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
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
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.
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