10 most confusing tech jargons

The Times of India
Those tech jargons confuse you often? You are not alone. A recent survey reveals that aimed at breaking the walls of `techno babble' shows that many technology words perplex users leaving them scratching their heads.

The survey, conducted by Gadget Helpline, reveals top 10 most confusing technological terms.

Dongle

One of the commonly used word which often confuses many users is Dongle. A Dongle is like a small USB drive that connects to a computer to run a software in a secured manner. It is used as a high-end form of security to prevent the unauthorised copying of software.

Today's dongle technology makes use of a computer's USB port, plugging in just like a portable flash drive. The software then sends an encrypted request to the dongle for a validation key, which is also encrypted. This means that in order to crack the dongle, one must first crack the encryption. Doogle was used in 1980 for the first time on Wordcraft programme.

Cookie

Cookie is another term which baffles people. Cookies are defined as small pieces of text stored on a computer's web browser. They basically store user's settings, shopping cart contents, or other data used by the websites.

In simple terms, it is a message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

WAP

Another common and confusing term is WAP. An abbreviation for Wireless Application Protocol, WAP allows users to access information via handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators. In simple terms, its main use is to enable access to the Internet (HTTP) from a mobile phone or PDA.

WAP supports most wireless networks including CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, and Mobite. It also supports all major OSes.

Phone jack

A telephone plug or phone jack is a connector used to connect a telephone to the telephone wiring in a home or business, and then in turn to a local telephone network.

The plug is inserted into a telephone jack fixed to a wall or baseboard. The standard for telephone plugs varies from country to country. However, RJ11 modular connector is the most common type used in most countries.

(Nokia) Navi Key

The Navi Key is a concept which significantly reduces the number of keys on the phone's keypad. Nokia was the first company to launch a handset featuring a Navi Key in the year 1997.

The user interface of the phone is designed to follow the intuitive logic of the user. The phones equipped with the Navi Key can perform most of the function by just pressing the Navi Key.

Time shifting

Another most confusing tech jargon is Time shifting. It is a process of recording and storing data for later viewing, listening, or reading. In television, time shifting can be done with a device called a personal video recorder (PVR) or a computer with a TV tuner card.

But now with the advent of the digital video recorder (DVR) the process has become much easier by using a electronic programme guide and recording shows onto a hard disk.

Ethernet

Ethernet is the local area network (LAN) technology. The technology was originally developed by Xerox for the Palo Alto Research Center Aloha network and later developed further by Xerox, DEC and Intel.

The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol. Ethernet is also used in wireless LANs.

PC Suite

Another jargon that often stumps people is PC Suite. Wikipedia defines PC Suite as a software package used to establish an interface between Nokia mobile devices and computers that run Microsoft Windows operating system.

It can be used to transfer music, photos and applications. It can also be used to send Short Message Service (SMS) messages or act as a modem to connect the computer to the Internet. Nokia PC Suite is a proprietary software item and is required to access certain aspects of Nokia handsets.