We’re<$> not stupid, just befuddled by new technology — which is understandable given that this is not just the information age, but the age of information overload.Or is it the age of “time famine” as commentators are fond of stating. Whatever the age, it makes sense that a UK study has discovered that one in two adults feel “overwhelmed” by new technology.

The Which? consumers group survey found that almost half said they feel weighed down by the amount of information they need to take in when making large purchasing decisions such as when buying a desktop computer.

It is difficult to get a handle on the jargon. I know I feel overwhelmed, not so much by the technology, but with all the trade-offs one has to make when buying a computer on a limited budget.

One part of the answer is for computer stories to have a simple chart explaining the terms and parts computer shoppers need to be aware of, when making a purchase. For example the chart could explain such terms as RAM (Random Access Memory: describing the computer’s short term memory for running programmes. The more you have the faster your computer responds); or USB (Universal Serial Bus. One of the common types of connections used for connecting devices such as a digital camera or printer to the computer. The more the better).

A previous issue of Computing Which? actually has the second part of the answer. There are an amazing amount of books on the market attempting to explain computers and gadgets. Which? rates Reader’s Digest “How to Do Just About Anything on a Computer as the ‘Best Buy’ guide for beginners. Reader’s Digest also has another top rated book called “How To Do Just About Anything With Your Digital Photographs”.

For “computer tinkerers”, under which I classify myself, Which? recommends Computer Manual, 3rd edition by Haynes.

For those befuddled by portable digital music players, there’s always “The Rough Guide to iPods, iTunes and Music Online”. The book is already in its third edition and is published by Penguin.

Of course all these hard copy books get out of date fast, even though the basics of the technology remains mostly the same. To get the latest updates try About’s Computing on the Internet. It has guides on just about anything at http://pcworld.about.com. The guide on buying a computer is among the best I have seen. The site also breaks down other topic areas into “Components”, “Downloads”, “Consumer Advice”, “Electronics”, “Internet & Networking”, “Peripherals”, and the like.

PCWorld also has a good site with lots of explanation to help you keep up with the geeks, so do not despair.

By the way, the About/PCWorld technology site has its list of the worst technology mistakes in 2006. The top one is of course the Sony fire battery fiasco. What I did not realise was that despite previous warnings Sony only issued the recall in July when two men on a hunting trip in Nevada put a Dell Inspiron 1300 notebook next to a stack of ammo in the cab of their 1966 Ford pickup. Within moments the laptop caught fire, which then got to three boxes of ammunition stored in the glove box.

You can guess what happened. The second biggest mistake of 2005 is listed as the HP spying scandal. Several top HP executives, including the company’s chairman, are alleged to have hired private eyes to illegally obtain phone records, put reporters under surveillance, dig through their trash, and plant tracking bugs in their e-mail.

This weird group also considered plans to place informants inside newsrooms. What a way to work the press! The five involved now face charges of fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy.

Other stupid moves during 2006 includes Diebold’s claim that the public should not worry about the discovery of security holes in its AccuVote-TS touch-screen voting machines. One of them involved Princeton researchers finding that the machines could be opened with the same kind of key used for hotel mini-bars. Diebold said such hacks would require “evil and nefarious election officials” — who don’t exist — to help them!

Mistake number four was committed by AOL, which thought it would be really cool to release search data for 650,000 or so of its members. They replaced customer names with numbers. However among the search terms were names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information. Other search strings revealed people were looking for “how to kill your wife”. The company’s former CTO and other employees are now looking for jobs.

The rest of the list is equally funny. It was quite the year for gaffes. For the mother of all top ten lists, see the archive created by Fimoculous.com and compiled from various online publications. Go to: http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2006.cfm. It is quite incredible.

Send any comments or questions to Ahmed at elamin.ahmed[AT]gmail.com.