On old Macintosh systems, JPEG files would often be labeled "JFIF file"[1]. This created some confusion which I believe contributed to people adopting the hard

On old Macintosh systems, JPEG files would often be labeled "JFIF file"[1]. This created some confusion which I believe contributed to people adopting the hard G pronunciation. Back during the dotcom boom, there was a joke: "We'll hire anyone who can spell GIF." At some point even the joke transitioned to a hard G sound. Some of us long ago decided to 'go with the flow'. [1] This was due to a freeware program called JPEGView, which was often set up as the default viewer for .JPG files. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG_File_Interchange_Format http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG_File_Interchange_Format