Minor things that bother you

[formulanone]

"living the dream."

Tired of hearing this one as well.

I told someone in retaliation that "I'm probably living in someone else's dream" just to get them to stop saying it.

[hbelkins]

[Removed gratuitous politics. -S.]

This. Both the original post and the edit were made while I was asleep, so I had no chance to read what this said originally.

The whole point of a moderator removing something is so that nobody can read it.

OK, I'll rephrase to remove any reference to politics.

I don't like the term "progressive."

fine, but you don't have to impose it on us or insist that we should not either. Keep politics off the board unless it involves roads

I don't think that me saying I don't like a term used in a popular context is imposing it on anyone, or forcing anyone else not to like it.

But whatever.

Here's a few more terms that bug me.

"Multiplex." I prefer "concurrency" or "share pavement."

"Shield." My preference is "route marker."

"Hip-hop." To me, it's "rap."

"Application" when discussing computer terminology. I like "software" or "program."

But conversely, I prefer "show" over "program" when discussing broadcast items. Some talk radio hosts refer to their offerings as "programs" (the late Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck) while others use "show." (Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.)

"Glam rock." I always thought "hair band" was a fitting description.

And then there are those common phrases that so many people use just in casual conversation without realizing it. I know someone who is constantly saying, "you know what I mean?" It's not really a question, it's a conversation filler. I went to high school with someone who always said "it see" (his version of "let's see") as a break between phrases. I never had a voice and articulation class, but I've had enough public speaking workshops and done enough interviews to try to keep those little fillers out of my speech.

[hotdogPi]

"Application" when discussing computer terminology. I like "software" or "program."

Not synonyms. The Python programs I write are definitely not applications.

[vdeane]

I've come to agree on "multiplex" over the years.  I've adopted NYSDOT's official term of "overlap" for my use.

The mention of "applications" makes me think of a minor pet peeve of my own - when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

[Scott5114]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

[tolbs17]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

Are you talking about the start menu that sucked?

[Scott5114]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

Are you talking about the start menu that sucked?

That was just one of many things about Windows 8 that sucked (8.1 sort of fixed it, but only sort of). It's been over a year since I used Windows last, and even longer than that since I used Windows 8.1, but I seem to recall the OS would refer to any sort of program as an "app". I don't remember whether they changed that in Windows 10 or not.

[tolbs17]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

Are you talking about the start menu that sucked?

That was just one of many things about Windows 8 that sucked (8.1 sort of fixed it, but only sort of). It's been over a year since I used Windows last, and even longer than that since I used Windows 8.1, but I seem to recall the OS would refer to any sort of program as an "app". I don't remember whether they changed that in Windows 10 or not.

The start menu is finally more like 7 but 10 also removed the aero glass theme. I do miss the aero glass theme... I think it looked very cool...don't you think?

[Scott5114]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

Are you talking about the start menu that sucked?

That was just one of many things about Windows 8 that sucked (8.1 sort of fixed it, but only sort of). It's been over a year since I used Windows last, and even longer than that since I used Windows 8.1, but I seem to recall the OS would refer to any sort of program as an "app". I don't remember whether they changed that in Windows 10 or not.

The start menu is finally more like 7 but 10 also removed the aero glass theme. I do miss the aero glass theme... I think it looked very cool...don't you think?

I dunno, I don't get really excited about glass-like compositor effects, mostly because they tax the processor/graphics card and don't really add much benefit. (I feel the same way about UI animations–just draw the window, don't get bogged down trying to do an animation that ends up slowing the processor down enough that it ends up dropping half the frame anyway!)

I was digging around trying to see if I could find a way to install the old Crux window decoration from GNOME 2 recently. No such luck, unfortunately.



Of course, what really gets the nostalgia going for me is the old Keramik theme from KDE 3, back in the days when I had no idea what the hell I was doing and mangled an embarrassingly high number of XFree86 installs... Keramik was about as skeuomorphic as you can get without having actual buttons glued to your monitor, but by God that's the way we liked it. (Or the way I liked it, anyway. The default theme was more subdued.)


