American Standard Code for Information Interchange file. A file whose data is in ASCII characters. An ASCII file does not include formatting such as bold, italic, centered text, etc. Each byte in the file is one ASCII character, represented as a number; for example, capital H is ASCII 72. Some ASCII files contain program source code, scripts, or macros written as text. ASCII files are useful in transferring text between files of different formats that can't be imported into each other. An ASCII file can be created with a text editor; some word processing programs, such as XyWrite and Microsoft Word, can also create ASCII files.

A family of 16-bit and 32-bit microcomputers from Atari Computer, Sunnyvale, California, which became popular for games and for their MIDI interface. Some of the models are the Atari 520ST, 1040ST, Mega ST, STe, STacy, Mega STe, TT, and the Falcon. The Atari 2600, 5500 and 7800 were also popular.

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a way for a program running in one kind of operating system (such as Windows 2000) to communicate with a program in the same or another kind of an operating system (such as Linux) by using the World Wide Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)and its Extensible Markup Language (XML) as the mechanisms for information exchange. SOAP specifies exactly how to encode an HTTP header and an XML file so that a program in one computer can call a program in another computer and pass it information. It also specifies how the called program can return a response.

On the Internet, a skin is a graphic or audio file used to change the appearance of the user interface for a program or for a game character. Skins can usually be downloaded at no charge from sites that provide them. When using a skin, the appearance of the user interface changes, but not the functions available with the program.

Software that sends information about your Internet sessions back to the computer from which it's launched. Spyware is often built into free downloads and works in the background without a user's knowledge. Since it doesn't record an individual's personal information, it's often used to create marketing profiles based on surfing habits.