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What are some of the outdated terms still being used in the tech world?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

 

[WebHead]

(Sorry if this should be in "Apple, Inc and Tech Industry")

 

[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 (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.