Every day we come across new acronyms and names for electronic devices and the technologies they use. The number of names can be overwhelming and in many cases we do not know what this new system called NFC is about or what is that https that appears on our computer. Here is a review of some of the most common acronyms and technologies that we can find today. We tell you what they are and what they are for.
USB 3.0
USB is the acronym for Universal Serial Bus , a type of standard connection for computers and electronic devices that appeared in the mid-nineties with the intention of standardizing the connection of peripherals. To understand us, USB is the cable with which we connect printers, mice, keyboards and other devices such as smartphones or tablets today. It is a system that serves to transfer information and also energy. In the case of USB 3.0 we are talking about the third versionimportant of the system, which has notably improved the transfer rate, reaching 5 Gigabits per second, which is ten times more than USB 2.0, the previous version. The new system also consumes less power and is compatible with USB 2.0. The user will notice that the file transfer is much faster. Currently most computers integrate one or more USB 3.0 ports, but for now it continues to coexist with the 2.0 system.
Bluetooth
Before Bluetooth existed , the simple task of sending a photo from one phone to another was quite complicated, just like listening to music on a wireless speaker, using a wireless mouse, or even the car speakerphone . This system put an end to these problems by allowing data to be transferred wirelessly between one device and another. The Bluetooth is a standard wireless transmission that was created in the mid-nineties to facilitate communication between various gadgets, intending to end the use of cables. The Bluetooth is used to transfer data and voice,and it works by radio frequency, so it is not necessary for the two teams to be touching, they just need to be within range. It is a low consumption system specially designed for devices such as keyboards, mice, printers, computers and of course smartphones and tablets. This technology has evolved over the years, allowing faster transfers and increasing its reach.
GPS
Thanks to GPS it is already much easier to find an address, although there are those who still keep getting lost. This system is the abbreviation of Global Positioning System , which translated means " Global Positioning System " . What the GPS does is determine the position in which we are through a satellite. The GPS sends a signal to a network of several satellites that are orbiting the earth in order to cover its entire surface. The system locates by triangulation, that is, up to three satellites are used to be able to know where we are. The measurement is quite accurate, but there can always be a few meters of difference. The GPS was first used in car navigators, but today we found on any smartphone or tablet . Thanks to this technology we can find directions through programs such as Google Maps, which calculate the route to follow from the point where we are to the destination.
GPRS / EDGE / 2G - HSPA / 3G - LTE / 4G
Surely you have ever come across one of these acronyms when looking at the characteristics of a mobile phone. These strange acronyms refer to the mobile connections that a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet can integrate. These connections are what allow us to upload a photo to Facebook, send an email or watch a YouTube video from our mobile. The main difference between them is speed . In the case of the GPRS network , which is also known as EDGE or 2G , the maximum speed at which we can navigate is 236 Kbps,very slow compared to the other two. It is quite common for an E (EDGE) to appear next to the signal indicator of our mobile, that is because there is no coverage of the other two types of connections. In this case the network is used for calls, sending SMS messages or instant messages.
In the case of HSPA or 3G networks we are already talking about a higher speed, which in theory can reach 42 Mbps , although in most cases it will remain at 21 Mbps. This system is present in any smartphone and until recently it was the the fastest mobile connection standard in our country. With this connection we can already navigate fluently, since in the case of 2G networks the use is much more limited. In many mobiles an H appears when we are connected to this type of network. In addition to smartphones, 3G is also present in other devices such as tablets or wireless modems.
Finally, we have the LTE or 4G standard , which is the latest generation of mobile networks that has been implemented in our country recently. With this system, download peaks of 150 Mbps can be reached , much more than what we can achieve with 3G networks. At the moment this system is working in the main Spanish operators, but coverage has been deployed in the most important cities, so if you live a bit far away you may not have coverage. Currently all high-end mobiles and most mid-range phones already come out with this type of connection.
NFC
A very tactful system. This is NFC , short for Near Field Communication , which means "near field communication." This system is similar to Bluetooth, since it also serves to transfer data from one computer to another, but it has a much shorter range. For the NFC to work, the two devices must be touched briefly or the transfer will not be possible. Its use ranges from making payments with the mobile in adapted stores to transferring photos or data from one mobile to another. But its applications are much broader. For example, there are cities that allow access to public transport throughNFC can also be used as access to events , as a hotel room key and also to transfer files from one computer to another. The NFC is not only in mobile phones, also can be found on ID cards, game consoles and smart tags that can scan with your mobile to load a preconfigured profile or access a website.
