Topic: Common mis-spoken tech terms. (Read 4996 times)

Username: * · « **on:** July 01, 2005, 07:10:53 AM »

I wanted to hear some of the tech terms you guys hear other say that are, well, off. Some examples come from some of my customers. For one, they like to call the tower, the hard drive.

Or a USB cable, a UBS cable. That's like calling a TV, a VT.

Some also tend to think that the monitor holds their data because I've upgraded monitors and had customers ask if I was able to save their Outlook address book. As if it was stored in their monitor. But hey, I guess that's like me asking who HN is.

xolik · « **Reply #1 on:** July 01, 2005, 08:53:53 AM »

UBS cable is a common one. Jiggabytes is another good one. People calling their entire computer system the CPU kind of annoys me. I used to hear all kinds of funny things back from when I worked at The Pit. If I remember anymore, I'll post them here.

Crystalmonkey · « **Reply #2 on:** July 01, 2005, 09:23:30 AM »

Sometimes people confuse the cd-rom with a cup holder.

Demosthenes · « **Reply #3 on:** July 01, 2005, 10:00:36 AM »

My favourite:

Where I work, we have a number of users on Winterms rather than actual machines, since all they need to do their jobs really just boils down to a handful of applications we can easily handle on one of our Citrix servers.

If something's going on with the Citrix server, inevitably, one of those people will come up to me, or one of our other Techs and say something like "my computer is locked up" or "my computer is running really slow".

It doesn't matter how many times we point out "you don't have a computer. You're on a Winterm."

Username: * · « **Reply #4 on:** July 01, 2005, 11:20:52 AM »

Yeah, I forgot about the good old 'CPU' in reguards to the entire computer. And I think the whole server idea is just beyond some people. Sometimes, when I am trying to recover data from a failing hard drive and I need to get my customers email's, address book, etc... I get a blank look when I ask if they download their emails onto their computer or do they just access them directly from the server. I think a 'Server', for some, is a mystical being that floats around in the depths of cyber space.

blueeyedmama · « **Reply #5 on:** July 04, 2005, 12:22:47 AM »

Oh gawd. I deal with women exclusively. It's 'thingie'...as in

...this thingie on my system won't open.

...I clicked this thingie and now I can't get to the internet.

...this thingie won't open my thingie that I downloaded in my email thingie.

I just want to rip out their lan cable and tie their hands behind their backs, save myself the grief and aggravation...but then they'd just tell me their hands were stuck in this thingie...

Fuse · « **Reply #6 on:** July 07, 2005, 03:36:35 PM »

Desktop - What the monitor sits on.

johnus · « **Reply #7 on:** July 07, 2005, 04:17:45 PM »

Quote from: Fuse

Desktop - What the monitor sits on.

Heyy...in some cases, it is...

JSpaceman · « **Reply #8 on:** July 07, 2005, 05:40:36 PM »

To paraphrase Strong Bad- is the 'G' in ".gif" pronounced with a hard or soft 'G?'

Demosthenes · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2005, 06:19:54 PM »

Just to be different, I pronounce it like an "H".

JSpaceman · « **Reply #10 on:** July 07, 2005, 06:44:31 PM »

Oooh, good idea! I think from now on I'll pronounce it with a low gutteral sound, like I'm trying to dislodge a hairball from my throat.

Trex005 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 10, 2005, 09:34:26 AM »

Okay... I deal with this on a day to day basis...
Towers are called :
Modems
CPU
Hard drive
Internet

Monitors are called :
Computer
TV

Bar Code Readers :
Scanners
Gun
(okay this one may be industry specific, but it is annoying)

Mag Stripe Readers :
Scanners (do you see how confusing this can be?)

