Layman's Terms

 I've been using some of these for a while. Others I will be getting into with Dawn Nunziato's Virtual Freedom. 
 Note: I'll update this entry with new terms and link you back here when it seems pertinent.

Packet switching: method of transmitting bits of data. Data is broken into 'packets' with a header that contains basic info ('to' and 'from' IP addy, program/app needed to read it) and sent on it's merry way through networks, routers, etc., in what is known as a "data stream" (upstream = from your comp to a server, downstream = from a server to your comp) then reassembled at destination. 

Deep Packet Inspection: accessing a packet's data "beneath" its header at points en route to its destination (i.e. routers turned inspection checkpoints) to assess what to do with the data--let it continue on its route, send/store a copy of its contents, divert it to another route, block or drop it altogether? This technology can be used to manage a network's security (keep spam out), to keep stats on what kind of data is being passed around and how often, to "eavesdrop" in the government surveillance sense, or just for good old fashioned censoring of unfavored data.  

Broadband: (as opposed to narrowband, which you will remember as: DO-do-do-do-do-do… EEEEEEEE RRRRRR eeeeerrrrrr) a term for any/all of the following types of vastly improved (from the old telephone copper wire) internet connections: coaxial cable wire lines, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless, fiber-optic wire lines, and broadband-over-power line (BPL).  You'll remember that Broadband providers are currently classified as data service providers rather than telecommunications services, and thus they wiggle out of common carriage regulation. 

"Last mile" Provider: the one who hooks up that little router in your living room. Your cables to their cables, wireless towers, etc., and ultimately on to the "backbone" networks which cross large distances (e.g. across the US). 

First-in-first-out / "best effort": the "traditional" method of data streaming, which treats all data equally, as opposed to prioritization of certain data based on it's source, destination, user identity, data type, port, and content. I think it is important to note here how Dawn Nunziato makes a distinction between ISPs filtering data based on it's content/viewpoint discrimination, versus prioritizing data based on applications or tiering service: "My argument is not centered on these other potential meanings of net neutrality, but focuses instead on the requirement that broadband providers serve as neutral conduits in facilitating Internet speech.<sup>"1







1</sup> Solove, Daniel. "Bright Ideas: Nunziato on Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age" May 3 2010.
< http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2010/05/bright-ideas-nunziato-on-virtual-freedom-net-neutrality-and-free-speech-in-the-internet-age.html >