Debunking Some Of The Most Common Myths About Technology

By Apurva Kinger:

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology” — Carl Sagan

The saying is absolutely apt in today’s world where we have access to latest technology but we know very less about how it works, what is the optimum level of usage, how to protect it from virus attacks and how to increase its efficiency and useful life. This ignorance has given way to various misconceptions among the people. Let us look at some of the very common myths about technology:

1. Do you look only for better hardware specification while buying a computer, thinking that better hardware specifics assures better gadgets? Does hardware specification matter? Hardware specifications matter to the extent it supports the best software it has to offer. It should be able to support the latest technology, that is where we should consider hardware configuration. There is a common belief that, upgraded hardware versions will enable you the best experience with increase in speed but the matter of fact is, hardware components just have a supportive role to play. It needs to be coupled with a good processor for better performance and speed.

2. Fully discharge your battery: People still have misconception that memory effect (also known as battery effect or lazy battery effect ) exists in modern lithium batteries. Although this used to be the case with nickel cadmium rechargeable batteries, if recharged repeatedly, when partially unloaded resulted in permanent loss of capacity. Modern lithium batteries are maintained well when they are fully discharged once a month and the regular battery levels should be maintained between 40%-80% – this is the safest range and will help to prolong the battery life.

3. Jailbreaking your phone is illegal: Jailbreaking your phone is absolutely legal as issued by Copyright Officials. Jailbreaking your phone will void your warranty but to reap the full benefit of technology the gadget offers, jailbreaking is not a bad idea and hey its legal too. It enables you to experience all the possibilities that you can with your phone — it is really like pushing your boundaries.

4. Mac users don’t need to worry about malware: Macintosh PC is the safest if you are looking for complete malware protection — that is what you have heard everybody saying. It clearly shows that our perception is wrong. An analysis carried out by anti-virus vendor ESET shows that Mac users are as vulnerable as Windows users. It is vulnerable to web attacks like phishing etc. So you should not choose Mac just because you were misguided that it will serve better in PC protection — it’s a myth. Mac OS X and Windows both discourage users to download programs from the Internet without any thought for security.

5. Password-Protected Wi-Fi Networks Are Safe from hackers : When you are using a public Wi-fi Network, you are most vulnerable to be a victim of hacking. Using a public network means you are completely visible on internet and there is no boundry between you and the rest of the internet community. That means anybody with the password can connect to the network and hack your device if it is not properly secured. Your network may be protected with a password but the vulnerability on public network is very high because of the easy access to such network.

These were some very popular myths that exist, there are many more such type of misconceptions prevalent among the people. These misconceptions need to face the bright light of technological truth.