Tech Helpline | Test Your Tech Term Knowledge: 8 Terms Emerge with the COVID-19 Outbreak

The World Economic Forum and others have examined the intersection of technology and the coronavirus. Here are a few technologies and terms that have emerged or become more popularized with the onset of COVID-19. Test your knowledge on how well you know each of these:

#1: 5G

It’s all about timing. 5G, the new superfast or “ultrawideband” wireless service, just happened to be released throughout the U.S. by several major wireless carriers during the pandemic. But that has been a good thing, especially for parents working from home who have to share their home internet services with their kids who are learning from home. 5G offers blazing speeds that typically range from 100 – 400Mbits per second, with the potential, as our built-in smartphone modems improve, to deliver gigabyte speeds.

#2: CONTACT TRACING APPS

COVID-19 tracing mobile apps have emerged, such as SaferMe, which was made free for business use by the New Zealand government. In China, the download and use of its contact tracing app was required. The purpose of these apps is to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

#3: CONTACTLESS PAYMENT

Cash might contain the virus, since cash is notorious for being covered in germs. Credit or debit cards are the preferred way to pay these days. Contactless payment includes everything from using cards with NFC chips to using your smartphones via Apple, Samsung or Google Pay. Some drive-through vendors even offer a lowtech solution: a pole with a credit card magnetic reader on the end for you to swipe your plastic.

#4: DIGITAL READINESS AND REMOTE WORK

Technology has saved jobs during the pandemic, allowing more people to work from home than ever before. Businesses learned they need to have digital readiness—the ability to switch jobs or processes in an office or facility to the home through technology. Digital readiness has allowed many businesses to survive. The longterm impact is stunning, as many major companies have learned to revise their policies and approaches to working from home completely. Some firms have gone so far, such as Zillow, to offer employees the option of working from home permanently.

#5: DISTANCE LEARNING

From kindergarten to grad school, students are housebound and learning remotely through video streaming and online platforms. Distance learning has driven home-based tech upgrades, like faster internet speeds and new accessories, such as LED ring lights, microphones, headsets and video cameras.

#6: TELEHEALTH

Your next checkup with your doctor may be a video chat. Medical centers are not the best place to be during a pandemic for routine health care issues, so more and more medical professionals are using secure apps for a videobased appointment. Today, there are even chatbots online that collect symptoms and can make initial diagnoses.

#7: ZOOM-BOMBING

This is one of those not-so-nice impacts on technology during the pandemic. If you don’t take the right precautions, folks can crash your Zoom meeting. Zoom quickly responded by securing their software and making it easier to prevent others from “bombing” your Zoom meeting. This lessened the chances of a classroom presentation or business meeting being hijacked for nefarious purposes.

#8: ZOOM PARTIES

When you’re housebound for a long time, it can become maddening, but Zoom has come to rescue extroverts with the creation of Zoom parties. Graduations, happy hours, reunions, weddings and more have all fostered a new way for groups of people to connect—remotely. The whole idea is to bring some fun to the virtual meeting experience.

This article was pulled from a recent post on the TechHelpline blog. Read more at techhelpline.com/blog.

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