• Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Is it now the norm to make the term WiFi synonymous with the term cellular/mobile data (or 4g/5g)

    They are not the same thing.

    Is this like when people call tablets ipads? Or call vacuums hoovers/dysons.

      • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Well, that sort of highlights my issue and why i assume they meant mobile data. If they are, in the joke, connected to WiFi, then they wouldn’t be surprised by the signal strength. Because they are near a router and therfore the signal is good enough to use. You aren’t typically able to connect to WiFi if the signal is below -70 -80 decibels.

        I think its fairly clear that they meant mobile data as this is something you would be surprised to still have if you were lost in a cave.

        Not that i wouldn’t be surprised to find WiFi down there, just that i wouldn’t be surprised by the strength of the WiFi signal if i was standing close enough to a router to see the SSID.

          • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Well, it wasn’t the best joke to begin with. I doubt anyone gave it more than a …ha… when they read it.

            Do you?

            Did you?

            • Confused_Emus@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              I bet you’re every comedian’s favorite heckler at the comedy club.

              It’s a joke, not a cock - don’t take it so deep. If it’s not funny, glance over it and move on. Like Don Quixote tilting at mediocrely humored windmills.

              • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                Hey, fair enough, dont really heckle comedians. Its their show, unless its something they actively seek in their audience, i wouldn’t think about it.

                I didnt mean to over analyse the joke, i just asked a question about the synonimity of WiFi and mobile data and was challenged on the intent behind the use of the word WiFi, so i responded with my take on what was intended. It wasn’t to ruin the joke. It was to validate my question about the use of WiFi when i believe they meant mobile data.

                Frankly you are the one who made it about ruining the joke.

    • 1995ToyotaCorolla@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I think they specifically mean Wi-Fi, not confusing it with cellular.

      I would be surprised too if I went into a cave and suddenly my phone is connected to Wi-Fi. Where are the access points? Who is running internet all the way out here? I don’t see any telco boxes or signs of a human presence. Why do the speeds get faster the farther I go? Why did my phone connect to some random network when I specifically told it not to do that? It would be even weirder if it’s WPA3 protected or something because I obviously don’t have the password for the cave Wi-Fi

    • Obi@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      I’d say these examples are different, more like Kleenex where brand names become the common term. This is more like when parents used to buy a Wii game for your “playbox station”.

    • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I know people who don’t know what an Ethernet cable is.

      Internet = wifi / mobile data. And that’s it as far as they are concerned

      Routers, modems, switches, bandwidth, Ethernet etc. That’s all just mysterious mumbo jumbo nerd shit. They only know that wifi = the symbol on their phone and that it makes their apps load. It’s crazy.

    • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      There is a term, that I am too lazy to search, that when a brand or technology is so widespread or used, that the name of the brand or technology becomes the word used to describe anything that ressemble that brand or technology.

      Wi-Fi and iPads are definitely some of those.