MiniUSB and MicroUSB
We have already told you that the USB system was invented in the mid-nineties to connect gadgets. At that time, the equipment that used this system were computers and other peripherals such as printers or scanners, all of them large devices. However, with the passage of time it began to adapt to smaller equipment such as cameras or PDAs, and the USB plug is too big for them. The MiniUSB is the same connector but reduced so that it can go in portable devices that are smaller in size.It measures about seven millimeters wide and about three millimeters high. MiniUSB cables usually have such a plug on one end and a regular USB plug on the other for connecting to a computer.
The miniUSB is much smaller than normal USB, but it also got big when new mobile devices like smartphones and tablets started to appear. The MicroUSB was born in 2007 and is currently the connector that we find in all Android smartphones and other platforms such as Windows Phone . It is also in cameras, tablets and other equipment. It is flatter and its construction has been improved to last longer, up to a total of 10,000 connection and disconnection cycles.
WiFi or WLAN
Before the advent of WiFi, we could only connect to the Internet using an Ethernet cable, which meant that the computer had to be relatively close to the modem. With the WiFi system it is possible to access the Internet without using cables , so we have much more freedom of movement, as long as we are within the range of the signal.
The WiFi connection can be found on computers, smartphones, tablets, cameras, printers and other devices. When we talk about WLAN we are referring to exactly the same concept, only with another name. WLAN stands for "Wireless Local Area Network" which stands for "Wireless Local Area Network ". In addition to accessing the Internet, WiFi also allows information to be transferred between two computers that are connected to the same network.
Ethernet or LAN
If by WiFi we mean a wireless network that gives access to the Internet, Ethernet is the same but using cable. It is a cable very similar to that of the telephone plug, but with a larger connector. When we install Internet at home, this type of cable is usually used, unless it is fiber optic Internet. All desktop computers and most laptops have this jack. The acronym LAN refers to “Local Area Network”, which is the same as “ Local Area Network ”.
Mac
In 1984 Apple launched a new model of computer aimed at homes, unlike the previous "Lisa" model that was focused on companies. They baptized it with the name Macintosh , Mac is nothing more than the abbreviation that emerged years later. Within the range of Mac computers there are several models. The MacBook are portable, and include families MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. On the other hand, there is the Mac Pro , which is a very powerful desktop, and also the iMac , also desktop but more compact. The company also has a model called Mac Mini,another very compact desktop that takes up more or less the same space as an external hard drive. All Mac computers run on Apple's operating system, which happens to be called the Mac OS.
iOS
If Mac OS is the operating system for Apple computers, iOS is the name of the operating system for its range of mobile devices . The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch run on the iOS platform , an icon system that revolutionized mobile systems when it was launched in 2007 with the first iPhone. Apple mobiles and tablets can only work with this operating system, which also has its own applications.
Android
Perhaps it sounds more familiar to you because of the logo of a small green robot, but Android is the name of Google's operating system for mobiles and tablets . This platform was born in 2008 and is currently in the vast majority of devices around the world. Android can be found on mobiles, tablets and now also on smart watches.
Android has had many versions since its launch, and all of them are called with a number and a name or nickname, which curiously always has the name of a candy and goes in alphabetical order. The first version of Android was 1.0 Apple Pie, followed by 1.1 Banana Bread and many others. The last installment with a sugary name was Android 4.4 KitKat, but from that moment Google changed its strategy with the next version, which was simply called Android L.
mAh
Surely you have come across this acronym when looking at the specifications of a phone, laptop or any device that integrates an autonomous battery. Well, the figure that accompanies this acronym gives an idea of how long the device will last on without having to run to plug it into the power. mAh is a unit of measurement of electrical charge, which means "milliamp hour". It is the unit of measurement that refers to the amount of electrical charge that passes through a conductor with a current of one milliamp in a period of one hour. To understand us, the higher this figure is, the more energy will fit in the battery, and therefore it will take longer to discharge.
Smart tv
If phones have become smart and now we call them smartphones, TVs were not going to be less. The term Smart TV refers to the integration of the Internet and other web services in televisions. The variety of Smart TV platforms is as wide as TV manufacturers. And it is that each brand provides its own solution, but they all have one thing in common: Internet access . The Smart TV allows access to the web to find content, download applications from videos like YouTube , Netflix and others. Some also integrate games , they let us record programson a hard drive and even access social networks. There are also systems that learn our tastes and recommend programs of interest to us, allowing us to create a television grill to our liking.