(this is the Spanish version but it looked the same set to English)

[J N Winkler]

. . . When people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

There is still a distinction between Universal Windows Platform apps (formerly known as "Metro-style apps" and by other terms; now often called "Microsoft Store apps") and old-school Windows desktop applications, though consumer pressure forced Microsoft to jettison the more coercive aspects of the Metro UI as seen in Windows 8.x.

As an example:  unwanted Microsoft Store apps are a pain for those trying to keep the start menu clean, since their start menu entries are stored separately and getting the icon for a Store app not to display in the start menu is about as difficult as deleting Internet Explorer from Windows 95.

[formulanone]

when people use "app" to refer to a website, or worse, a desktop application.

I seem to recall Microsoft was guilty of the latter back during the Windows 8 days.

I recall the term "killer app" was used a lot in the mid-1990s.

I don't see why a website should be referred to as an app, but that's how to best access some websites from a phone. Then again, most folks don't say microcomputer anymore, either.

[GaryV]

I remember getting a computer with a newer version of Windows and wondering how to install my programs.  All I could find was installing apps.  I didn't want an app, I wanted my program that I'd used on my previous computer.  Then I figured out that Windows was calling anything installed an "app".

[1995hoo]

Microsoft Teams will ask if you want to open a file in the "desktop app." I always thought of an app as a slimmed-down, reconfigured kernel of software for use on a mobile device.

As far as multiplex, I'm trying to picture the old 14-screen cinema in Merrifield as "Concurrency Cinemas." Doesn't have the same vibe as "Multiplex Cinemas."

[hbelkins]

Microsoft Teams will ask if you want to open a file in the "desktop app." I always thought of an app as a slimmed-down, reconfigured kernel of software for use on a mobile device.

To me, "app" is short for "applet," which to my way of thinking is a miniature program -- I seem to remember references to Java applets.

A lot of phone apps are just glorified shortcuts to a mobile Web site.

And that reminds me of a couple of other things that bother me. As a former journalist and a current PR person who has used AP style for decades, I don't like a lot of the changes they've instituted.

For instance, "website" for "Web site," "email" for "e-mail," the capitalization of "Black" when referring to race but leaving "white" lowercase, and allowing "under" for "less than."

And I have taken to using the Oxford comma even though it's been gone from AP style for eons.

[abefroman329]

They can have my Oxford comma when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

[1995hoo]

I always use the Oxford comma, and I will go so far as to insert it, using brackets, if I'm quoting something that omitted it. There was a federal appeals case out of the First Circuit some years back where something like $10 million hinged on whether the Maine legislature's failure to use the serial comma rendered a statute ambiguous. The court found it did and ruled in favor of the party seeking damages. I happen to think the court got it wrong because even without the serial comma, the construction the party challenging the statute argued didn't make sense, but from the standpoint of someone who strongly favors the use of that comma I did take some delight in the ruling.

I couldn't care less what AP style is, as I don't work for any media outlet.

[vdeane]

Microsoft Teams will ask if you want to open a file in the "desktop app." I always thought of an app as a slimmed-down, reconfigured kernel of software for use on a mobile device.

That sounds almost like a relic from when Microsoft was trying to push everything into the Metro tablet-style UI with the traditional desktop relegated to an app under it on the Start Screen.

[kkt]

Microsoft Teams will ask if you want to open a file in the "desktop app." I always thought of an app as a slimmed-down, reconfigured kernel of software for use on a mobile device.

To me, "app" is short for "applet," which to my way of thinking is a miniature program -- I seem to remember references to Java applets.

A lot of phone apps are just glorified shortcuts to a mobile Web site.

And that reminds me of a couple of other things that bother me. As a former journalist and a current PR person who has used AP style for decades, I don't like a lot of the changes they've instituted.

For instance, "website" for "Web site," "email" for "e-mail," the capitalization of "Black" when referring to race but leaving "white" lowercase, and allowing "under" for "less than."

And I have taken to using the Oxford comma even though it's been gone from AP style for eons.

"App" is short for "application program" - a program that the end user is expected to use directly, as opposed to a "systems program" - compilers, operating systems, disc repair programs, etc., that the end user is not usually expected to use directly.

I have many disagreements with AP Style, of which the so-called Oxford comma is only one of the most obvious.

