Outdated Tech Terms

Tsk, tsk, tsk... Sorry, that I haven't really had time to update the blog...

I found an interesting article in Yahoo on outdated tech terms... I wonder
how things will be in the next 10 years... Here are excerpts of the article:

"12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office
by Carolyn Duffy Marsan

We've put together a list of outdated tech terms, phrases that you shouldn't
be using at work anymore because they will make you seem old. This is especially true if you're looking for a new job.

1. Intranet

Today, every private network runs IP. So you can just use the term virtual
private network or VPN to describe a private IP-based network.

2. Extranet

Today, companies provide suppliers, resellers and other members of their
supply chain with access to their VPNs.

3. Web Surfing

When is the last time you heard someone talk about surfing the Web? You
know the term is out of date when your kids don't know what it means. To
teens and tweens, the Internet and the World Wide Web are one and the
same thing. So it's better to use the term "browsing" the Web if you want
to be understood.

4. Push Technology

Push technology evolved into RSS feeds, which remain the preferred
method for publishing information to subscribers of the Internet. RSS
stands for Really Simple Syndication.

5. Application Service Provider (ASP)

During this decade, the term "Application Service Provider" evolved into
"Software-as-a-Service." Both terms refer to a vendor hosting a software
application and providing access to it over the Web. Customers buy the
software on a subscription basis, rather than having to own and operate
it themselves. ASP was a hot term prior to the dot-com bust. Then it was
replaced by "SaaS." Now it's cool to talk about "cloud computing."

6. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Today, the preferred generic term for a handheld like a Blackberry or an
iPhone is a "smartphone".

7. Internet Telephony

You need to purge the term "Internet telephony" from your vocabulary
and switch to VoIP, for Voice over IP. Even the term VoIP is getting
old-fashioned because pretty soon all telephone calls will be routed
over the Internet rather than the Public Switched Telephone Network.
It's probably time to stop referring to the PSTN, too, because it is
headed for the history books as all voice, data and video traffic is
carried on the Internet.

8. Weblog

A blog is a shortened version of "Weblog,"... It spawned many words still
in use such as "blogger" and "blogosphere." Nowadays, few people have
time to blog so they are "microblogging," which is another word that's
heading out the door as people turn Twitter into a generic term for
blasting out 140-character observations or opinions.

9. Thin Client

You have to give Larry Ellison credit for seeing many of the flaws in
the client/server computing architecture and for popularizing the term
"thin client" to refer to Oracle's alternative terminal-like approach.
In 1993, Ellison was touting thin clients as a way for large organizations
to improve network security and manageability. Although thin clients
never replaced PCs, the concept is similar to "virtual desktops" that
are gaining popularity today as a way of supporting mobile workers.

10. Rboc

In 1984, the U.S. government forced AT&T to split up into seven Regional
Bell Operating Companies [RBOCs] also known as Baby Bells. Customers
bought local service from RBOCs and long-distance service from carriers
such as AT&T. Telecom industry mergers over the last 15 years have formed
integrated local- and long-distance carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and
Qwest. This makes not only the term RBOC obsolete, but also the terms
ILEC for Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier [i.e., GTE] and CLEC for
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier [i.e., MFS].

11. Long-Distance Call

Thanks to flat-rate calling plans available from carriers for at least five
years, nobody needs to distinguish between local and long-distance calls
anymore. Similarly, you don't need to distinguish between terrestrial and
wireless calls because so many people use only wireless services. Like
pay phones, long-distance calls -- and their premium prices -- are relics
of a past without national and unlimited calling plans.

12. World Wide Web

Nobody talks about the "World Wide Web" anymore, or the "Information
Superhighway," for that matter... Nothing dates you more than pulling
out one of those old-fashioned ways of referring to the Internet such
as "infobahn" or "electronic highway.""