My use of computers goes back to my Apple II in 1980. In those days we used the word "program."
A few years ago, or so, I started hearing the word "app." Of course, I easily figured out what was meant by "app." But aren't "app," "application," "program," and "software." the same?
An old friend of mine works for Nvidia. Years ago, I called him a "programmer." Miffed, he corrected me, saying the term was "software engineer." At first, I thought he was kidding. I also used the term "coding" and "code" to refer to what he writes all day. Well, he didn't like that either. Odd, because I thought I got the word "code" from him. I don't see why that word is wrong. I saw his screen. C++ is not exactly everyday English.
I did agree with him, years before, about the disappointing transformation of the word "hacker." It meant, in my time, someone who does something illegal or at least unethical, like the Chinese breaking into Pentagon computers. They were hackers. Or when my fellow high-school students somehow copied store-bought games onto blank floppies without paying for them. It was also called pirating, a good word which is still around in various forms. Getting software free trough torrents, if I'm using the word correctly, sounds like piracy to me. As does using Handbrake to copy a DVD rental. Or posting songs, and even entire albums, to YouTube, where they are then downloaded. Maybe, now, it's both hacking and piracy, aside from being the social norm that doesn't seem to bother many people.
I hear the word "hacker" used all kinds of ways, usually as a synonym for "programmer" or even anyone proficient in the use of a computer. Think of a parent saying proudly, "My son's a hacker."
Some time ago, I heard the word "Hackintosh" to refer to a homemade Mac.
A hack sometimes means a work-around, a DIY method of doing something, whether legal or illegal, which the original program (hardware, software) could not do or was not intended to do. I saw a site for a "special" router firmware that could be loaded into various routers to speed it up, and I believe that was called a hack.
Then there's the Lifehacker web site, which uses the term similarly, as a DIY clever way of doing something, improvement, workaround, something not included in the original function or equipment. But by calling the site Lifehacker, and using the content they do, they have added meanings, like a hack is a skill, an improvement in productivity, something to make your life better. Is jogging a "heart hack"?
Don't get me started on "geek" and "nerd."
