RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a type of news aggregation that feeds headlines and links to new stories to the end user automatically. With the newer Internet browsers, like Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox, you can access and subscribe to RSS feeds quite easily. When you are on a website that offers RSS feeds, an orange square appears on the right side of the address bar at the top of the screen. Just click on the orange square to see and/or subscribe to the RSS feed from that websites.

Mash-up
A mash-up is a mix of two different types of services from dissimilar websites. Often the mash-up is done as a type of overlay. For instance,  traffic data or homes for sale can be overlaid on a map from Yahoo, Google, or some other content provider. The term comes from the music world where a mash-up is a mixture of two or more songs Zombie A personal computer that has been infected with a virus that allows an outside force to control it is called a zombie. Such a computer can be used to send out spam or attack other computers without the owner's knowledge. Millions of computers today are zombie computers. They are part of a zombie network of computers that are controlled by hackers VoIP ((pronounced voyp) stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and has become synonymous with using the Internet instead of the telephone to hold  voice conversations.

OLED is an acronym for Organic Light Emitting Diode. This is the new technology that is being used in flat panel screens. It is similar to LCD, but it does not require backlighting and therefore is more energy efficient and better for portable devices. OLED also offers better contrast, brighter screens, and increased viewing angles over LCD.  Currently OLED is available in portable devices with small screens. However, this technology is starting to appear in televisions and devices with larger screens.

Rootkit
A rootkit is software that runs at the lowest level of the computer. It  infiltrates the kernel of the computer. A rootkit is a technique that is often used by hackers and virus creators to hide the files they create. It has also been used by some manufacturers, like Sony, to hide digital right management software, much to the chagrin of the average computer user.

Wiki
From a Hawaiian word that means "quick", a wiki is a website that can be edited quickly by Web visitors. Such a collaborative effort can produce a wealth of knowledge, but it can also contain errors. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com) which is an online encyclopedia that is maintained, edited, and added to, by computer users from around the world.

Obviously the terms gadget and widget have many meanings. However, when talking about Window Vista or Mac OS X, these are small applications that run on your computer desktop to give you information and to interact with. Apple calls them Widgets and they have been part of the Mac operating system for quite awhile. Microsoft calls them Gadgets and they have become available with Windows Vista.

Widgets or Gadgets can give you the weather, tell you a joke, track a stock, show you the time, and much more. Widgets for use with windows XP are also available from Yahoo! at http://widgets.yahoo.com/.

Technology Butler
 With hotels now offering iPods and other high tech equipment for their guests, many have added a new staff member who is dedicated to helping visitors with their computers and high tech devices. Who would have thought that you would be able to check into the Hyatt to learn to use an iPod?

Well, nowthat you've learned a little more technobabble, you've become a bit more entrenched in today's cyberculture, and perhaps you can reduce a little of that technostress.