Tech Talk Tuesday: Don’t Know Much About IT?

Over the past decade, the changes in IT departments and general technology has gone from “swift” to “an appreciable fraction of C” when it comes to the average non-IT user. These continual changes and the odd-sounding names that frequently come with them (JellyBean, Penguin, Ice Cream, Leopard, and BlackBerries, oh my!) can overwhelm and confuse even the biggest gadget geek. If you’re finding yourself very lost when it comes to the lightning-speed changes in information technology and the way it impacts your life at work and at home, read on and let us part the sea of confusion for you!

Computers

We’ll start with the most common bit of IT tech you’ll encounter — the computer. By now, everyone knows what a computer is and most of us have several of them. The most common computer is the desktop followed by the laptop. However, one gadget is looking to replace both the desktop and laptop as the tech center of choice and that is the tablet. Whether it’s a Microsoft Surface, an Apple iPad, or a Samsung Nexus, tablet computers are lightweight, portable, and versatile. They still lack the storage capacity of the average desktop or laptop as well as the processor and graphical power and depth that a larger computer with a stronger cooling system can crank out.For most computers, the most common OS is Microsoft Windows with Apple’s MacOS running a distant second. If you encounter a computer running Linux, chances are you have a friend who loves tech or you’ve stumbled onto someone’s server.

Smartphones

These days everyone has a smartphone. There are two dominant “types” of smartphone — the Apple iPhone and the AndroidOS phone which can run on many different kinds of hardware. Amazon is trying to break in with a Kindle phone and Microsoft has their own smartphone and OS but neither of those has gained a large share of the market. Smartphones can run many different apps and are quickly replacing all of the miscellaneous gadgets that we carry around — MP3 players, handheld video players, calculators, PDAs, address books, and the ubiquitous “little black book” that is a staple of 1990s television shows.

AndroidOS, put out by Google, comes in many different flavors. Each release is given a codename such as JellyBean or Ice Cream. Google loves their quirky codenames so if you’ve been wondering what those were, now you know!

Search Engines

The next most common bit of online tech people use is search engines. At the moment, the three biggest players in that field are Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Search engines allow you to type in a few keywords or even a question and will return the most relevant results quickly. They use various algorithms to determine relevancy and the changes to these algorithm — often executed when marketers try to cheat the system or the system becomes clogged with irrelevant information — have fun codenames such as Penguin and Panda. Search engines also now serve ads based on keyword searches to generate revenue and to help discourage cheating.

Social Networking

The final bit of online tech that the average person uses is the social network. Facebook is the most popular but Google and their Google Plus service is an alternative that many find more palatable. Twitter is heavily used by the younger crowd but some find the 140 character limit too difficult to handle. Its faster pace also deters many users. Pinterest is another heavily trafficked site where users can share and post images while Instagram is more popular with mobile photographers. Tumblr is a fast-growing blogging and networking platform that many people find useful when they’re looking for a way to share their thoughts, stories, or information with the world. LinkedIn is the last major social networking site and is used by professionals and job seekers — it’s less of a “social” site and more of a “networking” site than the others.

The IT world and the revolutions that run through it with such regularity can be confusing to the average non-techie. However, with a little time, parsing it is simple enough and learning more is always a good thing! Be sure to stick around for future installments to learn more about the world of IT and all the fun it can bring.