Tech anachronisms

[WebHead]

What are some of the outdated terms still being used in the tech world? I'll start...

YouTube: Assuming this was named after "the tube", it's curious because CRTs were already on the way out when it debuted, and I doubt any Gen Z would know what "the tube" even is

Podcast: The iPod no longer exists - nor do most other dedicated media players - but episodic content is still called a podcast

Smartphone: Today's devices are so far past a simple "phone" it's a huge misnomer. Communicator, anyone?

Modem: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but in this modern age of pure digital communications, is there no longer a need for modulation/demodulation?

Mouse: Considering most are now wireless, should we just call them "pointing devices"?

Dashboard: This has morphed twice, from the protective plank on a horse and cart to the front shelf of a vehicle, to the technical readout on a computer

Anything "micro", "soft" or the names of fruit: These company and product names are relics of the '80s

Anything “Insta” or “gram”: Again, they have meaning for those of a certain age, but not the younger generations

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Some of us still use many, if not most, of those terms, not least because some of us still use some of these devices (such as the iPod) and/or platforms (such as YouTube). I even found myself using a mouse earlier this year, (yes, with my Apple) - and was delighted that it had been supplied - as sometimes, the trackpad is insufficient for my needs.

In my experience, language that is genuinely outmoded fades from general usage entirely naturally: Nowadays, the term "yuppie" is hardly heard, whereas two decades ago - until the financial crash of 2008, the expression was ubiquitous.

In any case, language evolves naturally, without the need for contrived acts of creation of substitutes.

More to the point, just because a device has evolved, or taken a different form furnished with further functions, does not necessarily mean that the vast majority of users use it in this way, or have adopted (and adapted) to its use.

In other words, what works (and is used) by Generation Z, is not necessarily how this may be used, perceived, utilised, by other (older) generations. The one does not exclude the other.

 

[WebHead]

Yes, we all still use those terms because they're so engrained and there aren't any widely recognised alternatives. But many have lost their meaning and would mean nothing to younger generations.

Maybe that doesn't matter, a name is a name regardless of origin.

 

[eyoungren]

Television.

I'm Gen-X and I see TV very differently than my kids who are Gen-Z. My kids consume videos, shows, etc on their devices. There is and always has been multiple TVs in the house. But, except for when used for kids programming when they were little, the only people in the house using the TVs are me and my wife (also Gen-X).

My wife and I have a different outlook on TV, because we grew into adulthood when 'TV' meant over the air national broadcasts of shows. Even if you had cable, there was still NBC, CBS, and ABC broadcasting shows. You can still get some of that if you like, but now it's a digital antenna.

Now our TVs are using Amazon Firesticks. So, we've gone from antenna, to cable, to a streaming device. The fundamental meaning of TV has changed, even though the basic definition of a TV hasn't. My kids see a TV as a large monitor for instance, while my wife and I see it as what I mention above.

But if you're a retailer selling TVs, you aren't advertising that you are selling a monitor - even if that's what the TV is capable of and how it largely will be used.

The meaning of terms change over time. I suppose that's because the term embeds itself in the culture. People don't like change, particularly when it's difficult. Changing a term is probably more difficult than just adjusting the meaning. My guess.

 

[Mousse]

The meaning of terms change over time. I suppose that's because the term embeds itself in the culture. People don't like change, particularly when it's difficult. Changing a term is probably more difficult than just adjusting the meaning. My guess.

So the Doctor's handheld gadget will forever be known as a sonic screwdriver. He uses it for everything except driving screws.😏 I've seen him use it to pick locks, disable force shields, hack computers, scan for lifeforms, summon the TARDIS and so on. Still we refer to it as a sonic screwdriver.🤷‍♂️

 

[eyoungren]

So the Doctor's handheld gadget will forever be known as a sonic screwdriver. He uses it for everything except driving screws.😏 I've seen him use it to pick locks, disable force shields, hack computers, scan for lifeforms, summon the TARDIS and so on. Still we refer to it as a sonic screwdriver.🤷‍♂️

Still won't work on wood…

 

[theluggage]

Modem: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but in this modern age of pure digital communications, is there no longer a need for modulation/demodulation?

