@dhromed said:
@Drak said:@HAK said:
This is a
catch-22, really. i.e., the user claims to be computer literate
and claims that you are talking down when you call the monitor 'the TV
part' but then thinks the terms 'tower' or 'box' for the CPU is too
technical.
Just be as explicit as you can be, and rephrase/get more specific as the customer fails to understand.
I generally refer to my CPU as the processor...
The Tower means my computer case, the Box is the computer as a whole. The CPU is part of the Box, as is the Tower.
Drak
Agreed.
CPU is the chip. The case is the box that contains the actual computer.
Technically, the CPU is only part of the processor. If my textbooks lie, please inform me otherwise. I call the computer (case, other hardware inside, etc) the CPU because that's what my father, Mr. I think I've had a Virus for the Past Week and am only Just Now Telling You Or Doing Anything About It, called it when he first brought home the first family computer. Minds are so impressionable when they're 10. ;-)
But bad example, though. My orginal point was that no matter what, you're stuck: If you use to low a term, you're talking down to the user, and if you use a term only slightly more technical you confuse them.