LCD
Before, TVs in the living room were made with huge tubes. That's why they occupied so much. Until a technology came along that made it possible to manufacture very thin screens. This technology was the LCD, short for "Liquid Crystal Display", or what is the same, "liquid crystal display". This system is one of the most widespread in all types of screens. The panel is made up of a matrix of pixels that are illuminated from the rear by a light source, usually LEDs. Liquid crystal displays date back to the 70s, and since then the system has been adapted to all kinds of devices, from the simplest calculatorsto televisions and now also to smartphones and mobile devices.
LED
There are many systems to emit light from electricity. The first known was the Edison light bulb. And one of the most used today is the LED , an electronic component capable of giving a lot of light like a light bulb but consuming very little electricity. LED is the acronym for “Light Emmiting Diode”, which in Spanish means “light emitting diode”. It is a type of lighting source that works by electroluminescence , that is, its material lights up when it receives an electrical current. LED c onsumen very little energy and have a much longer lifethan conventional bulbs. However, they are not only used as a traditional lighting source, but their system is adapted to countless applications, such as the creation of screens in which each pixel is an LED. There are also LED-backlit displays, but in this case they are combined with the LCD system explained above. Displays with LED lighting can be found on computers, mobile phones, tablets, and televisions.
Plasma
Plasma displays were very popular a few years ago and, although they are still being sold, they have fallen in front of the LED system. This technology generates the image through a mixture of noble gases, particularly neon and xenon , which lights up when electricity is passed through them. Normally we can find this system in large format televisions and it has advantages such as a very high contrast level, more viewing angle and a faster response time. However, this system is more expensive to produce, consume more energy, and get very hot .
3D
The 3D stormed into theaters a few years ago and today continues to be offered in some premieres. Shortly thereafter it also moved into our living room with the arrival of the first 3D televisions. 3D TVs work through the system known as stereoscopy , by which our eyes receive two images and form a three-dimensional image. 3D TVs require us to use special glasses to be able to see the image correctly, with that sensation that objects are approaching our face, as if they were coming off the screen. Currently there are many televisions with this system, but as we said, its success has not been as expected.
FullHD / 1080p
FullHD is a resolution standard that corresponds to a distribution of 1,920 pixels high and 1,080 pixels wide . Many televisions have this resolution, but there are also other devices such as monitors, tablets and even smartphones that have FullHD screens. This standard is 1080 lines high, which is why it is also known as 1080p (p stands for pixels).
UHD / 4K / 2160p
Until recently we thought that FullHD resolution screens were the best, but now 4K has arrived to show that manufacturers can always go further. The term 4K refers to a new resolution standard that promises to quadruple the quality of the HD standard. To understand us, a 4K screen should have a distribution of 4,096 x 2,160 pixels, this is what is called Full 4K. However many 4K TVs are actually 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. This decrease in the width of the screen is due to the format , which to be 16: 9 or widescreenit should be set this way. This second resolution would be what we call UHD , which stands for Ultra High Definition. In any case, both denominations have a height of 2160 pixels, hence they are also known as 2160p.
Matryoshka / MKV
The Matrioskas are those Russian dolls that are put one inside another, but that is not what we mean when we talk about Matrioska or MVK files , their abbreviation. It is a standard video format that can contain multiple audio or video tracks and even subtitles. More than a file format, it acts as a kind of container , since MKV can store an unlimited amount of data , hence there are many high-definition movies in this format.
The choice of the name is not accidental, making evident the analogy between Russian dolls and this container format. It is very likely that if you have downloaded a movie in high definition the file is an MKV .
Video download formats
When we download movies from the Internet, it is easy to find surprises of all kinds. Since the film is not the one announced by the title until the quality is negligible. Normally the movies available for download are accompanied by acronyms that refer to the format, origin and also the quality , we will tell you what each one of them means.
- Screener / SCR: The term Screener also refers to movies copied from promotional DVDs , so it is common for messages to appear warning that it is a copy for promotional use.
- Telecine / TC: in this case the copy is made directly from the analog film roll to a digital file format. The quality is quite good, more or less the same as that of a DVD, but it is not very common that we find movies to download in this format.
- Workprint / WP: This copy is made from a previous tape , before the film is completely finished, they usually come through internal leaks. A WP movie may be missing scenes or special effects.
- Telesync / TS and Cam : if we see this in the title of the film that we are going to download, it means that the film was recorded directly in the cinema with a video camera. These are the classic videos in which you can hear coughs, laughter and even people chewing popcorn. TS movies have been recorded in the movie theater, both audio and video. In the case of Cam movies , the difference is that the sound is capturedfrom the theater system or through the connectors available for the hearing impaired. In this case the sound will have very good quality, but the image is another story. These formats are usually confused with Screener movies, but in reality they are not the same.