[J N Winkler]

I don't see why a website should be referred to as an app, but that's how to best access some websites from a phone. Then again, most folks don't say microcomputer anymore, either.

When a website can be accessed through its own app (as is true for Facebook and many newspaper websites), I often wonder if use of the term app refers to the website owner attempting to coerce users into accessing its content through the app.  For example, if I have Chrome open on my phone and want to check my Facebook messages, I have to select "Request desktop version" to avoid being redirected to Google Play to install Messenger.

To me, "app" is short for "applet," which to my way of thinking is a miniature program -- I seem to remember references to Java applets.

Java applets are still a thing, though they have been deprecated for years and people are now encouraged to avoid installing Java Runtime Edition (which they need in order to run) if at all possible because it is considered a major security hole even when it is kept patched.

I still run into highway construction document distribution websites that rely on Java applets to allow users to download documentation.  Since I don't have JRE on my system, I often just download the JNLP files (which become the targets of download requests when JRE is not available) and inspect them in Notepad to see if I can find file download URLs.  With a few sites, I've had good luck using my own wget scripts to download in lieu of Java applets.

And I have taken to using the Oxford comma even though it's been gone from AP style for eons.

I still use the Oxford comma--for precision it can't be beat.  As for the AP stylebook in general, I tend to think of it as setting limits on the extent to which style can be policed for materials intended for a general readership.  I am a member of and (now) a very occasional participant in a writing forum, where distinctions such as "fewer"/"less" have spawned heated discussion over dozens of posts that have struck me as being more about policing other people than about craft development.  "The AP stylebook [or some other authority on English usage--I often rely on Fowler's Modern English Usage] says this is acceptable" has struck me as a convenient way to exit such conversations.

As far as multiplex, I'm trying to picture the old 14-screen cinema in Merrifield as "Concurrency Cinemas." Doesn't have the same vibe as "Multiplex Cinemas."

Physics majors typically have to take a course in physical measurement instrumentation, where multiplex is used in an electrical engineering/signal processing sense and often abbreviated mux.  "I-70 is muxed with US 40 for much of its length."  I greatly prefer concurrency and overlap when talking about actual highways.

[hbelkins]

Of course, part of AP's style was in the past geared for brevity and to avoid redundancy (see what I did there?) Back in the day when it cost real money and was much harder to transmit something from a remote location, the bureaus wanted tightly-edited copy. Consistency was a bit of a byproduct of that.

Even now, though, some outlets and agencies that otherwise embrace AP style have their own internal exemptions.

One rare change in AP style has come in recent years when the sitting president is referred to by his full name. It's President Joe Biden, not just President Biden. I think this happened during the Obama administration but am not sure. It may have occurred during the Bush 43 administration to stave off confusion between him and his father.

Regarding the Facebook mobile app, it's look and feel are very different than the mobile browser. Even though Facebook has tried to make the desktop browser version and the mobile app version look similar, there are differences. And I've found those differences to be even more pronounced when using the app vs. using Chrome or Safari on the iPhone. I've also noticed that some third-party apps that use Facebook login will open the app if you have it installed; others will open Facebook in the mobile browser and prompt you to sign in if necessary.

[SSOWorld]

Politicians in the USA and how they are addressed in the media - Senator Mitch McConnnell (R), KY.  Or the modern version: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.  The fact that you have to attach the party to the name!

</end political rant>¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jakeroot]

"Hip-hop." To me, it's "rap."

I think you'd know these terms were not necessarily interchangeable if you were a bit more familiar with either.

[hotdogPi]

"Hip-hop." To me, it's "rap."

I think you'd know these terms were not necessarily interchangeable if you were a bit more familiar with either.

Wikipedia disagrees with you.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

"Hip-hop." To me, it's "rap."

I think you'd know these terms were not necessarily interchangeable if you were a bit more familiar with either.

Wikipedia disagrees with you.

Wikipedia is wrong on this one.

[webny99]

"Hip-hop." To me, it's "rap."

I think you'd know these terms were not necessarily interchangeable if you were a bit more familiar with either.

Wikipedia disagrees with you.

Wikipedia is wrong on this one.

To complicate it even more, there's actually two questions here:
1) Are hip-hop and rap are two different things?
2) Should HB know that they're two different things?