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Wi do technical writers keep doing this?

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Moreover, we're talking about newspapers etc, in which using terms like "wireless fidelity" obfuscates the issue more than it clarifies.
 
Leros said:
If you take a technical writing course, you'll learn that you're supposed to explain any abbreviations or acronyms the first time they are used in a section of the paper.

"The USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable plugs into the PC (personal computer)."

You have to repeat that kind of crap at the beginning of every major section.
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I did take a technical writing course and I can tell you right now that you do not take a name and then pretend that the name has some different, non-sensical, meaning when it doesn't.

Though it isn't nearly as awkward with some names...
Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer)
Pokemon (Pocket Monsters)
...it's more like saying "The FBI, or, Eff Bee Eye, was established by Herbert Hoover." Even if it were technically correct, which it's not, it does not aid in understanding.

OK, I think I've got one:
"Use the industry-standard RSA (Rivest, Shamir and Adleman) public-key encryption algorithm for extra security." RSA is a company and algorithm name. Listing what it stands for as an explanation does not answer what RSA is. It's still just some random group of names.

Here's another:
"MDK (Max, Dr. Fluke Hawkins, and Kurt) is a '90s game available on the PC and Playstation video game console." The game designers actually had fun with the name "MDK" and many believed that it meant "Murder, Death, Kill." In fact, that is what was printed on the PC version's shelf-tag at Wal-Mart! It's a name that grew out of the label on the physical character sketch folder at Shiny Entertainment that contained the concept art for those three characters. That's it. By listing their names after the game's name, you raise more questions than you answer.
 
Blackjack200 said:
I always thought "Wi-Fi" was a stupid thing to call wireless internet. I guess Wi-LAN just isn't as catchy.
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Wifi isn't even wireless internet. It can be, but its just wireless networking. I have a wifi setup in my house to allow computers in different areas to communicate, but the network that goes out of my house in on Uverse coax.
 
nublikescake said:
X.25? Frame Relay? ATM? MPLS? How does a question about the network design of a random corporation prove anything? Do you work for Intermec?
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No, but back in the day they ruled the wireless arena. Back when a wireless AP weighed 6-7 pounds and was the size of an encyclopedia.
 
You know it's a good thread when you forget what the original topic was by the end of reading all of the posts. I almost thought this was a Spidey nostalgia thread.
 
KentState said:
You know it's a good thread when you forget what the original topic was by the end of reading all of the posts. I almost thought this was a Spidey nostalgia thread.
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I watched a history of communication show on history channel this evening.

I was yelling at the tv "watch! Here comes the revolution of the rotary phone! This is the groudwork of the Internet"

It really is.
 
spidey07 said:
I watched a history of communication show on history channel this evening.

I was yelling at the tv "watch! Here comes the revolution of the rotary phone! This is the groudwork of the Internet"

It really is.
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You're so cool Spidey.
 
It's like how HD Radio doesn't actually stand for "High Definition Radio." Of course, it doesn't really matter if WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity or not, but calling HD Radio High Definition Radio would be misleading.
 
spidey07 said:
I watched a history of communication show on history channel this evening.

I was yelling at the tv "watch! Here comes the revolution of the rotary phone! This is the groudwork of the Internet"

It really is.
Click to expand...

In high school we watched a program on Neanderthals and when one 'discovered' fire I screamed, "This is the groundwork of the atomic bomb!"
 
From the same manual:
Motorola SBG901 Manual said:
Advanced DMZ Host Page

This page allows you to specify the default recipient of WAN traffic that NAT is unable to translate to a known local PC. The DMZ (De-militarized Zone) hosting (also commonly referred to as “Exposed Host”) can also be described as a computer or small sub-network that is located outside the firewall between the trusted internal private LAN and the untrusted public Internet. It prevents direct access by outside users to private data.

For example, you can set up a web server on a DMZ computer to enable outside users to access your website without exposing confidential data on your network.
Click to expand...

*facepalm
 
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