How Terms Have Changed over Time

Meanings and terms often change or get adjusted over time, especially with Information Technology.  While never walking 5 miles to school in two-feet of snow, I did live during an era of TV’s without remotes and vinyl record players.  I tend to include many ‘remember when…’ type stories in my blogs so just chalk (or chuck) this one in the nostalgia pile.  A few are a stretch and most still hold their old definition but come along for the ride anyway.  :-)

When I was a kid:

  • An Appliance was a fridge, oven, toaster, etc.
  • You Breached a contract not a network and used a Buffer for shiny car polish.
  • A Cloud was in the sky, Cache was money, and C is for Cookie – which is good enough for me.
  • A Disk was made by Frisbee.
  • An Engineer drove a train.
  • A Firewall was an actual physical barrier in a building or vehicle.
  • Googol meant the highest number before infinity. 
  • Bears went into Hibernation
  • Inter and Intra described personal relationships.
  • Java was coffee.
  • Keys opened the house, started the car and got lost.
  • Your Local Host was your guide when traveling to foreign places.
  • When someone got too close you told them, ‘Get out of My Space.’
  • The Networks were ABC, NBC and CBS.
  • An OASIS was your own personal paradise, tropical for many.
  • You could stand on a Platform, I turned my head for my Profile and Port was a sweet wine.
  • QWERTY is still the same.
  • RAM was a male sheep & the NFL team from Los Angeles.
  • Spam and eggs, Hawaiian style.
  • There’s a game called Tag, and you are IT.
  • Utility had nothing to do with computing but could be a belt.
  • Viral meant a doctor visit.
  • Rode a WAV on the North Shore.
  • 802.1X flipped is an extension in Idaho or maybe Vermont.
  • A Yahoo was a local yokel.
  • Finally, Zip up your pants!!

Come on everyone, play along!  I’m sure you got your own entries to add.

ps

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Published Apr 01, 2010
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