Performance is the big issue in technology. New technologies which perform their functions with greater power, speed or efficiency will tend to obsolesce earlier technologies which don't perform as well. Technology is all about power, the ability to do things. The usage of technology usually involves both aspects, some form of hardware and the knowledge or skill of how to implement it. If a person has never seen a shovel or a screw driver, he wouldn't know what they are for or how to use them.
Software involves language and programming.
Hardware involves physical implements, gadgets and devices. Another name for technology is media. Marshall McLuhan said that technology is the extension of Man. In this sense, clothing is the man-made extension of the skin's role in keeping us warm inside. The wheel is a fundamental technology useful in transporting things over long distances.