Streaming

Data streaming, commonly used in the terms "audio streaming" or "video streaming," is when data moves from one computer to another and doesn't have to be completely downloaded for the receiving computer to do something with it. Most files, like updaters and games, that you download off the Internet are not streaming. However, multimedia files like Real Audio and QuickTime 4.0 documents can be streaming files, meaning you can watch a video or listen to a sound file while it's being downloaded to your computer. As Internet connection speeds get faster and faster, streaming media should become very popular.