The Information Superhighway, Email, The Internet, FTP, BBS, Modems,: all buzz words which are becoming more and more routine in our daily life. Confusing terminology? Hopefully it won't be in a few minutes. All you need is to have a handle on a few basic concepts and terms and you will be on-line with the rest of the “telecommunication experts”. These terms all refer to some type or aspect of tools associated with a range of computer-based communication software and hardware. They are, in fact, far less complex than the instruments we use on a day to day basis as microscopists and microanalysts. The key is for each of us to know what each is and how to make use of the wealth of information which they can make available to us for the asking.