Re: Terminology: NIC on board ?

Subject: Re: Terminology: NIC on board ?
From: DaveC <peninsula -at- covad -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 14:00:16 -0800


I've got a jargon situation (again). I'm editing some technical
specifications, and I'm faced with the term "on board," as in "NIC on
board" (also "RAID on board"). Author tells me this means the network
interface card is on the motherboard (as opposed to a PCI card).

Fine, except after extensive googling, I get no hits for that formulation.
What's the word on this? Can I just leave it as is, or is there a more
precise formulation?

As usual, it is a question of whether you want to challenge (in a nice way) what the engineers think is appropriate, and instead choose what you, as a communications professional, think is appropriate.

On-board or onboard are both geekspeek for integrated, or less common, embedded.

I always go for the option that includes a potentially broader audience, without trying to include non-geeks altogether. I always imagine the new engineer or less-geeky engineer at the fringes of the target audience who could be enlightened by the use of "integrated", but possibly confused by onboard.

Too many geeky terms and the work starts to read like a cryptogram, except to those few cypher clerks.

Dave
--
Dave Carpenter

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