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This is just a quick overview of some terminology that you’ll need to understand.

Technology …

Since this website is all about technology, it follows that I explain clearly what I mean by this word. Taking a definition found online, we find technology defined as:

Machinery and equipment that has been developed using scientific knowledge or processes.

That’s a fine definition, but also quite broad. Let’s refine it. To be more specific, here at SUBUDUE YOUR TECH, technology means:

Computer-controlled equipment that facilitates one’s private life.

I added another term which may need defining: computer. Keep reading.

Computers …

At the heart of all modern technology is the computer.

What is a computer? A quick web search yields results centring on some useful keywords:

An electronic device that can store large amounts of information and be given sets of instructions to organize and change it very quickly.

An electronic device that processes data according to instructions that are provided by computer programs.

A programmable device that stores, retrieves, and processes data

Etc.

Unless you enjoy being difficult, it can be considered technically accurate to view as a computer anything that runs on electricity and stores and processes data according to some preconfigured instructions.

So I ask again, what is a computer? More specifically, what is an example of a computer? Your phone? Your TV? Your car? Your headphones? Your washing machine? Your child’s toy computer? Your Wi-Fi router? Your nearest cell tower? Your house arrest tag smart watch? Your wiretap smart speaker?

The answer to all the above is “yes”. All this to say: computers are everywhere and in everything.

Who do these computers work for? Certainly not you. Unless you (unintentional rhyme incoming) SUBDUE.

Computer Networks …

Our world as we know it is cannot exist without computer networks. If you do not know what a network is, a quick web search is again helpful:

A large system consisting of many similar parts that are connected together to allow movement or communication between or along the parts

a number of computers that are connected together so that they can share information

an interconnected or interrelated chain, group, or system

Etc.

No further explanation is required. We have already established the fact that computers are everywhere and in everything. The next fact to establish is that all these computers are constantly communicating with each other.

We should take a moment to address the most famous network of all: the internet. Put simple, the internet is just a type of computer network where a particular protocol (i.e. rule set) for communications has been established.

I like asking questions - here are some more. Consider the computers in your house. Who do they communicate with and why? What are they saying? Who are the people watching all this chatter? What do they want?

You probably cannot answer these questions very well. You may even proudly state that you couldn’t care less. Regrettable.

Hardware / Software …

Two final important terms must be defined: hardware and software.

A simple definition of hardware:

The physical components in any piece of technology

A simple definition of software:

Written instructions which control the functioning of the hardware

If anything is unclear, it is probably best explained through examples. In your phone, examples of hardware include:

• The camera
• The screen
• The microphone

These physical components, along with many others, are assembled together to produce your phone. But hardware alone is not enough. Without software, your phone is dead.

• How does the phone know to switch the screen on when you receive a call?
• How does it know to take a photo when you press the circle on your screen?
• How is that circle even generated on your screen in the first place?

This is the domain of software. Instructions, written in advance by humans (for now), that tell the hardware what to do.

“When the phone turns on, display all the apps on screen”
“When the user selects the Camera app, switch on the camera and display it on screen”

Etc.

You may have realised that the instructions contained in software are not declared to you while you use your phone. That is to say, you have no idea what your tech is actually doing. A completely feasible instruction embedded in your phone could be:

“When the user presses ‘Power Off’¹, make the phone appear off but actually keep the microphone on and keep the phone connected to the internet”.

Anyway, more on that later. Sorry, I’m ranting already.

You passed!

Well done on completing Tech 101. Now I can begin my ranting in earnest.

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