Tech Terms

I got to scoping out some of the new words flying about in the tech industry. Here’s just a sampling of the terms. Some have a direct influence on us, others indirect, and then, others, just entertaining. Here we go:

Big data – Nothing really new, just another term for the absolutely unbelievable amounts of data They (yes, the big They) gather on us regularly. That’s everything from Facebook and other forms of social media to electronic medical records to RFID (radio frequency ID) chips. Some uses are beneficial (decoding the human genome), other uses, well…

Cloud – The cloud refers to where our data goes when we choose not to save or back it up on our PC’s i-somethings, or laptops. If we have dealings with Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Amazon, and let them store anything from our photos to backups to passwords, they save it in monster storage units “somewhere out there” where you can access it anytime, anywhere. All it means is it’s not stored on your machine, it’s somewhere else.
Who knows where it really is.

HD – High definition. As in HDTV, for high-definition television. A higher quality image than older sets. And, I believe they’re coming out with UHDTV (ultra-high-definition television) down the road. Wonder if we’ll still be able to use our current “new” TV’s?

3D printing – Where no one has gone before. A device that makes an actual solid object from a digital image. So far it can make parts in factories and other simple forms. Down the road, who knows? Clones, anyone?

Nomophobia – The fear of not having or not being able to use your i-thingies, whether it’s a cell phone, iPhone, or whatever. Yes, it’s a real term.

These are just a few I’ve noticed. There are plenty more, especially as we become more interconnected. Oops, gotta go. Time for my nomophobic therapy session online…

'til next time... Adios.