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Subject:Re: PCMCIA cards, Internet vs. internet From:Al Rubottom <aer -at- PCSI -dot- CIRRUS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 19 Dec 1995 16:16:00 PST
An "internet" is any type of internetwork, i.e. "communication
between two networks or two types of networks or end
equipment" [def. courtesy of Newton's Telecom Dictionary].
It is a *generic* term for *any* interconnection/internetworking
scheme, or the equipment used for making connections between
LANs, WANs, and suchlike. These "internets" are what keep
corporate America [and much of the world] humming & communicating.
THE "Internet" [note initial cap] is the Info Highway, Infobahn,
or whatever-you-prefer, which we all use for e-mail, and
which we browse or surf with Netscape, Mosaic, etc., via its
more graphical subchannel, the WorldWideWeb. THE
Internet is NOT to be confused with "an internet", and
to use the terms inaccurately merely shows you don't
know what is what... so DON'T DO IT!
Everybody got tired of saying "PCMCIA cards" for those
cute little gizmos, and since PCMCIA is the name of the
org/body, and not officially the name of that class of card,
when they decided to officially call 'em "PC Cards", a sigh
of relief went up... in some parts. In all the trade pubs,
the "PC Card" usage is already well established, standard,
non-confusing, unambiguous, no big deal, case closed.
So be it. Any debate about its being logical or whatever is
truly moot. Like whining about Microsoft [or Apple for that
matter] appropriating the term "window" [or making it into
a trademarked name!] from Xerox PARC, where the notions
of icons, a mouse, a graphical interface, etc. were all
created and then released into the public domain ... to be
grabbed by those with a bright idea of how to capitalize on
those clever notions.
Contrary to what some posters claim, almost nobody uses
the generic term "PC card" to refer to VGA cards, SCSI cards,
hard disk controller cards, I/O cards, IDE cards, et al.,
precisely because we talk about which kind of option card
[or board] it is when it's the topic. I've never heard it used
that way and I've been working in computers/telecom for
15+ years. "Option cards" [or boards] is used, but it's
perceived as stuffy and semi-archaic.
Al Rubottom /\ tel: 619.535.9505, x1737
aer -at- pcsi -dot- cirrus -dot- com /\ fax: 619.541.2260
