ARE you tired of pretending that you are more IT literate than you really are? Tired of nodding your head wisely when people talk to you about Vista, malware and VOIP?

Do you feel sheepish when you bring your 2MB SD card to get Kodak prints at a photo kiosk when people around you are extolling the virtues of Picassa, SnapFish and Flickr? And you realise they are not talking about art or fish or a new hairdo?

If you have answered yes to all these questions, this column, Escape Key, is for you.

It is not titled such for no reason: It is Digital Life's invitation for you to escape from mind-boggling IT-speak, with geek-speak spelt out in plain English.

I am a real cotton head when it comes to technology. Like many people, my laptop and PC are there along with my TV and microwave oven and other than pushing a few key buttons to get things working, I do not really want to meddle with the device.

For instance, why should I care how a computer can search among trillions of words on the Internet to get me the exact company I am looking for to book my trip to the North Pole?

The key difference, however, between IT and other appliances is that with the others like the microwave, you need to learn the basics just once and you should be able to fly solo quite easily. With a laptop, PC or even your mobile phone, advances are a dime a dozen and if you do not keep up to speed, you will wonder why your friends can make free international calls while you are still paying for yours.

It gets more challenging if you are your own boss and not working with a large company that can provide you with IT help.

You see, when I was with an MNC, I could always rely on folks from the IT department. Even long after the IT help desk became virtual (that is, I was chatting with faceless people online, who would point me to the magical 'allow access' key that gives them control of my PC from thousands of miles away), I could still fall back on someone to take me through the IT jargon and maze.

So, let's get to the basics first.

When you have an IT problem, who are you going to call? There is probably a company out there - along the lines of IT-busters - who can come to your aid for a fee.

For those of us left to figure it out on our own, check in on this fortnightly Escape Key page and let us de-mystify IT for you.

Write to us on anything that you do not understand about tech terminology, and we will answer your questions.

Cecilia Pang is a freelance writer.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.