Microsoft: The end of 'my' is nigh
Those folders on your Windows desktop will still be yours -- but in the future you'll need to figure that out on your own.
Ending a longstanding tradition, Microsoft Corp. plans to stop using the word "my" as the default prefix for such folders as "My Documents," "My Music," "My Pictures" and others along those lines. Starting in the next Windows version, due out next year, folders will be known simply as "Documents," "Music," and so on.
With any other product, such a minor change probably wouldn't even be noticed. But the Microsoft operating system runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, and its persistent use of the word has been one of its most conspicuous characteristics -- helping to fuel widespread use of the "my" prefix in the technology industry.
Granted, computer users might not celebrate the change as much as they did the retirement of Microsoft's unpopular "Clippy" animated assistant. But some experts in the language of technology clearly won't be sorry to see "my" disappear from the next Windows version.
The practice was an artificial attempt to create a personal connection between people and their computers -- "to capture the loyalty of an egocentric population," said Naomi Baron, linguistics professor at American University in Washington, D.C.
"I don't know if we ever, as users, reacted the way that Microsoft hoped we would," Baron said.
"Some people might have, but I think in essence it was just extraneous language," she said.
The technique seems especially outdated now that computers and technology have become such a normal part of everyday life, she said.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 2790 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
analogous
I think that little jester is more than a coincidence. More than the old "my" method being childish as stated, I think it probably reflects M$ growing attitude that the whole computer/internet shabang belongs to them - including /your/ computer. It's isn't "my"ne anymore. With each M$ release, windows users lose more and more freedom, more and more ownership. Viva la linux!
----
You talk the talk, but do you waddle the waddle?