Re: Question about phraseology in Docs for Cellular

Subject: Re: Question about phraseology in Docs for Cellular
From: "jan cohen" <najnehoc -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: "Caroline Tabach" <caroline -dot- tabach -at- gmail -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 08:44:40 -0400

If you're referring to the process by which a Mobile Telephone Switching
Office passes a call from one cell phone to another, the proper term is
handoff. There are two types of handoffs: hard and soft, which I can
elaborate more about later, if you'd like.

Software and hardware designers often abbreviate handoff in their design
documentation, which can get carried forward into end-user docs in the "copy
and paste" type of tech-writing environment. Depending on the audience, I
either spell-out "handoff" the first time it's used in a chapter and then
follow with abbreviations (for the more advanced end-user, e.g., in
system-level timing diagrams), or spell it out throughout a doc (more for
the layperson). When in doubt, spell-it-out, which for whatever reason just
reminded me of OJ (and it's not even Friday yet).

As for UE, I'd avoid it. Sounds too much like too many things to me.
Rather than using the overly generic approach in this case, I'd prefer to
use a lesser generic term like switch, base station, handset, etc.

HTH,

jan cohen


----- Original Message -----
From: "Caroline Tabach" <caroline -dot- tabach -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 5:05 AM
Subject: Question about phraseology in Docs for Cellular


> Hi,
> I am documenting an application running on Cellular technology.
> Actually, apart from writing many new features I am trying to fix a
> book written by an outside contractor.
> I would like to know, is the word "handover" ever abbreviated to HO,
>
> May the term User Equipment be abbreviated to UE?
>
> (the documentation I received uses HO and UE, and handover written
> hand-over or Hand Over etc. I would like to use the terms correctly)
> Thanks

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References:
Question about phraseology in Docs for Cellular: From: Caroline Tabach

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