Things you've heard people refer to a PC as.

[trmiv]

Hard drive is the worst. When I was in desktop support I had quite a few users use that one. It was always middle-aged and older women. I heard cpu a few times as well.

 

[SP33Demon]

Hard drive is hilarious. Also workstation, nobody has used that term for the past 10 years.

 

[Ichinisan]

Everyone has heard "Hard Drive," "CPU," and "Modem." I attended classes with TEXTBOOKS that instructed people to refer to the computer as "the CPU."

 

[Ichinisan]

Also workstation, nobody has used that term for the past 10 years.

Bullshit. If you use it to get your work done, and it's stationary at your assigned work location, it's your workstation computer.

 

[nageov3t]

The computer case = hard drive.
The monitor = computer.

pretty much this. I've given up trying to explain it to my mom, I just go with her terminology so that she knows that I'm talking about.

the computer case = "hard drive" or "the box"
the monitor = "the computer"

Hard drive is hilarious. Also workstation, nobody has used that term for the past 10 years.

eh? that's all we refer to our local computers as at work.

we don't have traditional desktops, just thin clients at our desks that are used to RDP to the servers that run everything. it's nice... no noise or heat at my desk and I can log in from any desk in any office in the world (or from my home computer) and have the exact same desktop environment.

 

[gevorg]

pornhub

 

[Soundmanred]

http://tulsa.craigslist.org/sys/2578401409.html

 

[quakefiend420]

http://rinkworks.com/stupid/

thanks for wasting an hour of my life lol

Once I helped a user whose folders were all named "New Folder." There was a "New Folder" and a "New Folder (2)" and so on up to "New Folder (35)." He opened up one of them, and there were more "New Folders." And inside those were more. He had a series of handwritten sheets that indexed each of his files for him. He'd look up a file he wanted to find, and it would say, for example, "New Folder (22) - New Folder (5) - New Folder (8)."

I mentioned that he could rename the folders to reflect what data they contained. The user thanked me but assured me that the system he was currently using worked quite well.

 

[Imyourzero]

Once I helped a user whose folders were all named "New Folder." There was a "New Folder" and a "New Folder (2)" and so on up to "New Folder (35)." He opened up one of them, and there were more "New Folders." And inside those were more. He had a series of handwritten sheets that indexed each of his files for him. He'd look up a file he wanted to find, and it would say, for example, "New Folder (22) - New Folder (5) - New Folder (8)."

Hooooooly shiz...

 

[Zedtom]

I had a lady at one of nursing homes I volunteer at refer to the mouse as the "clicker", and the computer as the "file cabinet". I first thought it was funny then realized that she was on to something.

 

[Locut0s]

"That box? That's the CPU."

This seems to be the most common.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

She thought this was the computer.

Hahaha... I had one of those power stations back in the day.

 

[Meghan54]

I had a lady at one of nursing homes I volunteer at refer to the mouse as the "clicker", and the computer as the "file cabinet". I first thought it was funny then realized that she was on to something.

Well, clicker is strange, but that's what remote controls for TV's were called and sometimes still are (they used to actually click when you pressed the buttons.)

But calling the computer a file cabinet isn't that far fetched. That's actually the analogy I use with people who have absolutely no knowledge about the internal components when I try to explain what a hard drive is used for....it is a file cabinet when you think about it, just another form.

 

[SKORPI0]

thanks for wasting an hour of my life lol

Once I helped a user whose folders were all named "New Folder." There was a "New Folder" and a "New Folder (2)" and so on up to "New Folder (35)." He opened up one of them, and there were more "New Folders." And inside those were more. He had a series of handwritten sheets that indexed each of his files for him. He'd look up a file he wanted to find, and it would say, for example, "New Folder (22) - New Folder (5) - New Folder (8)."

I mentioned that he could rename the folders to reflect what data they contained. The user thanked me but assured me that the system he was currently using worked quite well.

LOL, I had someone who kept installing AOL on their computer every time wouldn't run. Saw AOL, AOL (1), AOL (2)... AOL (15). D:

 

[zCypher]

I have no problem calling a case "a box", because it IS a friggin box. What's annoying is when people don't listen. Call it whatever the hell you want. If I tell you to go back to <what YOU called it> and you don't know wtf I'm talking about, then how am I supposed to help? lol

 

[TheSpy007]

I work at best buy and I've heard; Modem, Tower, Box, Hard Drive, CPU, Engine, Brain, ummm heard Internet Thing a few times lol

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have no problem calling a case "a box", because it IS a friggin box. What's annoying is when people don't listen. Call it whatever the hell you want. If I tell you to go back to <what YOU called it> and you don't know wtf I'm talking about, then how am I supposed to help? lol

Yeah I hate people who somehow expect you to just fix the problem over the phone.

[1 hour of trying to get the user to do something]

"Well can't you just fix it? Why is it not working anyway?"

Those are the times where I wish I could send a bolt of lighting through the phone.

 

[Fritzo]

Hard drive is hilarious. Also workstation, nobody has used that term for the past 10 years.

It's used every day, 1000x a day in the corporate world. It's the standard term from PC's on people's desks.

 

[SP33Demon]

It's used every day, 1000x a day in the corporate world. It's the standard term from PC's on people's desks.

Never heard it for 10 years when NT was prevalent. We all refer to it as it should be: a computer. You must be working on a computer farm if you're still using that term.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's used every day, 1000x a day in the corporate world. It's the standard term from PC's on people's desks.

This. It's not used that much in "residential" settings, but in corporate environments it's very common.

 

[Soundmanred]

This. It's not used that much in "residential" settings, but in corporate environments it's very common.

Yup, "workstation" is still a valid and common term.

 

[Pardus]

Mac.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Sort of related:

There was a time many years ago when I only had a laptop and I would plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse (no docking station) into it on my desk at home. I would take the laptop with me on business trips since my wife, at the time, very rarely used the computer and almost never used it without me present.

One day I got a call on my mobile phone when I was away at a meeting. My lovely bride says that the computer won't work. I pause, then I look down at my computer on the conference table and say "Looks fine to me."

She thought this was the computer.

Sigh.

MotionMan

isnt that a digital scale?

 

[Cogman]

The worst is when you try to correct them on it... One guy who thought he was the bomb when it came to computers got so frustrated with me when I tried to explain to him "The hard drive is a specific component in a computer, not the whole computer." He went off on how Hard drive was the commonly accepted term for a computer and how I didn't know what I was talking about etc.

 

[Murloc]

in my language it doesn't happen for some reason.
Computer is the only known words, most people don't know what a CPU is.

But some people call the monitor "the computer".