Correction incoming! Plenty of people are still using DSL/ADSL/VDSL over a phone line (that includes "fibre to the cabinet" services where the last leg is still over a phone cable) - which use modulated high-frequency sound over a voice line - and in those cases the interface is still legitimately a modem. I think some "cable modems" using modulated RF signals are still, well, modems - as, is a WiFi or 5G modem. I think the modulation schemes are now pretty exotic, though, a long way from good old AM/FM.

Fully digital networks like full fibre and (in the past) ISDN tend to call the box a "terminal" instead - Optical Network Terminal (ONT) for fibre and I think it is/was "Terminal Adapter" for ISDN (and saying "ISDN modem" would get you mocked on usenet!)

Anyway, I think "router" has largely taken over from "modem".

If you want a real techachronism then look no further than "camera" - from camera obscura or "dark room" (literally started as a darkened room with with a lens in the wall/roof projecting images onto a wall/table). It was getting questionable even with film cameras - at least they were "dark boxes" but the camera in your phone is just a sensor chip with a lens in front of it...

(Still often presented as an icon of an old bellow camera).

Mouse: Considering most are now wireless, should we just call them "pointing devices"?

Only if you've got an Apple Tragic Mouse.
Many other mice can still be used while the charge cable is plugged in where the "tail" used to go.

Dashboard: This has morphed twice, from the protective plank on a horse and cart to the front shelf of a vehicle, to the technical readout on a computer

I see your "Dashboard" and raise you "Desktop".

...floppy disks as save icons (still in MS Office at least...) even when using SSDs!

Album: (music) - when 78rpm records only held a couple of minutes per side, something like a classical music piece would be split across multiple records packed in a book-like "album".

 

[WebHead]

Nice additions, cheers!

 

[conmee]

Some of us still use many, if not most, of those terms, not least because some of us still use some of these devices (such as the iPod) and/or platforms (such as YouTube). I even found myself using a mouse earlier this year, (yes, with my Apple) - and was delighted that it had been supplied - as sometimes, the trackpad is insufficient for my needs.

In my experience, language that is genuinely outmoded fades from general usage entirely naturally: Nowadays, the term "yuppie" is hardly heard, whereas two decades ago - until the financial crash of 2008, the expression was ubiquitous.

In any case, language evolves naturally, without the need for contrived acts of creation of substitutes.

More to the point, just because a device has evolved, or taken a different form furnished with further functions, does not necessarily mean that the vast majority of users use it in this way, or have adopted (and adapted) to its use.

In other words, what works (and is used) by Generation Z, is not necessarily how this may be used, perceived, utilised, by other (older) generations. The one does not exclude the other.

There you are! @eyoungren and I were chatting about titles in another thread I created, and I said I could have sworn someone around here was a Haswell. @eyoungren mentioned your alias. 69,000+ and counting and here I was finally relieved to be reaching the 65816 title with 1,000. lol

 

[eyoungren]

There you are! @eyoungren and I were chatting about titles in another thread I created, and I said I could have sworn someone around here was a Haswell. @eyoungren mentioned your alias. 69,000+ and counting and here I was finally relieved to be reaching the 65816 title with 1,000. lol

Scepticalscribe probably saw the thread. I tagged them in that one, but they chose not to respond. Probably listening to their iPod. 😉

 

[conmee]

Anything “Insta” or “gram”: Again, they have meaning for those of a certain age, but not the younger generations

Some things with "book": Phone/Address... Mac is holding strong, Facebook for now. I know most youngsters probably have never seen a phone book, and Contacts seems to have usurped Address Book.

Along the same lines as the floppy disk "save" icon in MS Office, how many youths have ever seen an actual old school phone handset as depicted in Apple's Phone app icon? I'm trying to recall the last time I saw a phone handset outside of a hotel room. Maybe there are still enough around that it's still a familiar icon. I still have a rotary phone that I can use with my TI-99/4a coupler modem where the handset goes on the modem just like in War Games... 300 Baud baby!

