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App — the Most Abused Word In Tech?
Barence writes "PC Pro has a blog exploring the misuse of the word 'app'. Until the iPhone came along, the word 'application' largely meant a self-contained piece of software installed on a PC or Mac. Then Apple took ownership, trimmed it to three letters, and within months the word 'app' became synonymous with small widgets of code for smartphones. Now, Google's pushing the boundaries of the 'app' definition even further. Google Chrome users will have seen a new addition to their browser recently: the Chrome Web Store. Here, you'll find dozens of 'apps' to install and run directly from a handy icon on the browser's home screen. Except, these aren't 'apps' at all. They're websites. Google's idea of 'apps' are what we quaintly referred to in the good old days as 'bookmarks.' Does the word 'app' mean anything at all any more?"
There's an app for that.
Then Apple took ownership, trimmed it to three letters, and within months the word 'app' became synonymous with small widgets of code ...
Perhaps you would take care to avoid abusing words like 'widgets' and 'code' when tearing down the misuse of 'app'?
What does "widgets of code" mean here? What does "Tech" mean in the title?
Words change, things change. Move on.
Gone!
That claim is simply made up of whole cloth. The author has apparently never heard the phrase "killer app," which goes back to way before iPhones or smartphones.
"App" is a common and logical shortening of "application," and has been in widespread use for a long time.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
This comment is not an app
As the article points out, an 'app' is very different from an 'application'. I have never heard someone refer to an iPhone program as an 'application' and I have never heard someone use the term 'app' to refer to a stand-alone desktop software. This would seem to imply that they are distinct terms, and one is not merely shorthand for the other.
This is not the misappropriation of one term, but the creation of a new one. Sure, the word app has its root in the word application, but there are lots of words that come from old words (in fact, most words have their roots in other words that mean different, but related, things).
I think the only time that anyone should complain about the misuse of terms is when it is unclear which version of the word someone is using. An example from the article is the misuse of 'download' for 'upload'. If someone says download when they mean upload, it can be confusing. If someone calls something an 'app', no one will think they are talking about a desktop application.
Also another complaint with the article: applications have always referred to more than just 'a self-contained piece of software installed on a PC or Mac'. All other operating systems have applications as well.
As much as Google Docs is a website it is also a web application. Whether the shortcut I see on my "Apps" view in Chrome takes me to a local or remote (cloud) program is irrelevant. If I am using vim remotely through a ssh client, am I using a terminal or vim, or both? In the same sense, the browser acts as a terminal for Google Docs, and denigrating the contemporary definition of 'app' is a waste of time.
I had a meeting with the owner of the printshop my company uses. He's a gadget guy, so we eventually started talking about all the cool stuff our phones can do now. He kept talking about how much more he liked "apps" than "programs". It took me a few minutes to realize that he understood "app" to mean the stuff he installs and runs on his phone, and "program" to mean the stuff the installs and runs on his computer. It was obvious from our conversation that these meanings were distinct in his mind and commonly used. It was new to me.