real dumb questions

I am new to using samplers and want to get a mpc 4000. I have fiddeled with a 2000xl and have gotten the hang of some of it.
But i am lost as hell with the technical jargin.
I have been using a virtual mpc 4000 link to learn some more and have questions about the following
What is wordclock?
To what specifics do i need on my comp to use the USB link?
any explanation of the q-link board.
And the Adat optical interface?

I have a pair of stantons and mixer and a g4 mac and i want to know what the advantages are of the different models, (8analog outputs and what not)
I know these are dumb questions but i want nothing more than to become fluent with the 4000xl, and the sooner the better!

Adat lightpipe interface allows you to connect a digital device, in this case a MPC 4000, to another digital device, like a digital mixer, using a single very tiny optical cable that has 8 independent digital channels running through it from the 4000 into the board. If you use a digital mixer you may prefer this to using 8 analog outs because there will be no signal loss, no AC hum, no radio interference, and you may not like the D/A converters on the MPC 4000. Not to mention that its just one single small cable....well 2 if you count the return. Spdif is a coaxial cable that allows 2 channels (stereo) of digital signal to run through it. It is not optical.

Wordclock is a type of sync that allows digital devices to be 'clocked' in harmony. If you are using the MPC 4000 adat lightpipe with a digital mixer, you can clock the machines using the adat sync, but you may want to sync them using wordclock because it is considered to be more stable, sound better, and is the profesional 'industry standard' for syncing digital devices.

Q link are 6 controls (4 rotary pots, and 2 faders) that can control different parameters within the MPC like amplitude(volume), pan, pitch, filters, efx, etc...these can be applied to individual sounds or whole programs. These functions can be 'automated' so that the knob settings can be automatically changed for every beat in a sequence (up to 1/64). So for example, you can have a sound that bounces from left to right every 8th note if you want.

Hope this helps. [/i]

Thanks alot, some of it is still a little forign for me but it did help.
Anyone who wants to break anything down a little more would still assist me in my pilgramige to the 4000.