Computer Metaphors

By J.D. Casnig

This is a list of metaphors from the world of computing, rather than metaphors for computer.

Beside each word is a short sentence using the metaphor, followed by an
implication or conclusion that can be drawn from the usage. (This is, by
no means, the limit of what can be said of each metaphor)

Bus: Bits commute each day on a data bus. Data is a group of objects.

Window: Opening a new window lets more enlightening in! A program exists in an outside space.

Frame: Frames compartmentalize screen space. An overlap of space is an (undesirable) overlap of concept.

Desktop: My desktop is cluttered with icons. A visual surface is a physical surface.

Open/Close: Windows, programs and ports may be opened or closed. To open is to start, and to be open is to be susceptible to change.

File: A corrupt file wreaks havoc on the computer. Data is physical and discrete, occupying space.

Folder: A folder may have any number of files within. Files are objects that can be grouped.

Space: I've not much space left on my hard drive. Data takes up finite physical space.

Port: A port is a transfer point for shipping data. Data transfers on a liquid.

Tools: A program's tools never need sharpening! Data is physically altered by a program.

Cut: I cut out part of a speech by Mayor Nagin. Data on the screen is as if on paper.

Clipboard: The excerpt sat on my clipboard awaiting pasting. Data may be physically picked up and held.

Paste: I pasted part of Mayor Nagin's speech onto the Metaphor Observatory. Saving data is gluing data - just as a good point sticks in our minds.

Search: A computer searches without eyes or movement. A search is physical.

(Search) Engine: A search engine is fueled by data. A search engine physically moves a question through data.

Icon: There are scores of program icons crowding my desktop. An image is an identity.

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Did you know...?  

The word "icon" is derived from the Greek word eikon, meaning likeness or portrait. It was adopted by the computer world in the early 1980's as a means to help users find desired programs on their computer. While many icons are direct graphic renderings of company names, such as Apple's bitten apple icon (which quietly alludes to the Book of Genesis), programs such as Windows Movie Maker often use the image of something directly associated with the content, in this case a film reel (though the Maker cannot edit celluloid film!). If you look around, you'll find many icons are actually carefully chosen metaphors, such as WinAmp's lightening bolt or Nero's flame. An icon is a program's tatooed face in a software crowd, conveying an individual message about itself that can be recognized instantly.

What message were these rock'n'roll icons conveying?