I embrace new technology and get excited about the possibilities. But I am quickly becoming overwhelmed by the number of new terms that I need to understand and remember. The latest trend is even scarier because it doesn’t include any words. It is the use of acronyms or initials for almost all aspects of the electronic age. Of course, we are all used to using URL and dot com on the web or the network. Starting with WWW in a sentence is second nature. We can Google a name and check email easily. Many of us connect our USB to our CPU or Firewire to our HD or we connect MP3. Speaking of cables, we are now also using MIDI, DVI, HDMI, S-Video, RGB, HDTV and that’s just for audio and video. How can we get on with that?

Going back to the computer, the main search terms include SSL, SEO. Proxy, Active X, IP addresses, ODBC, EDI, DNS, RAID, BIOS, MPLS, latency, SSID, and PPC. Do you know what each one means or represents? Well it should and better, because no one will say “Uniform Resource Locator” for URLs or “Domain Name Server” for DNS anymore. We also launched JAVA, IM. AOL, Meta, Boot, iPod, iTunes, HTML, http, spiders, QWERTY, OS, PC, SCSI, MySql, Php, Simms, spam and “i” and “e” all, like “e-commerce”. And that’s only in the computer world.

Of course we also send faxes, text messages and clicks. Many nouns have become adjectives. We Google, PayPal to use a credit card online, We choose to participate or not, Blog or phishing or spam of anything or person. We pride ourselves on our RAM, bytes, megapixels, site visits, and anything cyber. But we invented new words like emoticons, avatars and flaming. Websites like MySpace and YouTube are now synonymous with online diaries and personal videos.

My old phone would be pathetic compared to what my new cell phone can do. For example, I can connect with Bluetooth and network with GPRS, wireless LAN, EDGE and WiFi to reach MSN, AIM, SMS and MMS systems that allow me to connect to IM, IE or Yahoo! Of course I use a SIM card for memory, I need a PIN to access, and I have a COMM manager. It also has a 1.3 mp camera. I set everything up from the CD that went into my DVD / CD-ROM drive on my iMac G4 1ghz 1.5gig ram computer running a 10.4.8 operating system. All of this on a phone that doesn’t even have a dial tone.

As I said for the first time, I enjoy the benefits of our technological world and have many of the newer devices. HD LCD televisions, DVD players, MP3 players, PDAs, faxes, CDs, caller ID and an MDA. But I find it harder to keep up with the tech jargon and newer terms. I used to think of a marker as that thin strip of paper used to save my place in a book I was reading. Spam was a ham-like brand of meat. The spiders were insects. Fishing was a hobby. All of that has changed forever. And even the initials get confusing. HD used to mean “hard drive”, before “high definition” came along. Is AAA a battery or a club car? Is the US the network, the newspaper or a country? Even the word THE now means a group called Technology Horizons in Education. As you can see, it never ends, accept this ARTICLE which stands for “A reaction to initials creating entropy of language” or in other words total chaos. LOL.