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Tech anachronisms

bkendig said:
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...
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The idea that a computing device might have applications beyond crunching numbers pre-dates the existence of digital computers:
[The Analytical Engine] might act upon other things besides number, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations, and which should be also susceptible of adaptations to the action of the operating notation and mechanism of the engine...Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent.

Ada Lovelace ~1843

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...back then a "computer" was a wetware instance person who's job it was to crunch numbers manually.

More recently, some of the applications you list featured in the famous 1968 "Mother of all demos":

 
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I’d say the brand name thing is just baggage that won’t go away because of lawyers.

The Smartphone distinction isn’t dead (yet) as even cellular equipped tables still don’t have full telephony integration; a cellular iPad cannot get direct cell calls or SMS text messages. Not sure why, but here we are.
 
maflynn said:
When was the last time you had a discussion on modems, compared to that back in the 80s and 90s?

Yes the component name lives on, cable modem, etc but overall in the vernacular it is not, so imo, my point stands, it largely is not used.
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Modems are an essential technical component of modern tech.

Just because the general public is clueless to this fact doesn't lower their importance.
 
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keksikuningas said:
What was the last time you guys used a typical magnifying lens that would be used for a search icon (Spotlight for example or the message preview icon here in the text box I am currently filling out)? I am 30 and I don't think I ever used an actual one with a handle sticking out of it. Only small ones like in a soldering setup or in a multitool
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I used one as a child to burn holes in dry leaves.
 
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WebHead said:
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
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SSD - stands for "Solid State Drive" or "Solid State Disk" (depending who you ask). Both are misnomers because it is neither a "Drive" nor a "Disk". It is just flash memory.

Yes, Modulation and Demodulation was the conversion between Analog and Digital used on dialup modems. People were calling the things used to bring broadband into the home "modems" since "cable modems" and "xDSL modems" were introduced in the 1990's. And even today people refer to the "modem" connecting our little handheld computers to the 5G network. Not a networking guy so I'm probably not fully accurate, either, but I'd guess the more correct term for the original broadband modems would be "bridge" and the current ones are a "bridge/router" hybrid.

Smartphone and Mouse I'd still give a pass to today (though I didn't think of the wire of a mouse being it's tail, so maybe we should start calling them guinea pigs instead of mice - especially given the size of some of the more popular ones these days).

A lot of others tech terms (Dashboard, Scroll, Desktop, Button, Window, Firewall, Web) are really metaphorical by design, so I wouldn't put them as "anachronisms" as such.

And "relics of the 80's" when referring to a product or corporation's name is kind of strange in this context. There are companies still in business in the world that are decades and even centuries old (Coca Cola, anyone?)
 
marzer said:
Maybe I'm out of touch as a retired network proffesional, but modems are probably still used in any application that needs to convert digital signal into an analog transmission. This would include cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.
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Is there digital/analog conversion in any of those standards, though? Other than pre-GSM/CDMA cellular, I always thought that WiFi, Bluetooth, and all broadband internet transmission standards were digital end-to-end.
 
jakey rolling said:
Is there digital/analog conversion in any of those standards, though? Other than pre-GSM/CDMA cellular, I always thought that WiFi, Bluetooth, and all broadband internet transmission standards were digital end-to-end.
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Digital signaling is too weak (and probably inefficient) to broadcast. So it gets modulated onto an analog signal for external transmission. Anything traversing through the air requires a modulated signal. There's all sorts of mechanisms to do so, some of the conventional are FM, AM, FSK, PSK, pretty much that's where my technical comprehension fades. And of course, demodulation takes analog transmissions and strips the data off to be converted back into internal digital signaling.
 
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Forum: It’s not a public marketplace in a Roman town anymore.

Post: It’s not an upright beam supporting the sides of a door anymore.

Reply: It’s not folding back something anymore.

Comment: It’s not an invention anymore (well, not universally).
 
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?
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Modems are used all the time. Every interface, whether it’s radio or light or electric signals through copper, requires modulation and demodulation, which is what a modem does. 5G uses a modem. WiFi uses a modem. Fiber connections do as well.
 
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theluggage said:
Well, technically it refers to modulating and de-modulating a carrier signal but, now, it's really down to the terminology used in the particular technology stack. You could break open a fibre Optical Terminal Adapter (you'll get sand kicked in your face* for calling that a modem) and point to the bit that "modulates the light source".
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Uh oh -- somebody warn the editors over at Wikipedia to cover their eyes:

But agree it would generally confuse people to use that term rather than optical network/terminal/adapter/unit/etc. So we use the terms that we believe will most efficiently convey understanding.
 
bkendig said:
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."
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Computer was actually itself redefined.

In the 1960s, NASA employed 'computers'. That is, human computers who did the calculations necessary for space flight, by hand. Katherine Johnson is one noted example.
 
jakey rolling said:
Not a networking guy so I'm probably not fully accurate, either, but I'd guess the more correct term for the original broadband modems would be "bridge" and the current ones are a "bridge/router" hybrid.
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No, a modem is a modem, bridges and routers have their own distinct functions (often, but not always, combined into one unit).

ADSL/VDSL broadband require a modem to convert digital systems to the high-pitched/ultrasonic audio signals that are sent over the phone line. Cable connections usually need a cable modem (I think they use RF). Fibre-to-the-premises connections need an Optical Terminal Adapter (OTA) which isn't called a "fibre modem" because reasons. All of these usually have an Ethernet connection but it will usually be running PPoE providing a point-to-point link to the ISP & needs a bridge to link yiur home network to the internet.

Your typical domestic broadband "hub" is a multi-function comprising bridge, router, switch, WiFi access point and other functions. Typically there is a dedicated Ethernet "WAN" connection that connects to your modem/terminal adapter of choice, but some do include a DSL modem so they can plug direct to the phone socket. For a professional networking installation it may make more sense to have more modular equipment.

Early DSL providers would just provide the modem, or a separate modem and router, but I think most ended up by providing a "hub" with a built-in modem.
 
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bzgnyc2 said:
Uh oh -- somebody warn the editors over at Wikipedia to cover their eyes:
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Well, they've already got a [disputed] tag on that (wasn't me!)

...but as I've said earlier, its all pretty arbitrary and comes down to who wrote the standards documents for the networking system in question. It's hard to transmit a signal long-distance without something that could be described as modulation.
 
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Footage - Originally referred to 35mm film which was measured by the foot in length.

Log on/off - Originally a maritime term for recording in a physical notebook.

Password - Originally a word that grants someone access through a physical passageway or gate.

Folder/file/page/archive - Refers to paper-based media for recording information.

Hanging up (phone) - Refers to corded rotary phones where the handset needs to be physically hung up on a handle to end the call.
 
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WebHead said:
Yes, we all still use those terms because they're so engrained and there aren't any widely recognised alternatives.
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Our language (and I bet most/all other languages) is full of words whose origin has long been left behind by societal, political or technological change. It’s a feature, not a bug, IMO. These “outdated” terms are little packages of historical context we use every day, that let us know how things came to exist.
 
maflynn said:
When was the last time you had a discussion on modems, compared to that back in the 80s and 90s?

Yes the component name lives on, cable modem, etc but overall in the vernacular it is not, so imo, my point stands, it largely is not used.
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I talked to Shentel Friday and they told me a tech had to come out to "bring a new modem and set it up" at my parent's house. Literally said that.

-bdd
 
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