Questions tagged [technology]
The development and application of techniques or tools to accomplish a desired result.
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English word for data files that have duration
Do we have any English word for data files that have duration?
More specifically I'm looking for a word to distinguish data files like sounds or videos (that have a duration) from data files like ...
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What are the origins of "tech" as an abbreviation for "technology?
I'm trying to trace the origins and rise in popularity of the abbreviation "tech" from "technology." From what I can tell, the term began taking off in popular culture around the ...
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Why does "the blockchain" have a definite article?
I have noticed that the technology word blockchain often seems to be used with the definite article the even in contexts where there is no specific blockchain being referenced, where with other nouns ...
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Correct and technical terminology for the process of converting a traditional procedure to a more modern and systematic one
The title is pretty self-explanitory,
what would be the correct and technical term to use for the process of "converting an old and traditional procedure of doing something (usually related to ...
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What Do You Call a Store that Sells Obsolete Equipment?
I think of the sort of place you could buy a power cord for a flip-phone ... and the word that comes to mind is 'radio shack'; not because of the company "Radio Shack"--which sells the same ...
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Collective term for nontechnical staff at a company?
I am looking for a term which would refer to all of the nontechnical staff at a technical company.
For example, if it is a software firm, the term would refer to, say, all HR, education, travel and ...
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What is the origin of "set" (noun) as used in "television set"? Tubes?
The colloquial (and mostly archaic) term "television set" invokes a narrow use of set (noun). Merriam-Webster defines this as:
(22) an apparatus of electronic components assembled so as to ...
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What would you call an organization to which a certificate is issued?
Let’s say I am writing some code that inspects the SSL Certificate issued to some website. There is the issuer which can be, for example, Verisign. What would you call the organization to which the ...
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when and where is first occurence of word "zap"?
when and where is first occurence of word "zap" ?
Online Etymology dictionnary mentions comic strip Buck Rogers but without any precise date or quotation
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Is there a word to describe the situation when a system that you created yourself surprises the author?
I just thought that there would be a bunch of errors logged in my system, because it seemed as if two files with the same path and filename were being saved at the same time, conflicting with each ...
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Is “horizontal slits” an acceptable description?
Sometimes on tv or while seeing an old video, there are slits on the screen, interrupting the video. It is like static. Is it okay to say “horizontal slits on screen” to describe this type of error? ...
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Is "compute" sometimes used as a noun, to mean "computational power"?
I have seen compute being used in this way before, as in "We have much more compute today than in the 1960s." Is this commonly accepted? If so, is stress placed on the second syllable as in the verb ...
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A word describing the fact that a technology has become commonplace [closed]
I'm looking for this word which is often associated with a technology going from specialist only, to being available for everyone. For instance, this word could be used to describe computers, the ...
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Was there ever a time where 'enclosure' was used as an alternative to 'attachments' of an e-mail?
In a recent interview, Bill Gates used the word 'enclosure' instead of 'attachment' while referring to e-mail attachments. Both of those words have been used interchangeably when referring to ...
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Do people still use the word "program" as a noun?
Liberal Arts kind of guy who wormed his way into Information Technology here.
Part of my job involves explaining technology to people who have little technical aptitude at all, so I look for ways to ...
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What is a term for "modern" technology that doesn't imply up-to-date?
I am working on a game where the player is one of very very few people who own spaceships capable of jumping between planetary systems. Different planets have vastly different technology, but roughly ...
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What is an overview page of a newspaper (online) called
I am actually working at a German newspaper as a programmer, so this question might sound embarrassing or silly to you. Still we have a dispute on how to name the "overview" pages on our website.
...
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How to pronounce August Dvorak's last name in English?
I've recently come across the existence of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard created by professor August Dvorak. And I've been looking for solid sources on how to pronounce the man's name and I can't ...
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How old is the word "upskirting"?
In the comments section of this question the subject derailed slightly: is the word upskirting dependent on today's technology or is it older?
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Is the term "carriage return" outdated in a (near) post-typewriter world?
When we say "Return key" or "Enter key", either are clear in meaning to those with even very light keyboarding experience. But "Return" is a diminutive of "Carriage Return". Fully saying/writing "...
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What does "years off" mean? [closed]
What does "years off" mean in a technological background? For example, I have encountered a sentence:
"Scientists had thought that the technology was years off."
I don't quite get what the ...
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Why do some people misspell "kernel" with an "a"?
Sometimes when working with servers, one may encounter a problem with the kernel. I have noticed many times when participating in support groups on IRC, that some people type "kernal" instead of "...
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Term for an image that briefly appears on computer screen
What do you call an image, usually fragmented, that appears on a computer screen for a split second, such as when a webpage is loading or an app is launching? I know the term exists, but can't ...
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Which verb to use with noun “action”?
In technical manual how would you write: “to run the default action press the button” or to launch the default action? Or to activate? Or something else?
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What does “boots” mean in this context about making technological improvement and making work easier?
