2012′s worst tech buzzwords

This handy list of “the best of the worst” lets you know what “tech speak” geeks in the know love to hate - at least, in terms of this past year! Drum roll, please!

  1. Micron: a unit of size measurement that is approximately half the size of an E. Coli bacteria. Apple has been gushing about their production methods being so precise that iPhone components are built to only dozens of microns difference - sizes so small a human brain can’t grasp them.
  2. Pixel Density: the number of pixels crammed into a smartphone’s screen. Developers neglect to mention that, once you reach a certain point (which has long been surpassed) you cannot see the individual pixels anymore, so this doesn’t actually affect image quality unless your eyes are electron microscopes.
  3. Phablet: is it a phone? Is it a tablet? All we know is that you can’t really fit it in your pocket, which is ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as using this name to describe them.
  4. Hacktivist: most hackers (especially the ones this term refers to) aren’t actually activists - just hackers with an axe to grind, rather than people fighting for a cause that betters the world.
  5. Ummmm…you’ll have to read the original article to see this one!
  6. Cyber-______: “cyber-warfare”. “Cyber-security”. The list goes on. Either way, way to 90′s a term for the 21st century!
  7. Crowdfunding: while we personally think this can work quite well (and for some people, it has) the article’s author considers it a lazy person’s way to raise capital and considers the practice the same as getting a “hot stock tip from your uncle at Thanksgiving”.
  8. Brogrammers: it used to be true that most computer programmers had assorted social disorders and terrible taste in clothes…but the field is much more open to “normal” people now, with wider social circles, more popularly-acceptable hobbies and even *gasp* a sense of style. Confused onlookers have taken to calling these folks “brogrammers”. Ugh.
  9. IPO: thanks to “Facebook fever” far too many people starting thinking that IPO=money, though this is not the case. A term that has been used in financial circles for some time, it is now widely used and abused by the general public.

There you have - 9 tech terms that have been driving people crazy. Do you have any “favorites” not listed here? Tell us in the comments!

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