A UK for-profit firm called The Gadget Helpline surveyed 5,000 people to ferret out the industry’s most confusing tech jargon. Luckily, they found most of the top 10 confusing terms are antiquated or proprietary:
• Dongle
• Cookie
• WAP
• (Nokia) Navi Key
• Ethernet
• (Nokia/Others) PC Suite
• Desktop
It’s an odd list. Even though the UK loves its Nokias, the inclusion of two proprietary Nokia terms seems innately disproportionate. “Time shifting” was an awkward term to begin with that’s specific but antiquated now that “DVR” has taken over. And as for “phone jack” and “desktop,” yes, it’s disconcerting that laymen don’t understand this “jargon,” but I can’t remember the last time that I used either of these technologies.
So that pretty much leaves “cookie,” “dongle,” “ethernet,” “digital TV” and “WAP” as the terms people need to learn. Please call your grandmothers and inform them as to the proper definitions immediately. [BBC and image]