I encountered this usage:
We can do massive training closer to the operator on a smartphone, using their own device, right now, we’re doing tests in plants, so people have boots and computers and ...
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Alternative words for "Decoding"
I'm trying to pitch something about my project. While training on this pitch I got comments telling me that the word "decode" is not appropriate and it's a "blunt" for such type of pitching and for ...
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What do you call a collection of coordinated servers?
A "network" is any collection of server machines that are physically connected and/or can see each other.
Now consider some subset of those servers that are configured to coordinate with each other. ...
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One word describing a money transfer to a digital wallet
I'm wondering how to describe in one word (a noun) the act of transferring money from a lottery operator to the digital wallet of a player who won a prize.
It's supposed to be the name of a wallet ...
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"Develop against" usage and meaning [duplicate]
I've recently come across a phrase
"Develop against the Sandbox and learn to use the different operators in your testing."
It's not clear why the preposition against is used in this case. Can it ...
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A word to describe somebody with smartphone-only tech skills
I'm stuck finding a word to use for somebody who thinks he has tech skills because he can use the latest trendy mobile apps, though in fact he knows nothing about technology (e.g. how an app is made: ...
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What noun applies to all things transformed by human hands
As opposed to naturally occurring or unintentionally produced by human activity. It would include commodities, products, merchandise, parts, materials, etc.
Specifically a thing that has any work ...
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meaning of fruit fly in a sentence
What is the meaning of the word fruit fly in the context of a business/technology conversation?
Example: This technology is a fruit fly which is good and bad!
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Word to describe an increase in technology and processes
I am trying to say the following:
"The Machine Stops" is E.M. Forster’s literary attempt to call to attention to an ever-growing technicalization of society.
Of course, that is not a word, but I ...
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Is it ok to say that the software version is "frozen"? Why? [closed]
I often hear phrases like code freeze, version freeze but I have never heard of frozen being used in this context.
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What is a term to collectively describe the state or condition of a piece of media's "being" as it pertains to being either physical or digital?
For instance, if I have a movie on DVD, that particular movie holds a physical form, in the form of the disc. That particular movie is subject to the same physical limitations as anything else. In ...
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What is the equivalent of a click in a touch screen with the finger?
In computing, "an act of pressing a button on a mouse or similar device is called" : click.
Does the action of pressing or touching the screen with the finger has a special name?
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A word similar to "fleet" that would apply to IoT technology?
If the navy deploys a fleet of vessels or a courier deploys a fleet of trucks, what would a hardware manufacturer deploy if each unit was part of a collective that connected to a cloud infrastructure? ...
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Equivalent for "Crowd" in the context of machines
As in M-W, the term crowd is defined as "a large number of persons especially when collected together". In this regard, concept of crowdsourcing has been introduced in the scientific and research ...
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What word that to describe Query+Response
In computer science, what would be the right word to describe an object that includes a query and the query's response?
Thank you
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Why does an alarm go "off" when it really goes on?
Why is an alarm said to go "off" when it really is being turned "on"?
J. Coolidge
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Why is "closed source" used, and does it parallel "open source"? [closed]
When the source code of software is freely available, we say it is "open source".
When the source code of software is not freely available, we say it is "closed source".
Why do we not use "close ...
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"Cinematic" for Video Games
What's a word meaning "of or relating to video games" in the same way that cinematic is to film? I want to describe a bit of music as having video game like qualities, something more general than ...
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Could a non-self-contained program be called as an "app"?
Can an add-on for a browser, a plugin for a text processing (like Word) or a content unit for a software (like an Anki deck) be called an app without misunderstanding?
The definition of an app is a ...
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What’s so floppy about floppy disks?
While reading through Etymology of the use of "Drive" to refer to a digital storage medium and its various mentions of floppy disks, it occurred to me that, while drive is in origin a ...
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Word that Means a Pool of PCs that Distribute their Processing Power Equally?
I want a word or phrase that means a group of PCs that distribute their processing power equally. For example, when one computer is in sleep and another is active, the active computer can be boosted ...
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Term for calling a non-programmer who has an effective, important role in a project [closed]
What is the official term (within a (software) project organization) for calling someone who is not a programmer however (s)he plans the nuts and bolts of the system, it goals, challenges and ...
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What's a good term for source code that could theoretically still run, but is purposefully not?
I'm a software engineer. There are many times when I write a good chunk, or even the entirety of, a feature, but opt not to make it actually run in the program for some reason or another. This code is ...
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What is the origin of mule in test mule?
A test mule is a prototype that is used for performance evaluation. It is a common term for preproduction cars, but is also widely used in non-automotive product development. Where did the term come ...
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"Cross-posting" - is this word able to be used literally nowadays?
"Cross-posting" is the act of asking a question of more than one site within a system.
As far as I know, it has always had a poor reputation, because doing so encourages answers that are not seen ...
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Is "demo" understood in all languages? [closed]
The word "demo" is widely used in the information technology field as "demonstration" in many languages.
Many applications are distributed in a "demo" form before users purchase them.
I would like to ...
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