So I guess a technical limitation is our fault now....

[Argabarga]

Oh, and from the towing files, theres Vehicle Identification Number, (VIN) which has become a word in acronym form so strongly that I've seen paperwork with boxes for "VIN Number", despite the obvious redundancy.

[Daemonmonkey]

VIP - Very Important Person
UN - United Nations
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
ISP - Internet Service Provider
NIC - Network Interface Card
DOS - Disc Operating System
DoS - Denial o Service (just to confuse people)
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
RAM - Ramdom Access Memory

and so on...

[drunkenwildmage]

OP struck a little bit of a nerve with me.. People who spend the money to buy HD TV's but instead of getting the service, they think that just having the TV 'stretch' out the original signal gives them HD... My dad did this.. He spend 3 months researching HD tvs, to find "The perfect" TV", and ended up hooking it up to standard definition cable...

[TheSHAD0W]

Consider telling the customer to find an old pair of rabbit ears and hook it up. (Might need an impedance converter.) Or even stick a wire into the center point of the antenna connector. Local stations will show the customer what the TV is capable of.

[Racket_Man]

one that I just remembered
3M = Minnesota Mining and Manufactering

now defunct
AMC = American Motor Corporation

[Jay 2K Winger]

DOS - Disc Operating System
DoS - Denial o Service (just to confuse people)

To be fair, most of the time (by my experience), when writing those, they are differentiated by the O's, and when spoken, DOS is pronounced "Doss" (rhymes with 'boss'), and DoS is pronounced "Dee-oh-ess."

But I can see how those would confuse the unenlightened.

[wolfie]

National Biscuit Company
Array Technologies Incorporated

[emax4]

OP struck a little bit of a nerve with me.. People who spend the money to buy HD TV's but instead of getting the service, they think that just having the TV 'stretch' out the original signal gives them HD... My dad did this.. He spend 3 months researching HD tvs, to find "The perfect" TV", and ended up hooking it up to standard definition cable...

From the salesperson standpoint, it must be hard for them to tell a customer that they have to spend extra money elsewhere in order to get what they see in the store. That's not an easy thing to do. The stores have HDTV, so it can be easy for the consumer to assume they'll get the exact same thing when they buy the product and take it home.

A better approach on the salesperson's behalf might be, "The picture you see here is high definition. The standard service offered by cable and satellite companies is "over the air" or "antenna" and the picture quality with that doesn't come close to what you see here. If you already have basic service you may get only your local channels in high definition, or rather you'll be able to see the pores on the newscasters; but all the other channels will have the same somewhat-blurry quality you see now with your current TV."

"...So if you buy this TV now and don't subscribe to a cable or satellite package that has high-definition (don't want to abbreviate it as "hi-def" just yet) package, the same picture you see on your existing TV is what you'll see on this TV. But, this TV will be ready for when you do upgrade to a better package. If you take this TV home now and contact your cable or satellite supplier and upgrade your package to include HDTV channels, then the picture you get will be the same great quality and clarity as you saw on this same TV here in the store..."

[MiloMorai]

Sharp, crisp, not fuzzy picture.

Yes, I had (and still have to in fact) "dumb it down" like that a LOT.

These and other similar ways of dumbing down Hi Def is just a sad commentary on what is happening to our society.

Nerd alert!

It reminds me of the Star Trek NG episode with the guys that need geordie to fix their ship and make it go.

[EricKei]

CST - Customer Standard Time (an old favorite 'round these parts)

DOS - Disc Operating System
DoS - Denial o Service (just to confuse people)
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
RAM - Ramdom Access Memory

I've often seen Denial of Service as DDoS (Distributed...)

ROM - Read-Only Memory
SIMM - Single Inline Memory Module
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
EMS - Extended Memory (something...)
XMS - Expanded Memory (something...)
USB - Universal Serial Bus
SCSI - Small Computer Systems Interface
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
SATA - Serial Advanced Technology Attachment

Nerd Alert!

No worries -- You are among friends here ^_^

[wolfie]

"...So if you buy this TV now and don't subscribe to a cable or satellite package that has high-definition (don't want to abbreviate it as "hi-def" just yet) package, the same picture you see on your existing TV is what you'll see on this TV. But, this TV will be ready for when you do upgrade to a better package. If you take this TV home now and contact your cable or satellite supplier and upgrade your package to include HDTV channels, then the picture you get will be the same great quality and clarity as you saw on this same TV here in the store..."

Another approach: "Think of your old TV as a Ford Focus, and a cable or satellite package without high-definition as regular gasoline. This TV is like a Ferrari, and a cable or satellite package with high-definition is like premium gasoline. It will still run on regular, but to get its full performance you need premium."

[42_42_42]

ICBM
InterContinetal Ballistic Missile

SCOTUS
Supreme Court Of The United States

POTUS
President Of The United States

SCUBA
Self-Contained Underwater Breating Apparatus

PEBCAK
Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard



And if you're really board: http://www.acronymfinder.com/

[emax4]

Another approach: "Think of your old TV as a Ford Focus, and a cable or satellite package without high-definition as regular gasoline. This TV is like a Ferrari, and a cable or satellite package with high-definition is like premium gasoline. It will still run on regular, but to get its full performance you need premium."

You analogy is better than mine

[Mikkel]

EMS - Extended Memory (something...)
XMS - Expanded Memory (something...)

Something=specification, I think.

[Rapscallion]

I always liked TWAIN - Tool With An Interesting Name.

Rapscallion