Is the term “BIOS” still prevalent when referring to UEFI?
First of all, I am not sure whether this belongs to programming SE or in here- because I am asking about the usage of terms in English language, I decided to ask on here.
I was chatting to my brother about IT related things. I mentioned changing BIOS settings, and he said I should stop calling it "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System), and start saying "UEFI" (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which has pretty much replaced BIOS by now. This left me wondering: is "BIOS" still more prevalent than "UEFI"? Are there perhaps differences between US/EU English usage?
It's pretty obvious just from a cursory glance at Google that loads of tutorials, how-to's and blogs still use the word "BIOS", often in conjunction with UEFI or EFI. I also tried Google Trends but I worry that the search term "bios" is a duplicate of "biographies" so I am not confident that the results are valid. Any pointers as to the common usage of BIOS/UEFI would be appreciated.
usage history contemporary-english
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
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asked 15 hours ago
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First of all, I am not sure whether this belongs to programming SE or in here- because I am asking about the usage of terms in English language, I decided to ask on here.
I was chatting to my brother about IT related things. I mentioned changing BIOS settings, and he said I should stop calling it "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System), and start saying "UEFI" (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which has pretty much replaced BIOS by now. This left me wondering: is "BIOS" still more prevalent than "UEFI"? Are there perhaps differences between US/EU English usage?
It's pretty obvious just from a cursory glance at Google that loads of tutorials, how-to's and blogs still use the word "BIOS", often in conjunction with UEFI or EFI. I also tried Google Trends but I worry that the search term "bios" is a duplicate of "biographies" so I am not confident that the results are valid. Any pointers as to the common usage of BIOS/UEFI would be appreciated.
usage history contemporary-english
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
1
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago
add a comment |
First of all, I am not sure whether this belongs to programming SE or in here- because I am asking about the usage of terms in English language, I decided to ask on here.
I was chatting to my brother about IT related things. I mentioned changing BIOS settings, and he said I should stop calling it "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System), and start saying "UEFI" (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which has pretty much replaced BIOS by now. This left me wondering: is "BIOS" still more prevalent than "UEFI"? Are there perhaps differences between US/EU English usage?
It's pretty obvious just from a cursory glance at Google that loads of tutorials, how-to's and blogs still use the word "BIOS", often in conjunction with UEFI or EFI. I also tried Google Trends but I worry that the search term "bios" is a duplicate of "biographies" so I am not confident that the results are valid. Any pointers as to the common usage of BIOS/UEFI would be appreciated.
usage history contemporary-english
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
First of all, I am not sure whether this belongs to programming SE or in here- because I am asking about the usage of terms in English language, I decided to ask on here.
I was chatting to my brother about IT related things. I mentioned changing BIOS settings, and he said I should stop calling it "BIOS" (Basic Input Output System), and start saying "UEFI" (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which has pretty much replaced BIOS by now. This left me wondering: is "BIOS" still more prevalent than "UEFI"? Are there perhaps differences between US/EU English usage?
It's pretty obvious just from a cursory glance at Google that loads of tutorials, how-to's and blogs still use the word "BIOS", often in conjunction with UEFI or EFI. I also tried Google Trends but I worry that the search term "bios" is a duplicate of "biographies" so I am not confident that the results are valid. Any pointers as to the common usage of BIOS/UEFI would be appreciated.
usage history contemporary-english
usage history contemporary-english
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
edited 35 mins ago
Hellion
52.9k13108196
52.9k13108196
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
asked 15 hours ago
marts
1011
1011
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
marts is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
1
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago
add a comment |
1
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
1
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago
1
1
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
1
1
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago
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1
I'm a retired computer nerd/EE (who is admittedly not super current on terminology), but I've never heard of "UEFI". "EFI" a little bit, I think. But pretty much anyone who has mucked with computers for a few years at least has a vague understanding of "BIOS" (if only to know to shudder when someone says "You'll have to reload your BIOS").
– Hot Licks
15 hours ago
1
Even though this ostensibly could be relevant to ELU (the history of particular acronym uses in English), it's so steeped in technology culture itself that a culture specific SE site would probably get more knowledgable answers. The question really isn't about the acronym but the prevalence of the technology itself.
– Mitch
14 hours ago
I think most reasonably computer-savvy people probably have an inkling that the BIOS is ‘that thing you can enter by holding down some key (combo) when you start the computer, and which comes before the OS and controls stuff like how various hardware is loaded’. Most people would call that a BIOS, I think, whether that is an actual BIOS or something else like UEFI or OF. I’m aware that there’s a difference (though not wherein the actual difference lies), and I would still just call it a BIOS for simplicity. I might even call it an UEFI BIOS to indicate both type and function.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
14 hours ago
@Mitch I don’t think the question is really about the technology. It’s more akin to how we still ‘dial’ someone’s number (even though there’s no longer a dial on our phones), etc., and whether ‘BIOS’ has become a similarly disassociated, genericised (for lack of a better term) word that is just to describe something, even if it isn’t actually that thing anymore. An authoritative ELU answer should be possible, though I daresay it won’t be an easy one to substantiate.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
13 hours ago
@JanusBahsJacquet Understood. All very technical. Like asking how people understand what a 'ring' is in math (is multiplication always commutative in a generic ring or do you have to specify). Probably best answered by that particular technical community rather than general English.
– Mitch
12 hours ago