WEP key what?????????

Yesterday morning I was minding my own business at my computer, catching up on emails and drinking coffee when I get a text message from my office roomie, "can you message me the WEP key for the shuttle please. I know the SSID." What the heck kinda secret service tech code is that? I'm glad you know the SSID, the "special-service-identification" or the "secret-society I dominate" whatever that means.

So I text message back what I always say when I don't know what to say..."K! Hold please!" WEP key, WEP key...(as I'm googling the term)...OHH!! Of course!!! The wired equivalent privacy code for the SSID, the service set identifier..absolutely!! I didn't realize you where talking about THAT WEP key. Apparently its the code to access the wireless internet on the shuttle. I ask my co-worker who takes the shuttle too for it, and message my office roomie back. Crisis solved, but I would like to comment some more about this situation...

This whole WEP key for the SSID stuff is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too much trouble for just access to the internet. Seriously!!! I understand secret WEP codes for bank accounts, medical information, credit cards, small children etc, but all this secret code just to get to the internet? I think some security engineers have a LITTLE too much time on their hands....just a thought....

More Computer Words that are WEIRD!!!!

I used to be totally "Not Found 404" about tech jargon, but I'm starting to catch on and get in the groove. Even though I'm more aware of this new foreign language, there are some terms that are...well...weird!

1. BREADCRUMBS: I get it, its a reference to Hansel and Gretel about leaving crumbs or notes to remember where you came from. But why did the creator pick Hansel and Gretel when there are other perfectly good Fairytale references that could've been made here? For example, "the magic wand" wave and it you get where you want, or "the Rapunzel" hold on to the hair and you know where you're going. When I think of breadcrumbs, it reminds me of another computer term...

2. BLOG ROLL: Linking your blog with someone else's. Why don't they just call it "blog buddies" or "BBFF" Best-blog-friends-forever! Do blog rolls leave breadcrumbs?? No, but that would make sense wouldn't it! What's up with all the bread terms? I think there's some wonderbread conspiracy going on here.

3. CLEARING YOUR CACHE: I would have no problem with this term if "cache" wasn't pronounced "cash". Why do I need my computer's help to clear my cache? I can do it by myself in a much more exciting way than by clicking on the computer. I can clear my cash at the mall, on vacation, or by enjoying a shoe sale. Seriously, there's nothing about clearing my cache my computer can teach me about. I'm sure I can give it a lesson or two about cache clearing!!!

I've signed up for Netlingo's word-of-the-day so I can learn more tech lingo! Stay tuned for more WTF word rants!

The Last PC Standing...

We had our team meeting last Thursday and I looked around the room at my teammates typing away on their laptops and realized the day I dreaded has finally come. I have the only PC on the team, the rest of the my teammates are MAC lovers.

I hate MACs. Granted you can do some advanced graphic photoshop dorka nerda stuff on them, but if you're not a graphic designer, who cares? Where is the "right click" I so love in a PC? Why do MACs have to confuse us with their window options on the left side of the internet browser, and what's up with the color code without labels for max/min the page, and closing the window? Is this some secret MAC code that I have to learn now to browse the internet? What's wrong with the perfectly good PC big ole' red X to close the window, or those cute multi-sized boxes to depict maximizing and minimizing the screen?

And Finder? What does he even do?? It's not like he actually finds anything useful like those chocolate chip cookies in my easybake drive no one has been able to locate for me. He's such a show off...they should rename him "Finder of all things useless!!!"