Apple made the word popular. Understand the word popular didnt means that all geeks use it on their social circles... Popular as the really cool thing everyone wants because is something you can do with your cool Phone. Really Popular. Not geek popular.
Apple make that word popular. Not Bill Gates, not Xerox or whatever you can find in wikipedia to backup your comment. Apps is something you now hear in a dance club conversation after the word "cool" when someone is showing what the new phone can do with the pictures.
Grow up. Be real. Apple was the one who shows the real world what an App was.
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Thanks. You said it best than I did.
Making something popular is not part of the rules of Trademarks, so it's a pointless debate. And it was already as popular as "Programs" or plain "Software" before Apple, during Apple and after Apple.
The words have always been interchangeable.
I suggest you go back and read pages 1 to 5, where all of this has been discussed to death instead of necroing the thread to launch that lame conversation again.