Workers Confused by Computer Jargon

Posted on September 26, 2005

The BBC reports on a study by Computer People that found workers are confused by computer terminology and software.

Terms such as jpeg, javascript and cookies are among the problem words highlighted by firm Computer People.

The recruiter, which questioned 1,500 workers, says effective technology professionals "understand the need to tailor their levels of jargon".

The findings revealed that younger workers were just as likely to make a mistake over computer language.

Not only did the survey find that the technology jargon is confusing workers but office workers still have trouble with technologies like email and firewalls.

Just under two thirds had sent e-mails with large attachments which had blocked clients' systems.

More than one in four people are not sure what a firewall does, tempting them to turn it off.

Turning off firewall - software to protect computers against hackers - is the worst course of action to take, according to IT experts.

If the study is accurate then it sounds like companies are relying too much on the tech department and not enough on training their employees to understand some common computer terms and tasks. It probably also explains why people still open and download those viruses and trojans that are delivered by email.

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