Technobabble Explained
What Is Technobabble?
Technobabble dates back to the early 1980s and refers to the jargon used within the IT (whoops I mean Information Technology) industry and other high-technology industries.
Webster's dictionary defines technobabble as:
“technical jargon incomprehensible to non-specialists; - sometimes used derogatorily of discussions using unnecessarily technical terminology and intended to impress or confuse, rather than inform, the listener. “
Simply put, technobabble – also known as technospeak or geekspeak – is a verbal shorthand for technologists to communicate complicated ideas quickly. This is all well and good for anyone who is well established within the industry, however, anyone trying to understand a torrent of acronyms, synonyms and bizarre conjoined words and phrases is going to feel very lost and confused.
The situation is not helped by the fact that some people in the industry deliberately use technobabble to confuse and misdirect people in an effort to either appear more knowledgeable than they really are or just to avoid admitting that they don't have the answers required.
To counter this we have put together a dictionary of technobabble terminology. Since technology is always advancing and new terminology is always being created, this dictionary will be an ongoing project. We hope you find it useful and it helps you feel more comfortable around technology and the people that inhabit the strange land of Information Technology.
Select a letter or enter a search term to see entries.
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1D
One dimensional, meaning to have a single dimension only (such as length). In software development a one dimensional array is an array that has a single dimension.
1GL
First generation computer language, namely machine code
10Base-2
The 10Base-2 standard (also called Thinnet) uses 50 ohm coaxial cable (RG-58 A/U) with maximum lengths of 185 meters. This cable is thinner and more flexible than that used for the 10Base-5 standard. The RG-58 A/U cable is both less expensive and easier to place. Cables in the 10Base-2 system connect with BNC connectors. The Network Interface Card (NIC) at each computer requires a T-connector allowing two cables to be attached to adjacent computers. Any unused connection must have a 50 ohm terminator. The 10Base-2 system operates at 10Mbps and uses baseband transmission methods. The terminator at one end should be grounded.
10Base-5
Thick coaxial Ethernet cable (Ethernet over Thick-net coax).
10Base-T
Unshielded twisted pair network cable.
10GbE
10 Gigabit Ethernet. 10 Gigabit Ethernet was ratified on 12th June 2002 as a supplement to the 802.3 standard the defines Ethernet.
2D
Two dimensional. Having two dimensions. Often taken as height and width (or x and y) but names and meanings of the two dimensions may depend on the application or context. In software development a two dimensional array is an array that has two dimensions.
2GL
Second generation computer language, namely assembler. Assembler allows mnemonic programming, which represents each machine code instruction with an easier to remember mnemonic.
2K3
Abbreviation for 2003. Normally used to indicate a version of a Microsoft product. So depending on the context 2K3 may mean Windows 2003 (server) or Exchange 2003.
3D
Three dimensional. Having three dimensions. Normally taken as height, width and depth, but the actual names and meanings of the three dimensions may depend on the application or context. In software development a three dimensional array is an array that has three dimensions.
3D6
Three six sided dice. The abbreviation 3D6 is used in some games to indicate the use of three standard six sided dice.
3DES
Triple DES. Enhancement to DES encryption where the data is encrypted through three parses through the DES algorithm. It uses a 168bit key.
3G
Third generation mobile phone/network.
3GL
Third generation computer language. Also known as a "high-level" language. 3GL includes C, C++, Java, Basic, Fortran, Pascal and others. A third generation language compiles a program written in the language into machine code (or sometimes assembler or less frequently into an interpreted language).
404
from the HTTP error “file not found on server”
4D
Four dimensional. Having four dimensions. Four dimensional is often taken as height, width, depth and time, but the actual names and meanings of the four dimensions depend on the application or context. In software development a four dimensional array is an array that has four dimensions.
4GL
Fourth generation computer language. A software language intended to be much closer to natural language than 3GLs. Some regard 4GLs as little more than marketing hype for code generation tools.
5GL
Fifth generation computer language. Generally considered to be any visual programming environment where drag-and-drop techniques can be used to build up a GUI application. Normally based on a 3GL or 4GL language. 5GL therefore includes Delphi, Visual Basic etc.
802.11a
802.11a is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over a wireless network. It uses a 5 GHz band and allows data to be transferred up tp 54 Mbps. Other standards within the 802.11 family include 802.11b, which transfers data up to 11 Mbps and uses a 2.4 GHz band, and 802.11g, which also uses a 2.4 GHz band, but can transfer data up to 54 Mbps.
802.11b
802.11b is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over a wireless network. It operates on a 2.4 GHz band and allows for wireless data transfers up to 11 Mbps. A faster standard, called 802.11g, was introduced a few years after 802.11b and supports data transfer rates up to 54 Mbps. This can make a difference in the speed of data transfers within a local network, but since broadband Internet access is limited to around 5 Mbps, a 802.11b wireless connection will not be a bottleneck for Internet access. Most wireless networks are based on either 802.11b or 802.11g.
802.11g
802.11g is a Wi-Fi standard developed by the IEEE for transmitting data over a wireless network. It operates on a 2.4 GHz bandwidth and supports data transfer rates up to 54 Mbps. 802.11g is backward compatible with 802.11b hardware, but if there are any 802.11b-based computers on the network, the entire network will have to run at 11 Mbps (the max speed that 802.11b supports). However, you can configure your 802.11g wireless router to only accept 802.11g devices, which will ensure your network runs at its top speed.
802.11n
802.11n is a wireless (Wi-Fi) standard that was introduced in 2007. It supports a longer range and higher wireless transfer rates than the previous standard, 802.11g. 802.11n devices support MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) data transfers, which can transmit multiple streams of data at once. This technology effectively doubles the range of a wireless device. Therefore, a wireless router that uses 802.11n may have twice the radius of coverage as an 802.11g router. This means a single 802.11n router may cover an entire household, whereas an 802.11g router might require additional routers to bridge the signal. The previous 802.11g standard supported transfer rates of up to 54 Mbps. Devices that use 802.11n can transfer data over 100 Mbps. With an optimized configuration, the 802.11n standard can theoretically support transfer rates of up to 500 Mbps. That is five times faster than a standard 100Base-T wired Ethernet network. So if your residence is not wired with an Ethernet network, it's not a big deal. Wireless technology can finally keep pace with the wired network. Of course, with the faster speeds and larger range that 802.11n provides, it is more important than ever to password protect your wireless network.
