Talking about Technology: English Vocabulary List

a mechanical tool or an electronic device that is useful for doing something

"This kitchen gadget lets you slice an avocado in seconds."

"My grandfather loves collecting unusual gadgets, especially old radios and mechanical watches."

a small device used for storing data or transferring data between electronic devices

"A flash drive stores data."

"He saved his important presentation onto a portable flash drive before leaving the office."

a field of science that deals with creating programs able to learn or copy human behavior

"Artificial intelligence is being used to diagnose diseases."

"Generative artificial intelligence is a type of AI that creates new"

an artificial environment generated by a computer that makes the user think what they are seeing or hearing is real, by using a special headphone and a helmet that displays the generated environment

"Virtual reality can be used for realistic training simulations."

"A cave automatic virtual environment is an immersive virtual reality space where projectors are directed to three"

the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from theft, damage, or unauthorized access

"Cybersecurity is a growing concern for all modern companies."

"Zero trust is a modern and rigorous framework for cybersecurity that operates on the assumption that no user or device inside or outside the network should be automatically trusted"

a branch of artificial intelligence where computers learn how to perform specific operations without previous instructions

"Machine learning powers many modern apps."

"Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that gives computers the ability to learn from data and improve their performance on a task without being explicitly programmed with specific rules for every possible situation."

a satellite system that shows a place, thing, or person's exact position using signals

"My phone has a global positioning system."

"My phone has a global positioning system so I never get lost while driving."

the visual elements and interactive components of a software application or digital device that users interact with

"The user interface looks nice."

"The user interface of this mobile app was redesigned to be more intuitive and visually appealing."

a small piece of material that is a semiconductor, used to make an integrated circuit

"A tiny microchip contains the entire computer processor."

"A microchip implant is a small identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal; it is passive"

to move what is being displayed on a computer or smartphone screen up or down to see different parts of it

"Scroll down to read the article."

"You need to scroll down to the bottom of the webpage to find the submit button for the online form."

to make sure that different devices or systems operate together smoothly by coordinating their timing, data, or operations

"Synchronize your watch with the clock."

"You should synchronize your calendar across all of your devices so that you never miss an important meeting or appointment again."

to connect something to an electrical port

"Plug in the charger before using it."

"Before you can use the new printer you need to plug it into a power outlet and connect it to your computer."

to change the size of something

"Resize the image to fit the screen."

"You can use this free online tool to resize your photos before uploading them to the website that has a size limit."

(computing) to detect and remove faults in a software

"The programmer debugged the software code."

"The software engineer spent the entire afternoon trying to debug the code and find out why the program kept crashing unexpectedly."

to write a computer program using specific instructions

"She learned to code at a young age."

"She learned how to code when she was only twelve years old and now she works as a successful software developer."

to calculate or determine a value using mathematical operations

"The computer computes data very fast."

"The old calculator is too slow to compute the complex mathematical equations that we need to solve for our physics homework."

to convert data or information into a coded form, mainly to prevent unauthorized access

"Encrypt your files for added security."

"It is very important to encrypt your sensitive files so that unauthorized people cannot access your personal information or steal your identity."

to convert encrypted or coded information back into its original, readable form using a decryption key or algorithm

"Decrypt the message with the correct key."

"The spy managed to decrypt the secret message using a hidden key that he had found in the enemy's abandoned base."