Image Scanners :
Scanners (okay this one is not wrong, but added to the two above, it makes for problems)

Router :
Modem
Computer
Internet
Ethernet

DSL/CABLE Modem :
Router
Internet
Computer
Ethernet
(people thing routers and modems are the same thing, and in the even that they ARE in the same box, it get Uber annoying)

Internet :
E-mail ( I completely messed up a customers order because he ordered "E-mail" and after I set everything up for his domain, he tried to cancel his ISP )
Web Pages
AOL (that makes me sick)

Printer :
Fax Machine

if anything is wrong with a computer, people will say that their Internet is not working...

if the Internet is going slow, then that means their "computer is going slow"

reboot your computer means close the application and restart it (and vice-Versa)

This list could go on for days... but I better cut it off now

dcrog · « **Reply #12 on:** July 10, 2005, 10:42:12 AM »

Hey you say you work in this field all day long.

Would you have the internet on a disc that I could get a copy of?

Trex005 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 10, 2005, 06:19:48 PM »

actaully, you can just download it here :
http://www.google.com/ig

after all, the whole internet is on google!

uebergeekess · « **Reply #14 on:** July 10, 2005, 11:14:42 PM »

man i had to go on a job which was supposed to be setting up a wireless network. I actually had to show these two girls how to connect to an already existing wireless network on thier laptops. you'd think that the little windows message that says wireless networks are in range..click here to view or whatever would give them a hint

and the dude that lived there...i had to help him with his email. I asked him if he had outlook or outlook express and he said he had [name of his isp]

TheJudge · « **Reply #15 on:** July 11, 2005, 06:38:37 AM »

I know someone who says "print" or "punch" instead of type.

So.. I have to punch my name here? And then I need to print my adress where it says adress???

Also, the same person says "tape" when reffering to burning CDs.

Graham_UK · « **Reply #16 on:** July 11, 2005, 07:45:34 AM »

PCMCIA

I speak to about 150 customers a day, and have done for 2 years. In all that time not a single one of them has got that acronym right.

People
Cant
Memorise
Computer
Industry
Acronyms

Sheesh

Username: * · « **Reply #17 on:** July 11, 2005, 01:25:30 PM »

Sometimes when my customers need to bring their computer to me for service, well, our conversations go something like this.
Customer: "So do you want me to bring just the modem?"
Me: (Confused) "I need you to bring the whole computer."
Customer: "You mean the monitor, keyboard and mouse as well?"
Me: (Even more confused) "No, just the tower."
Customer: "You mean the modem?"
Me. (Relizes they mean tower) "Sure, bring me the Modem."

0ren · « **Reply #18 on:** July 14, 2005, 04:34:12 PM »

"Ethernet" pronounced like "Eh-thernet". The "e" is HARD people...come on!!
PCMCIA is one I ran across a lot when I worked for HP...
And the worst one of all is someone trying to pronounce "Toshiba". I've heard the following:

Tobiso.
Tosibo.
Tobeeshee.
Tobobo.
It only gets worse from there....

hackess · « **Reply #19 on:** July 14, 2005, 04:36:25 PM »

Feh. You're in Canadia. None of you can speak properly.

hudders · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2005, 06:05:59 AM »

i've had a woman have a proper panic attack just because i opened a command line window...

this is the same woman who said i couldn't do anything to repair her pc because it was made in germany...

inverticle · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2005, 11:30:50 AM »

Yeah, you open a command line and the customer either thinks your a genius or just meddling where you shouldn't.

MISTER MASSACRE · « **Reply #22 on:** July 17, 2005, 11:35:38 AM »

Quote from: 0ren

"Ethernet" pronounced like "Eh-thernet". The "e" is HARD people...come on!!

Considering "ethernet" is derived from the word "ether," I seriously doubt that.

johnus · « **Reply #23 on:** July 20, 2005, 03:14:41 AM »

Quote from: hudders

i've had a woman have a proper panic attack just because i opened a command line window...

this is the same woman who said i couldn't do anything to repair her pc because it was made in germany...

Yea, I always immediately maximize the com. prompt and generally people are like "Weird Tingly Feeling DID YOU DO?! YOU BROKE IT!"

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Author Topic: Common mis-spoken tech terms. (Read 4996 times)