and fixed lines. It signals a tenfold quantum leap in the scale of the digital universe by 2015." OK .... Internet guru Tim Berners-Lee, meanwhile has described it as "Web 2.0 without the silos." As best we can tell, Web 3.0 will have the ability to not only understand keywords, but to understand full syntax -- or as HowStuffWorks recently put it, you could type a full sentence such as "I want to see a funny movie and then eat at a good Mexican restaurant. What are my options?" into a Web browser and have it retrieve a direct answer to your question.
Regardless of how quickly Web 3.0 becomes a reality, however, you can expect to see every Web site that sells teeth-whiteners for cats to start touting its "robust Web 3.0" capabilities in the near future. Which raises an interesting question: if marketers really wanted to get our attention for their products, why settle at upping the Web ante by one digit at time? Why not tout a Web site that has, say, Web 47.0 features instead?~~
Buzzword #5: Blended threat
On first hearing, this term sounds like an awful mixed drink made of four parts vodka, three parts tequila and seven parts Mountain Dew. But according to Symantec's online glossary, a blended threat is what happens when attacks "combine the characteristics of viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and malicious code with server and Internet vulnerabilities to initiate, transmit, and spread an attack. By using multiple methods and techniques, blended threats can rapidly spread and cause widespread damage." So when a security vendor says it will protect your network from blended threats, it's saying it will stop you from getting hit by a lot of really bad stuff all at once. Good to know.
Buzzword #6: Prosumer
This one is mercifully used less frequently nowadays by marketing departments, as it stands out as one of the most irritating buzzwords ever concocted. Essentially, it's a mix of "professional" and "consumer." A "prosumer" product, therefore, is a product that can meet users' business and personal needs.
Now that this wicked buzzword has been unleashed upon the world, it is routinely used in PR pitch monstrosities that say things such as: "PressureWashersDirect.com today released its recommendations for the best prosumer gas pressure washers" and "Sony is expanding its industry leading line-up of high-definition video products with two new HDV(TM) cameras designed to meet the needs of professionals and prosumers."
Buzzword #7: Seamless
Searching Microsoft Outlook archives for PR pitches that offered "seamless" technology nearly broke the computer. Verizon Business, for example, has offered a product to help companies "seamlessly work between IT groups in order to avoid data breaches." Apple, meanwhile, boasts that its iTunes store provides "seamless integration with iPod and iPhone." And Sprint has offered to help businesses "make a seamless migration to IP-based services." Doing things seamlessly is better than doing things seamfully. But don't most people by now assume that if a company is confident enough in its own products that it's already offering seamless transitions? Would any company tell you that its solution is "fraught with perils akin to craggy rocks and whirlpools?"
Buzzword #8: Solution
This buzzword is abused by marketing departments not merely in the tech industry, but throughout the economy as a whole. Essentially, companies routinely push any software, service or product that they produce as a solution. There are many possible reasons for this, but we think that the word "solution" is particularly useful for defusing customer anger if a particular product happens to be really bad. For example, let's say you have a new piece of software that routinely crashes your computer. When a coworker hears you shouting from your office, "This software is a stinking heap of garbage!" he can interject and say, "Wait, isn't it actually a solution you're talking about? If
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