Information technology deals with the acquisition, processing, storage and
dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based
combination of computing and telecommunications. Thanks to the continuous development of
computers, the original computing systems became minicomputers and later personal computers
took the lead. Nowadays, mobile phones are dethroning the personal computer and computing is
evolving faster to become disembodied more like a cloud, becoming accessible more easily
whenever needed. Information technology in this sense has transformed people and companies
and has allowed digital technology to influence society and economy alike.
Handout 2. Information and communication technology vocabulary anti-virus software - a program that finds and removes viruses from a computer
app or
application - a self-contained program or piece of software; an application, especially
when downloadable to a mobile device
bit, bytes - a bit is the smallest piece of information that computers use. For simplicity, a PC
uses bits in groups of 8 called bytes (8 bits = 1 byte).
Blog - also called weblog. A website that displays in chronological order the postings by one or
more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings.
Bluetooth - a way of communicating wirelessly over short distances between electronic devices
(for example computer and mobile telephone)
boot, boot up, boot disk - You boot (or boot up) your computer when you switch it on and wait
while it prepares itself. Instructions for startup are given to the computer from the boot disk,
which is usually the hard disk.
browser, to browse - A browser is a program like Firefox or Internet Explorer. You use it to
view or browse the Internet.
