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"Serverless" has been a standard term in industry for at least 7 years. Sometimes words don't map perfectly onto the subcomponents that form them. For example a

"Serverless" has been a standard term in industry for at least 7 years. Sometimes words don't map perfectly onto the subcomponents that form them. For example a "mailbox" isn't always a box, and doesn't always contain mail. You just have to learn to use the words and not worry so much about the etymology.

pavlov 3y ago
The tortured etymology becomes apparent again when these words are combined in new ways. “Serverless GPU” might be something like “mailbox SSD” in your example. What would that mean? It’s not obvious at first sight. The metaphor loses its power when it’s attached to a physical descriptor which is not a metaphor.
- mgraczyk 3y ago
  No, it's obvious to everyone working with GPUs who knows what "serverless" means. It's a very standard construction in English. "Serverless GPU" means "GPU" that is "serverless". If you know what both words mean in the jargon, you know what they mean together. It's ok to not know what they mean, but arguing that it's "tortured" rings to me as misguided obtuseness.
  - Mike_12345 3y ago
    > It's a very standard construction in English. It's a new buzzword coined by the marketing team at Amazon in 2014. Somewhat confusing here as you are renting time on a GPU server described as "serverless".
    - mgraczyk 3y ago
      When I said "standard construction", I was referring to the combination of "serverless" and "GPU" to make "serverless GPU". Also you're factually wrong. Amazon didn't invent this term and it was widely used before 2014. Here's a 2012 article using the term. https://readwrite.com/why-the-future-of-software-and-apps-is-serverless/ https://readwrite.com/why-the-future-of-software-and-apps-is... I truly don't understand the bizarre and conspiracy-theory laden opposition to terms like this. It's a word, everyone who matters knows that it means.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - Mike_12345 3y ago
        > I truly don't understand the bizarre and conspiracy-theory laden opposition to terms like this. I truly don't care and not opposed to the term. Just trying to explain why someone might get confused.
AdieuToLogic 3y ago
> Sometimes words don't map perfectly onto the subcomponents that form them. And sometimes sales people hijack a well-known, universally understood, industry term ("server") to make a product stand out ("serverless").

pavlov 3y ago

The tortured etymology becomes apparent again when these words are combined in new ways. “Serverless GPU” might be something like “mailbox SSD” in your example. What would that mean? It’s not obvious at first sight. The metaphor loses its power when it’s attached to a physical descriptor which is not a metaphor.

mgraczyk 3y ago
No, it's obvious to everyone working with GPUs who knows what "serverless" means. It's a very standard construction in English. "Serverless GPU" means "GPU" that is "serverless". If you know what both words mean in the jargon, you know what they mean together. It's ok to not know what they mean, but arguing that it's "tortured" rings to me as misguided obtuseness.
- Mike_12345 3y ago
  > It's a very standard construction in English. It's a new buzzword coined by the marketing team at Amazon in 2014. Somewhat confusing here as you are renting time on a GPU server described as "serverless".
  - mgraczyk 3y ago
    When I said "standard construction", I was referring to the combination of "serverless" and "GPU" to make "serverless GPU". Also you're factually wrong. Amazon didn't invent this term and it was widely used before 2014. Here's a 2012 article using the term. https://readwrite.com/why-the-future-of-software-and-apps-is-serverless/ https://readwrite.com/why-the-future-of-software-and-apps-is... I truly don't understand the bizarre and conspiracy-theory laden opposition to terms like this. It's a word, everyone who matters knows that it means.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - Mike_12345 3y ago
      > I truly don't understand the bizarre and conspiracy-theory laden opposition to terms like this. I truly don't care and not opposed to the term. Just trying to explain why someone might get confused.

AdieuToLogic 3y ago

> Sometimes words don't map perfectly onto the subcomponents that form them. And sometimes sales people hijack a well-known, universally understood, industry term ("server") to make a product stand out ("serverless").