- DVDFull / DVDRip: these formats are recorded directly from DVD discs. The DVDFull said it has copied all the information, including menus and bonus content. In the case of a DVDRip , the compressed image and sound are extracted and menus and extra content are usually eliminated, leaving only the video file.
- HDRip / BDRip: The HDRip or BDRip are very similar to the previous ones , but are extracted from a Blu-ray drive instead of a DVD, so the image has higher quality, but it depends on the compression that is applied.
Gorilla glass
Corning is a company that is dedicated to the manufacture of resistant glass sheets for screens of smartphones, tablets and even computers. It is a transparent material that can be manufactured in very thin sheets and resists scratches and possible breakage. Currently Gorilla Glass is already in the third generation, which achieves a lesser thickness and increases resistance.
MiraCast
This system allows us to launch audio or video files between devices through the same WiFi network. Speaking more clearly, with Miracast we can play a movie that we have on our tablet directly on the TV , without using cables. The Miracast system works through WiFi Direct, that is, both computers must be connected to the same WiFi network in order to work, and of course they have to be compatible with this technology.
HDMI
The HDMI is a connection standard that supports high - definition video and was born as a substitute for the scart classic. Most devices such as televisions, video game consoles, Blu-ray players or DTT decoders have HDMI ports , since without them we would not be able to see the content in high definition. This cable carries uncompressed video and audio, so if the movie we are playing is in FullHD, we will see it in FullHD. There are also mobiles and tablets with MicroHDMI or MicroUSB ports compatible with MHL , which is a conversion system to launch a high definition signal through an HDMI cable .
Capacitive screen or resistive screen
When we look at the technical specifications of a device with a touch screen we can find one of these two names. The resistive screens are slowly disappearing, while the capacitive system has taken over the landscape of mobile phones and tablets, and it is not by chance. Resistive screens respond to our commands when their layers come into contact, which means that we have to put pressure on the surface. This makes the handling much less fluid , but they are also less shiny and can be more easily damaged.
Capacitive screens, on the other hand, respond to our touches without us having to press, just by coming into contact it detects the order. These screens work, as the name suggests, by capacitance . Our body has its own capacitance field and, when it comes into contact with the screen, its field is modified, allowing us to measure where we have applied the touch or gesture and responding accordingly. These screens only work if we put our finger on it, the nail or a pencil that is not also capacitive is not worth it.
Megapixel
When buying a camera, megapixels are usually given a lot of importance, the more it has the better, but what do we mean by this term? A megapixel is made up of a million pixels, so if we have a thirteen megapixel camera, our photos will be made up of thirteen million of those little dots. For example, a photo taken with a three megapixel camera will be 2,048 x 1,536 pixels in size. If we solve the multiplication, the result is 3,145,728 pixels.
Megapixels are important if we want to obtain very large images , but we must be very clear that they will not make the image have more quality. The quality or sharpness of the image depends on other factors, such as the lens or the quality of the sensor.
http or https
These acronyms stand for Hypertext Transfer Protocol , which is the protocol used in World Wide Web (WWW) transfers , that is why all web pages are preceded by this text (although most browsers hide it by default). Many times we enter web pages that have similar acronyms, but with one more letter at the end. The https is the secure version of the previous protocol. If we look closely, this connection is usually made on web pages that need our personal data, such as the page of our bank, an online store or also some social networks.
.doc or .xls
If you work with Microsoft Office documents, you probably already know what we are talking about. Files that end in .doc are nothing more than text documents created with Microsoft Word , Microsoft's native text editor. This program allows us to create texts with the format we want. On the other hand .xls files are spreadsheets created with Microsoft Excel, the program used by accountants around the world.
Pc
PC is the acronym for Personal Computer or personal computer, a concept that emerged around the sixties, when the only computers were used by large companies and occupied an entire room. A PC is a computer as we know it today. It is a device for home use with which we can perform all kinds of productivity and leisure tasks .
PS3 / PS4 / Xbox
Sony is one of the leading brands in the video game sector. His PlayStation console is a reference in this segment since 94, which is said soon. When we talk about PS3 , we are referring to the third generation of this console, whose full name is PlayStation 3, and the same for PS4 , which is the most recent model.
On the other hand Xbox is the name that Microsoft chose to name its video game console. The company got its start in video games in 2001, when they released the first Xbox. Years later the Xbox 360 arrived and a few months ago they introduced the Xbox One .
