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The Hard Drive Is Inside the Computer

davidmwilliams writes "Those of us who work in technology have a jargon all of our very own. We know the difference between CPUs and GPUs, between SSD and HD, let alone HD and SDTV! Yet, our users are flat out calling everything 'the hard drive.' Why is it so?" As much as I hate to admit it, this particular thing drives me nuts. You don't call the auto shop and tell them that your engine is broken when your radio breaks!

6 of 876 comments (clear)

  1. The "machine" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I love how people call geeks that say the computer is the "machine" is a dumb ass.

  2. Ever worked on a Linux box w/ a dead-end luser? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I did, recently: I installed Ubuntu for the first time last year, and man, I was disappointed.

    Right out of the box, so to speak, there were problems:

    1. NVIDIA graphics card drivers weren't installed because they were proprietary. Come on. Even then, dragging windows around and typing into text boxes had a minor delay that didn't feel natural.

    2. All websites looked different and ugly as sin, because the package didn't come with the fonts that every other system used. Come on!

    3. Multi-monitor use was difficult to set up without having to alter configuration files ( though I do wish taskbars on multiple screens would come to Windows 7). Some things I found simply couldn't be done without writing scripts: setting up a hotkey to send a window to the other monitor, etc.

    To resolve most of these issues, I had to navigate a bunch of forums and wiki help pages. I couldn't imagine trying to show my mom how to do that, for instance.

    Ubuntu has a lot of strengths, and many of its features made me go "OOOO, cool!" But the Linux learning curve is freakishly steep. To do something of medium difficulty in Windows generally requires advanced console command knowledge in Ubuntu.

  3. Talk about jargon by smooth+wombat · · Score: -1, Troll

    I didn't twig just what she meant at the time.

    Twig? As in a small piece of a tree branch? What the hell does that have to do with not understanding what the person meant?

    Would it have been so difficult to say, "I didn't understand what she meant at the time."? Trying to use a cutting-edge word definition which only a select few know makes you look, and sound, elitist as well as trying too hard (which also applies to this common sense blurb called an article).

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  4. Re:Meh by noundi · · Score: 1, Troll

    ...or to pay someone to fix it.

    Haha what!? You build up an entire argument based on the fact that his only choice is to actually buy another PC and then shit on your own face in the end? Why!? Of course he should pay someone to fix it, if it's a perfectly functioning PC with a missing hard drive, why wouldn't he!? You're weird man.

    --
    I am the lawn!
  5. Re:cutting-edge word definition? by smooth+wombat · · Score: 0, Troll

    So tell me. Without someone looking up the word, how are they supposed to know what that obscure reference to the word means? Yes, you can infer the meaning from the context of the sentence, but the person still comes off sounding elitist for using that definition of a common word.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  6. Probably not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    So this "G15" has something to do with school?