NEWS: 13 Tech Terms You Should Never Say Again

[Heronblade]

Desktop publishing was big in the 80's and 90's, but with the explosion of the internet it went the way of the Dodo bird.

There are still entire industries devoted to almost nothing but DTP work. Sorry, but that statement is definitely not accurate.

Now, what can be said is that standard word processing has closed the gap by enough that nearly all users do not need the extra punch DTP software provides.

 

[Lucem712]

OH I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA!

Freaking people, telling me what I can and can't say...

OT: Why not webcam? UH, as far as I know those things still exist. Mostly built in if you have a laptop or All-in-One. I also use 'dial' and 'smartphone' in normal conversation with youths of my age. Is there another term for 'smartphone' that I'm not aware of? Sure, you could call them all 'iphones' or something, I guess. It might be a bit broad.

Hell, I had to send a FAX a few weeks back. A fax. I had to run down to my local library. I think we have another good 20 years before any of these things go out of fashion in the work place.

 

[MrGalactus]

12. Super Phone

What is this and why don't I have one?

Also;

a member of the Injustice League [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Injustice-League], Brovengers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Brovengers]

This...This cannot be. THIS CAN NOT STAND!

 

[uchytjes]

I know what all of those things and the proper usage of most of them and I actually use several of them pretty regularly.

What I do agree on (for the most part) is superphone, Set-top box, and (due to me not knowing what it is) desktop publishing.

 

[Hagi]

Webcam

A camera that?s designed for chats should be called a "connected camera" or a "video-conferencing cam" but not a webcam.

Desktop

Whether it?s an All-in-One with the screen built-in, a tiny ITX case that sits on a flat surface or a mid-tower that lives on the floor, it?s a "stationary PC" not a desktop.

Filming

Instead say that you are "shooting," "recording" or "capturing video."

Smarthphone

So you need to call that item in your hand a "pocket computer," "a communicator" or something else that reflects its primary purpose.

So just the other day I was capturing video with my video-conferencing cam on my stationary computer which I plan to later transfer to my pocket computer.

So that's how we're supposed to talk now?

Ew... That's awkward...

 

[Basement Cat]

Fail

Try again, Topaz. I hate it when people post pictures/MEMEs/gifs/clips I can't see. It tweaks my curiosity.

Edit: Thanx!

I didn't change anything. Check the spoiler where you've quoted me. It's the same image url as in my post, and it's been the same url all along.

You're computer must be trolling you

But I did check the spoiler where I quoted you--which was why I did post you. It didn't work twice before I posted to contact you.

Hrrrmmmmm....or my computer could be in on it, eh?

Suspicions, suspicions...surrounded by foes... D:

 

[thesilentman]

[HEADING=3]This report coming to you from Copper Zen, the Escapist's Grand High Pooh-Bah and a member of the Injustice League [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Injustice-League], Brovengers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Brovengers], Cataholics Anonymous [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Catoholics-anonymous], Internet Bunker [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Internet-Bunker], and Mod Forum [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Moderation-Team].[/HEADING]

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We're all accustomed to slang becoming obsolete: What was cool during our Freshman year in High School is long since passe' by our Junior year--if it lasts even that long.

Technical terms can stay with us far longer, particularly the older we get. Many older men and women still refer to vinyl records in common parlance when referring to music even though such records went out of production (didn't they?) decades ago.

But here's a news story listing more than "ancient" words:

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http://news.yahoo.com/13-tech-terms-never-again-201251980.html
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The "passe'" terms listed are:

1. Dial (verb)
2. Tune In / Stay Tuned
3. Tape (verb)
4. Webcam
5. Blog (noun)
6. Desktop Computer
7. Film (verb)
8. Smartphone
9. Surf the Web
10. Desktop Publishing
11. Personal Cloud
12. Super Phone
13. Set-Top Box

Topic of Discussion: First of all--how many of these terms do you recognize and second how many do you think may/are/have evolved to take on more contemporary meaning than their original ones?

The author of this story takes a few liberties in equating slang with technical terms. "Tuning in" belonged to radios and televisions, but we're supposed to dispose of "surfing the net" because it's an older term and use "browse" in its place?

"Blog" is to be tossed into the trash can?

What are your thoughts on the "Semantics Nazis", my fellow Escapists?

I read that you got this off of Yahoo. It's proven that they have REALLY QUALITY writers. REALLY QUALITY, I tell ya'!

