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understand the technology that surrounds you everyday - II

We are surrounded by so much technology everywhere that sometimes we wish we knew better. Without further ado, look at this nifty compilation created for the rest of us. This is the second among three lists that explains the real meaning behind everyday words from the world of technology. First, see the first list of technological terms.

E-mail: Universally accepted abbreviated version of electronic mail.
Emoticon: They are used to convey emotion in an ASCII world. For example, ☺ represents a ‘smiley’.
Encryption: The translation of data into a secret code. To read an encrypted file, you need a secret key or password.
Easter Egg: Hidden features placed by programmers in software applications and operating systems. Could display a secret message, play a sound or a small animation.
Firewall: One way of protecting a network against intrusion. Consists of mechanisms to block and to permit network traffic.
Flame: A downright inflammatory statement, usually in an electronic mail message.
FWIW: Chat lingo for For What It’s Worth.
FireWire: Apple’s name for a new, very fast external data standard that it had developed. It has been now vastly replaced by USB-C.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format): An image compression algorithm that facilitates the transfer of high quality images over a network.
Gigabytes: A billion bytes; this would be large enough to hold 1,250 copies of Moby Dick. 
GPS (Global Positioning System): A satellite navigation system that allows anyone using a simple handheld receiver to determine his place in time and space.
Hacker: Someone who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks. Gets most of the heat for the misdemeanors of malicious crackers.
Host: A computer that allows users to communicate with other host computers on a network. May or may not be hospitable.
Handshake: You want some data? I’ll transmit it to your machine. If it’s coming in too fast, tell me to wait so you can catch up. Modems need a handshake to get data transfer right.
Nanotechnology: The science of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules. Will clearly define the next step in computing.
Netiquette: Proper behavior on a network, universally applicable on the Internet.

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