Public Confused by Tech Lingo

the_helper_monkey writes "The BBC has an article about how tech jargon confuses the public. It's based on a survey done by AMD asking the definitions of words such as megahertz, MP3, and Bluetooth. " I was recently reminded of how big a deal this is while trying to help my tech novice brother select a computer. If you don't know what a gigabyte is, it's hard to know how large of a hard drive you need.

Here.

[Randolpho]

Just tell them to go here: <a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/">The Jargon File</a>.

Reposted with clickable link

[Anonymous Coward]

Just tell them to go here: The Jargon File [catb.org].

At least it MEANS something ..

[peatbakke]

Bluetooth, MP3, RAM, cache, FIFO .. they mean very specific things, and are well suited for having their own names.

Now, if you want a thrill ride of superfluous jargon, take a gander at the business "self help" section of your local book store.

Or google for something called "Six Sigma."

Business jargoneers have a nasty tendency to rename common ideas, wrap them in market speak to create buzzwords, and resell them to the helpless souls who seem to collect in middle managment.

Re:tech jargon quiz link

[Anonymous Coward]

The link to the quiz is:

http://www2.amd.com/us-en/gcab/lt/exam/1,,,00.ht ml

Re:Tech Geeks don't understand Mgmt Jargon

[Anonymous Coward]

TPS.

Survey says...

[n1nj4k3n]

The survey can be found here [amd.com]

Question 1: Which of the following is a definition of Megahertz?
a. A data transfer technology that uses fiber optic cable to carry information
b. A unit of measurement equal to 1 million electrical cycles per second, commonly used to compare the clock speeds of microprocessors
c. A computer's random access memory equal to 1 million bytes

Question 2: Which of the following is a definition of Short Messaging Service (SMS)?
a. A messaging service that points out when an e-mail message was not delivered
b. The ability to send and receive text messages (words and or numbers) to and from cellular telephones
c. Service where the computer is installed, instead of having to bring the computer into a shop or ship the computer back to the manufacturer for repairs

Question 3: Which of the following is a definition of WAP?
a. A global standard for developing applications over wireless communication networks
b. A company that provides wireless telecommunications services
c. Transmission of voice or other sound by means of electrical signals sent over wires or radio waves

Question 4: Which of the following is a definition of megapixel?
a. A crime committed using a computer or data stored on a computer
b. A presentation graphics program that enables you to produce attractive presentations
c. A term used in reference to the resolution of a graphics device such as a scanner, digital camera or monitor

Question 5: What is a Digital Video Recorder or DVR?
a. The same as a VCR/Video Cassette Recorder
b. A box that records and plays television programs
c. A box that makes DVDs

Question 6: What is an MP3?
a. An audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 specifications
b. A kind of magnetic tape originally designed for audio format now also used in computers to back up data
c. A box that allows you to watch television programs without commercials

Question 7: What is a DPI?
a. A measure of the resolution of printers, scanners and monitors
b. A video production made with a desktop computer and home video equipment
c. A file that has been corrupted by a virus, or computer failure

Question 8: What does it mean to download?
a. To connect a computer to the Internet
b. To save a file on your computer from a remote computer
c. To send a computer file to someone else

Question 9: What is Dot Pitch?
a. A special type of television
b. A method for determining how sharp a displayed image can be
c. A company that provides individuals and companies access to the Internet

Question 10: What is a Web browser?
a. A person who likes to look at the Internet
b. A software program that allows you to view sites on the World Wide Web
c. A computer that stores World Wide Web files

Question 11: What is Bluetooth?
a. A product that can save many photographs in a small space
b. A way to connect products to each other without using wires
c. A program that searches the Internet for the lowest price available

Question 12: How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Choices are "Strongly Agree", "Neutral", and "Strongly Disagree")
a. Technology words are made up just to sound interesting
b. Consumer electronics are more complicated than they need to be
c. Most product instruction manuals are not helpful
d. I wish to have things work and not spend time setting them up
e. I will try out a new technology even before I am sure I will really need it

Question 13: Have you used any of these products in the last three months? (Choose Yes or No)
a. Television
b. Digital Camera
c. Microwave Oven
d. Cell Phone
e. Videogame System
f. Internet Service
g. Home Computer
h. Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
i. DVD Player
j. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Names are reflective of the namers

[dmccarty]

By the way, here's the original quiz [amd.com] given to the 1,500 survey set. The terms from the quiz are below.

I think that the problem is an interesting reflection on the state of technology, and "technologists" themselves. For example, the test includes Megahertz, megapixel, download, web browser and Bluetooth--all good examples (IMO) of naming. "Bluetooth" may be debatable, but it's a distinct name for a distinct technology, and people who use technology should be aware of its capabilities. "Web browser" is another good name; unfortunately, Hollywood's and tech-illiterate journalists' insistence on "surfing the 'net" means that a good name is unknown by the public.

