10 tech myths you need to stop believing right now

 

Look around and you’ll find that we are surrounded by gadgets. So much so that before calling it a day, you glance at a gadget and the first thing in all probability you look at in the morning is a gadget. It’s a tad ironic that despite gadgets – especially smartphones – have become all-consuming device for us, most of us remain unaware about what goes inside them.

Myth-1 : More bars on your phone means better signal.                 

     The network bars on your screen do not truly indicate signal strength. They merely show the proximity of your cellular signal to its nearest tower. The number of people connected to the same tower at the same time is huge.

Myth-2 : Charging your phone overnight damage the battery.

     It’s a myth that has plagued humanity since the dawn of the mobile phone. Time to debunk it. Your phone is smarter than you think. Your device is engineered in a way that it knows it has to stop charging once it’s charged.

Myth-3 : Private OR Incognito browsing keeps you anonymous. 

     There’s a misconception that ‘incognito’ and ‘private’ are synonymous with anonymous. Every Web browser has a private mode. If you’re using Incognito Mode in Google Chrome or Private browsing in Safari, it simply means the browser won’t keep track of your history so other users don’t know what you were doing. But it won’t keep your identity hidden from the sites you visit or your ISP (Internet Service Provider) — so keep that in mind if you’re visiting sites you shouldn’t be. In Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari, you enter the private browsing mode using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + P (CTRL + OPTION + P on Mac). In Chrome, you use CTRL + SHIFT + N.

 
 Myth-4 : More Megapixels means better camera.

     Don’t let that manufacturer hoodwink you into buying a device on the basis of megapixels. What are megapixels though? Pictures are made up of little dots called pixels. Put enough of them together and you have a picture. A megapixel is one million tiny colored dots in a photo. It seems logical that more megapixels would mean a sharper photo. In truth, though, it could just mean a terrible photo made of more dots. Instead the far more important ingredients for a good photo comprise size and material of the main camera lens, the light sensor (the bigger it is the more light it will capture), the image processing hardware, and the software that ties it all together. That is the reason why iPhone 6, which comes with an 8-megapixel shooter, gives far better results than other 13 megapixel phone cameras available in the market. Where megapixels do matter is the size you want your final picture to be. The extra pixels on a smartphone camera might be useful if you want to print your images. If your megapixel count isn’t enough for the size of the image you print, the images won’t look sharp. Also, let’s settle this once and for all: phone cameras can’t replace the DSLR models.

  Myth-5 : More cores means better performance.

     Multi core processor helps divide the phone’s tasks among multiple cores that do their portion of the job and try to finish a task faster. The terms, dual-core, octa-core and quad-core denote the number of processor cores in a CPU (central processing unit). Dual is two, octa is eight, quad is four. So far, so obvious. But a quad-core processor is faster than a single- or dual-core processor only when it’s running an application that’s been developed to take advantage of its abilities. Most applications made today are built for devices that run on single or dual core processors. Therefore they can’t leverage the extra processing power of octa core chips. Also, the extra cores don’t enhance user experience. For example, the quality of a high definition video on an octa-core device will turn out bad if the handset has weak integrated graphics. Beyond just the number of cores and their speed, the built-in quality of the processors is also important. iPhone's perform better compared to other smartphones with double or more cores.

Myth-6 : Internet and world wide web(WWW) are the same things.

     The terms Internet and the World Wide Web are often used interchangeably, but they have vastly different meanings. The Internet is commonly called a “network of networks.” It basically refers to the infrastructure that connects networks across the globe. Such hardware includes cellular towers, servers, computers, routers, satellites, cables etc.

Myth-7 : Apple PCs are virus-proof.

     To put it clearly, there is no computer system in the world that’s immune to viruses. Apple’s Mac computers have a good track record compared to Windows PCs because there just aren't as many Macs out there as Windows PCs.

Myth-8 : Quad HD display are better than Full-HD displays.

     Your new smartphone boast of a Quad-HD display. But does it matter? Can you really decipher the difference between a Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) and a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display on a phone? A 5.5-inch Quad HD display has a pixel density of 538 ppi (pixels per inch), whereas the pixel density of a 5.5-inch Full HD screen is around 400 ppi. But it’s argued that human eye can’t really distinguish more than 326 pixels per inch.

Myth-9 : You can leave your phone in car or outdoors.

     Extreme cold or heat can do irreparable damage to your smartphone. Remember, cell phone components are delicate and prolonged exposure to intense temperatures can do them serious harm.

Myth-10 : You can use any charger for your phone. 

     You can use any charger to juice up your battery as long as it’s genuine. Knock-off chargers may entice you with low pricing but can inflict serious damage on your device’s battery and can even cause a fire.