Why do we even have this list again? Exactly what was the point of that article?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

It seems to me that the author of that article has a stick up his ass. You know what other tech term we still use today whose origins have long since gone the way of the dinosaur? "Bug/Debug" and "Boot/Reboot" The term 'debug' comes from the days when computers where the size of whole rooms and to debug meant to literally clear the bugs (like actual insects) out of the system that would get in there overnight. Obviously that hasn't been a problem for over 30 years. And the term boot/reboot again comes from the days when computers were the size of entire rooms and the program used to fire them up was called a "bootstrap loader" hence "boot up" the computer; and to 'reboot' would be to restart the thing using the afor mentioned program. I don't see him complaining about either of those.

 

[AgedGrunt]

I'd like to know where someone who identifies with words such as "Grand High Pooh-Bah", "Brovengers" and "Cataholics" thinks they have any right to comment about what "cool" is and terms that should never be said. How old is this person?

Indeed I'd welcome some being removed from lexicon but whoever came up with #6 is a moron. I'm typing this on a non-mobile computer that is on my desk. It's called millions of computers/workstations and they can do what mobile computing cannot. Mobile hasn't taken over (and may never without a hyper-evolution in technology).

 

[farscythe]

The article isn't talking about the weird screeching boxes that were used to access the interwebz, it's talking about using this phone

to call people

i still use one of those as my landline (course mines better cuz its a red un) its a pain in the arse for international numbers tho..and completely useless for anything involving an automated service..but meh..thats what mobiles are for right

 

[Queen Michael]

I agree with the smartphone thing. 90% of the time, you use it for computer activities. It's silly to call it a phone.

 

[Magicman10893]

I will stop calling my "stationary computer" a desktop when they stop making "Computer Desks."

I will start calling my smartphone a "pocket computer" when it actually functions like a computer. Right now all I can do is text, call, check Facebook, and use the camera. No word processing software, games, or other software I use on my laptop. Right now I wouldn't even call it a "smart"phone, I'd call it a "not-quite-smart-but-not-entirely-dumb-phone" or a "C-student-phone."

 

[winginson]

I reckon 'stay tuned' is still alright. FM radio is still going and you do have tune that.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

1. Dial (verb)
I thought dial meant push buttons too?

2. Tune In / Stay Tuned
I did that today with the radio

3. Tape (verb)
Yeah

4. Webcam
A camera used for web transmissions?

5. Blog (noun)
Dunno what that means

6. Desktop Computer
I count my computer screen as a vital part of my computer

7. Film (verb)
Yeahp

8. Smartphone
I recently bought a smart phone, it can surf the web and send text messages and play videos in addition to its primary function, which is to be a mobile phone

9. Surf the Web
Hurf the durf

10. Desktop Publishing
?
11. Personal Cloud
?
12. Super Phone
WTF
13. Set-Top Box
ditto

 

[MarlonBlazed]

Super phone... Isn't that just the next marketing buzz word to pass off cheap plastic to the masses? It's the weakest attempt to sound better than last gen, real grade school.

I hope they start calling them something like PPCs in the future because I can only imagine the next one will be Super-Duper Smartphone-A-Roni 5000 XL and everyone will say "Check out my SD Spar 5000... XL".

 

[Risingblade]

This list is bad and whoever made it should feel bad.

 

[DoPo]

and completely useless for anything involving an automated service..

You would think that, won't you? What if I told you it could be a great boon? Well, it might but in more than one way, bear with me - automated services rely on not having those phones. However, the companies using them are also required to provide support for anybody who could call, including dial phones (as well as a few other special ones), so you can infact bypass the whole system and go straight to an operator. There is sometimes an override code (just try pressing # or * on a keypad) but since dial phones don't have that waiting for too long (or try dialling stuff) could drop you off the automated system and straight to an operator. That's how they handle unsupported phones which is also a handy system to bypass the whole "Press 1 for this, press 2 for that" bullshit. It's also handy because you don't actually need an unsupported phone - you can do it from a mobile one or whatever - the facility is there anyway. And since it's normally underused you are not likely to wait for long. Well, at least the dial (and other phones) support used to be there few years ago, I'm not sure if new systems would have dropped the feature for it or not, however, I do doubt many businesses would have moved over to the new fancy wancy systems when they can just use the old ones.

 

[DracoSuave]

Some are right, but some are just....

'STOP CALLING IT A DESKTOP CALL IT A STATIONARY PC IT IS MORE ACCURATE' except it doesn't roll off the tongue better and is ugly language.

Ugly language doesn't and shouldn't spread.


A lot of it, on the other hand, would be like me being a jerk and saying 'Look, guys, we should stop calling them cars because we don't need a short form for 'horseless carriage' because ALL of them are horseless now. Instead we should call them 'Internal combustion engine carriages' but please don't ever shorten it to intercombus because we're trying to phase IC engines out in favor of electric-powered carriages, which we should not call electrocars, because electric horseless carriage is, again, redundant.'