On the dark side of the naming spectrum, the tech industry has given us some gems such as SMS, DVR, MP3 and dot pitch (all from the quiz). SMS and DVR are good examples of trying to pick a generic name that didn't step on any copyright holders' toes, but didn't adequately describe the product either. But perhaps the public is too picky. They learned about VHS, so why can't they learn about DVR.

Dot pitch [reference.com] is a terrible misnomer but its roots are firmly entrenched in the display industry. Perhaps a better term would be "pixel density" or "image clarity," but then it's hard to associate a name like that with a value that gets better as it gets lower.

MP3 is understandable: no one is going to get a friendly, trademarkable name from a group of geeks writing cutting-edge software. But the trademark issue itself it one of the culprits. How many nice names could we have for computer components if the most descriptive words weren't already trademarked?

And finally, it's easy to point out to Houston that we have a problem. It's harder to realize what the problem's origins were and to appreciate the evolution of the computer industry in just fifty years. And it's most difficult to propose a workable solution and carry it through.

Re:I don't buy it

[red floyd]

I wouldn't place all the blame on Microsoft, they're only responsible for a single jargon word..."Operating System"

Really? Then how come I have a textbook called "An Introduction to Operating Systems" (emphasis mine), with a copyright of 1977, way before MS sold any operating system?

Re:Be Judicious

[dasmegabyte]

It's embarrassing that I understood that enough to offer a correction. I think you meant "Bombast" and not "Bombard." Bombast is pretentious rhetoric. Bombard, as a noun, is a 14th century cannon.

Again it's proven that using complex words incorrectly is more embarrassing than using simple ones correctly. "Better to be silent and thought a fool," etc.

Re:Be Judicious

[dmccarty]

Let's give credit where credit is due, folks. Take the time to find out who wrote the quote you're posting, or people might think that you're trying to pretend like it's your own.

So to paraphrase from Mark Twain's speech [vcsun.org]: in other words, eschew obfuscation!

Re:Jargon and the like ...

[JesterXXV]

now, why is just thinking of it as "how fast your computer runs" so bad?

Because that's a half-truth. So many other aspects of the computer impact the speed of finishing tasks. RAM, Front-side bus speed, video card specs, motherboard chipset, and a thousand other things all correlate with "how fast your computer runs."

There is no way I could describe clock speed as "how fast your computer runs" without some sort of "but ..." following it, because it's just one among many variables which determine the quality of the machine.

Martin Luther Sixpack

[Embedded Geek]

(Probably redundant now that this comment has attracted so much flame, but...)

Now that English is used for Mass...

It would just figure. Some guy starts a flamewar by comparing MCSE with Vatican II and everyone misses the most important point - Martin Luther [msu.edu] beat Vatican II to Mass in the vernacular [hanover.edu] by about 400 years.

Sorry to nit, but I didn't spend five years as a Lutheran kid at a Catholic school [tec.ca.us] just to let that one pass.

Re:Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

"I never thought about it, but we must sound really funny to non-technically inclined people. "

Absolutely. I remember taking a non-geek friend into a computer store to help him buy a computer. He was buying the computer in parts, and I was going to build it for him. We sat down with the salesman to pick out the parts to buy, and I immediately started with the motherboard, since I knew the exact motherboard I wanted to put into the system. I said to the salesguy, "do you still have those ECS K7S5As?" My non-geek friend just looked at me, stunned. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. It sounded ridiculous even to me. I thought, "I must sound like I'm speaking a whole other language".

Of course, the conversation got more down-to-earth after that. More like, "so, what do you want for the harddrive?" "Um, I dunno. Big and cheap."

Re:I don't buy it

[(trb001)]

Please timewarp to 1977 and ask any lay person what an operating system is. Now fast forward back to today and ask the same question. I guarantee a different response, and it will probably include Windows (as opposed to the 1977 response of "Huh?"). Microsoft brought the operating system to the public, we now see commercials every hour about WinXP. Because of the DOJ prosecution, we heard a LOT about MS's OS.

Yes, OS's have existed for a very, very long time, but MS brought the OS (well, really, the GUI to the OS) into the public's view. And while I don't think I need to mention it, your example is a textbook...exactly what this thread is about. People who study in their fields *should* know the jargon, but the layperson shouldn't.

--trb

Re:oops! stupid author.

[Little Brother]

Ok technicly hertz is cycles per second. Megahertz is 1,000,000cycles/second however, this is roughly equivalant to cycles /(second/1,000,000). The article is correct, although not as precice as it could be.