P.S. Just watched the "Do you want to play a game?" scene and part of the dialogue goes, "He's dead (Professor Falken)? Yeah, look, here's his obituary. He wasn't very old... he was pretty old, he was 41... oh yeah? Oh, that's old." Not sure it's one of my favorite movies anymore haha 😉

 

[theluggage]

Along the same lines as the floppy disk "save" icon in MS Office, how many youths have ever seen an actual old school phone handset as depicted in Apple's Phone app icon?

I think this is a real problem in the modern world and our Gen X/Boomer prejudices risk alienating Gen Z and beyond from technology.

I have therefore taken it upon myself to propose the following modern replacements for obsolete 20th Century icons:

 

[bkendig]

I'll submit the word computer itself. These devices let us play music, organize our photos, do our taxes, chat with other humans, look up information online, guide our spacecraft... calling them "computers" is like calling all humans "thinkers." I wish there were a better term for them. It sounds so weird when Star Trek characters talk about "computers."

 

[boswald]

Some things with "book": Phone/Address... Mac is holding strong, Facebook for now. I know most youngsters probably have never seen a phone book, and Contacts seems to have usurped Address Book.

Along the same lines as the floppy disk "save" icon in MS Office, how many youths have ever seen an actual old school phone handset as depicted in Apple's Phone app icon? I'm trying to recall the last time I saw a phone handset outside of a hotel room. Maybe there are still enough around that it's still a familiar icon. I still have a rotary phone that I can use with my TI-99/4a coupler modem where the handset goes on the modem just like in War Games... 300 Baud baby!

P.S. Just watched the "Do you want to play a game?" scene and part of the dialogue goes, "He's dead (Professor Falken)? Yeah, look, here's his obituary. He wasn't very old... he was pretty old, he was 41... oh yeah? Oh, that's old." Not sure it's one of my favorite movies anymore haha 😉

View attachment 2644761 View attachment 2644762

I'm 43 so that quote hurts.

 

[Sippincider]

SSD/solid state drive. What part of it is a spinning drive??

The QWERTY keyboard. Designed in the 1800's, the layout lives on as a mainstream standard.

 

[bzgnyc2]

What are some of the outdated terms still being used in the tech world? I'll start...

YouTube: Assuming this was named after "the tube", it's curious because CRTs were already on the way out when it debuted, and I doubt any Gen Z would know what "the tube" even is

Podcast: The iPod no longer exists - nor do most other dedicated media players - but episodic content is still called a podcast

Smartphone: Today's devices are so far past a simple "phone" it's a huge misnomer. Communicator, anyone?

Modem: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but in this modern age of pure digital communications, is there no longer a need for modulation/demodulation?

Mouse: Considering most are now wireless, should we just call them "pointing devices"?

Dashboard: This has morphed twice, from the protective plank on a horse and cart to the front shelf of a vehicle, to the technical readout on a computer

Anything "micro", "soft" or the names of fruit: These company and product names are relics of the '80s

Anything “Insta” or “gram”: Again, they have meaning for those of a certain age, but not the younger generations

Those aren't even that old. iPhones still less than 20 years from first introduction.

Here are some phrases that have outlived the concepts on which they are based by 100 years or more:

Common Phrases That Are Completely Antiquated

It turns out that we still use quite a few outdated phrases, many of them commonplace. Ever found yourself saying, "Take it with a grain of salt" when warning someone to be discerning about information they've heard from a questionable source? How about accusing someone of "jumping on the...

www.ranker.com

P.S.I would use the term modem for anything that converts digital data to and from an analog format for transmission. Then I would consider the chip inside your phone that converts the digital signal to a radio signal (an inherently analog medium) a modem. Cable modem seems a reasonable name for the device that converts data coming in over Ethernet to a signal that transmits over over coax cable.

P.S.S.How about the magnetic compass icon for a browser based on the idea it is the navigator of the world wide web and if we're getting pedantic, FaceTime Audio seems a bit of an oxymoron...

P.S.S.S. Postscripts