If you’re like me, sometimes in your attempt to stay up-to-date with technology and church trends you find yourself more confused and lost than enlightened. So we are hear to shed some light on your confusion and enlighten you on all things tech with our new series: Tech Language for Dummies. Now you can join the water cooler conversations, throw your IT guys for a loop, or actually converse with your children (if you have any). Some of these may seem elementary while others may seem like cuss words. All in all, you should leave here a little more informed and ready to tackle the world of technology.
The Web Version
Web 2.0 – Unlike software that use numbers (2.0, 7.3, etc) to name their newest software updates, Web 2.0 is a new trend in the way software developers and users use the web. The goal is to enhance creativity, connect users, share information, and collaborate with others. Some of the best examples of Web 2.0 sites are Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, Viewzi, Flickr, and beyond. Essentially, computer software and programs are no longer located on your computer, but on the web, allowing more user connectivity.
Twitter – One of the top examples of Web 2.0, Twitter is the leader in the new fad that is microblogging. Users use Twitter to answer the question ‘what are you doing between blog posts?’ Limited to only 140 characters, it’s basically a quick update on what you’re doing, similar to a Facebook status update. Users can write their own Tweets, follow other friend’s Tweets, send direct messages, and link to blogs, photos, and web pages. The best thing about it is you can update your Tweets by text message, email, or their website, making it especially easy to do on a phone. Unlike Facebook, where you see everything that everyone is doing, you only follow those you want to and vice versa.
Social Network – Social Networking in no longer related to making business deals. In relation to the web, social networks are online communities of people who desire to be connected to one another on multiple levels. The two best-known social networks in the U.S. are MySpace and Facebook. These web-based services allow users to share interests, activities, information, and contact each other on multiple platforms. You can learn what your friends from high school are doing, learn what their favorite movies are, see pictures from their trip to Italy, and write on their public wall about how you need to catch up. Plus there are also tons of third party applications you can put on your profiles to make it even more fun. In its most basic form, social networks allow you to connect to people you’d lost contact with or might never known existed.
RSS – RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a feed format used to publish frequently updated content such as blogs, news headlines, and even podcasts. Each feed contains either a summary of the content or the entire text, depending on who is publishing the feed. In order to subscribe and read RSS feeds you must use either a web-based or desktop-based RSS/feed reader. Google provides one called GoogleReader but I personally use a web-based one called Bloglines. Basically, RSS feeds are constantly bringing you updated information as soon as the webpage or blog is updated. It’s a great way to stay on top of news, blogs, or any kind of info.
3G – 3G refers to the third generation of cellular phone technology that allows for advanced services with greater speeds in their coverage area. Though, now being made famous with the new iPhone 3G, 3G has been in Japan since 2001 and has slowly made its way into the U.S. The advanced services allow for larger service areas, video calls, and broadband wireless data at amazingly fast speeds (like Wi-Fi for your phone). All of the major carriers in the U.S. now offer 3G networks, but they are limited still to the main cities and will cost you more per month.
Bandwidth – Bandwidth relates to data transfer rates on your internet network. The best way to visualize this, though not perfect, is a water hose. Bandwidth is how much water can pass through the hose over a certain period of time. The larger the hose, the more water that can flow through over that time. Bandwidth is not a reference to speed as much as a reference to the amount of information over a period of time. The more people you have on a network, the more your bandwidth gets divided, taking it longer to download something. If you have a fixed bandwidth of 4.5 Mbits (4.5 million bits per second) and two people are online, then each gets only 2.25Mbits (4.5÷2 = 2.25).
Beta – You can see this one all over the web as new websites emerge onto the ever-growing scene. A beta version refers to software or a website that has been released to a limited amount of users for public testing. Beta versions usually have all the features the final version will have, but there are also a handful of bugs. Companies release these in hopes of getting the bugs fixed while allowing users to help build the buzz of the final release. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
Open Source – If you like free things, then you should know what open source is. It is legal free sharing of found and created content, specifically software. Companies and creators offer their product’s source information to users and allow them to adapt, develop, and redistribute it back out, making it even better. The most famous example of open source is Mozilla’s Firefox web browser. You can also find free office tools (Open Office), Photoshop wannabes (Gimp), and Illustrator copies (Inkscape), plus tons more. The interface tends to be less polished and since it is continuously updated you can come across a handful of bugs. Luckily there’s almost always a fix on the way.
Daniel Darnell is an intern with COLLIDE. He is also a worship leader and has a passion for music and the arts. A graduate of Texas A&M, Daniel now lives in Dallas and wishes he had a chocolate lab.