for the first time after
	delivery.  A guarantee that an item will be WOA is
	typical	in the Usenet Marketplace.  If the item breaks
	later, the seller is not responsible. 
  WORM		Write Once Read Many
	This method of hard storage can only be written to once,
	but can be accessed often.  The hardware to write to a
	WORM disk is much less expensive than hardware for
	CD-ROM.
  WTB		Wanted To Buy
	This abbreviation is used when the poster is looking for
	a particular item.
  WWW		World Wide Web
	Also know as W3, or just the "Web", the World Wide Web is
	a computer communications medium that allows transmission
	and easy-to-read formatting of text, graphics, sound, and
	video.
  ;-)		The Universal Internet Smiley
	To appreciate it, look at this symbol with your head
	turned sideways.  It is used to indicate a joke, sarcasm,
	or any instance where the writer doesn't mean what he is
	saying.


  Thank you for reading, and we hope you find these suggestions
    are useful.  We encourage your comments, good and bad, to
    help us improve the effectiveness of this article.  Please
    send comments to Dan King, lildan@phoenix.net.

	       -*-*-*-*-End transactions FAQ-*-*-*-*-