'Most Confusing' Tech Terms Still Baffling Brits
Keeping up with the latest Web and tech trends can be particularly difficult, especially for casual surfers who get easily confused and frustrated by the constant inundation of new terms and devices. To help lower the language barrier, according to the BBC, the master statisticians at Gadget Helpline surveyed 5,000 U.K. residents, and compiled England's 10 most confusing tech-related terms.
We thought that a few of the list's terms, like 'Digital TV,' 'desktop,' and 'phone jack,' have already become entrenched in our discourse, so how could they be so confusing. Others, however, like 'dongle' (another word for those little USB sticks you put into your computer), might seem to have salacious second meanings, so we can understand the mixups. Being barraged with such strange words can be intimidating, so Peter Griffiths of the Plain English Campaign told the BBC, "We need to pull our heads out of the digital clouds and use plain English." To combat tech-illiteracy, his campaign and the Gadget Helpline suggest compiling a glossary of terms to help explain gizmo lingo.
No offense, guys, as this seems like a beneficial survey conducted with good intentions, but apparently news of Webopedia.com, an online tech dictionary, hasn't made it across the pond yet. Interestingly enough, none of the U.K.'s most confusing terms cracked Webopedia's Top 10, indicating a significant techno-babble barrier between the U.S. and the U.K. Maybe that's why our version of 'The Office' is so much funnier than theirs. [From: BBC]
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
