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My mind went to that old guy on 60 minutes claiming smartphones weren't "phones" because they didn't look like the old phones he was used to. Who cares? I also

My mind went to that old guy on 60 minutes claiming smartphones weren't "phones" because they didn't look like the old phones he was used to. Who cares? I also can't help but think the comment was mocking the way some HN comments completely ignore the subject of an article to instead argue semantics, but who knows.

cxr 3y ago
> guy on 60 minutes claiming smartphones weren't "phones" because they didn't look like the old phones he was used to Sure. They're exactly the same argument, except that they're totally different. (Andy Rooney is wrong, anyway, if that's really his position. Smartphones are still phones. He's not making a good semantic argument.) > Who cares? Anyone who wants to listen to a podcast and then finds out they can't because it's not really a podcast—that people are just throwing the word "podcast" around like it means "audio, uh... interview? on a phone? or a laptop, too, I guess?".
- ajhurliman 3y ago
  Yes, the word has become a generic term for "long format audio, usually between a few minutes and a few hours, sometimes accompanied with video depending on the platform". Like Saran Wrap, the company failed to enforce the usage of the term and it became generic. Common usage of language appropriated the privately held term and you're over here indignant that the world has moved on, I truly can't understand why anyone would choose this hill to die on though.
  - cxr 3y ago
    This is nothing like Saran Wrap (or Kleenex). Apple didn't invent "podcast". They have no say over it. (If they did come up with it, then they could say their Apple Premium Podcasts—which also aren't podcasts—really are podcasts. But they didn't and they can't so they're not.)
    - ajhurliman 3y ago
      I looked it up, it turns out you’re right, Apple didn’t invent it, there was just a lot of stuff with “pod” in the name in that era. Either way, common usage of the term “podcast” has changed. Language is defined by how it’s used.
      - cxr 3y ago
        The term "podcasting" definitely comes from the name of the iPod. But Apple didn't come up with it. I'd say "Apple has as much to do with podcasting as GitHub has to do with Git", but that's not true. Apple has less to do with podcasting than GitHub has to do with Git.
local_crmdgeon 3y ago
He's right, we should call them handsets. The phone part is a remarkably minor feature now, compared to historical norms

cxr 3y ago

> guy on 60 minutes claiming smartphones weren't "phones" because they didn't look like the old phones he was used to Sure. They're exactly the same argument, except that they're totally different. (Andy Rooney is wrong, anyway, if that's really his position. Smartphones are still phones. He's not making a good semantic argument.) > Who cares? Anyone who wants to listen to a podcast and then finds out they can't because it's not really a podcast—that people are just throwing the word "podcast" around like it means "audio, uh... interview? on a phone? or a laptop, too, I guess?".

ajhurliman 3y ago
Yes, the word has become a generic term for "long format audio, usually between a few minutes and a few hours, sometimes accompanied with video depending on the platform". Like Saran Wrap, the company failed to enforce the usage of the term and it became generic. Common usage of language appropriated the privately held term and you're over here indignant that the world has moved on, I truly can't understand why anyone would choose this hill to die on though.
- cxr 3y ago
  This is nothing like Saran Wrap (or Kleenex). Apple didn't invent "podcast". They have no say over it. (If they did come up with it, then they could say their Apple Premium Podcasts—which also aren't podcasts—really are podcasts. But they didn't and they can't so they're not.)
  - ajhurliman 3y ago
    I looked it up, it turns out you’re right, Apple didn’t invent it, there was just a lot of stuff with “pod” in the name in that era. Either way, common usage of the term “podcast” has changed. Language is defined by how it’s used.
    - cxr 3y ago
      The term "podcasting" definitely comes from the name of the iPod. But Apple didn't come up with it. I'd say "Apple has as much to do with podcasting as GitHub has to do with Git", but that's not true. Apple has less to do with podcasting than GitHub has to do with Git.

local_crmdgeon 3y ago

He's right, we should call them handsets. The phone part is a remarkably minor feature now, compared to historical norms