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Have you considered the magical word "sync" in this debate? For example:
"Press the X button to sync your cell phone with your computer."
On Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 4:06 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
> I usually say "download" for any transfer from a server to a workstation
> or device, and "upload" for any transfer from a device or workstation to a
> server (or cloud, or other manifestation of the interweebs). So, there's
> an element of "greater to lesser" vs "lesser to greater" in how I classify.
>
> After downloading a set of files from an FTP site to my laptop, it felt
> natural for me to then "download" those files to a handheld device
> connected to the laptop via USB, for the purpose of updating/upgrading that
> device.
>
> My cow-orker disagrees and would say that anything going away from my
> computer is an upload, and anything toward the computer is a download, so
> copying files from the laptop to the device is an upload.
>
> I can see both sides of this discussion (implying either that I'm more
> open-minded than my colleague.... or that I'm not good at making up my
> mind... you are free to guess which of us holds which view of respective
> mental states... :-) )
>
> Anyway, I know we've had this discussion before, but I don't recall that
> we nailed down the transfer from a computer to a 'lesser' device.
> Think of, say, updating the firmware of a card reader or a fingerprint
> reader or iris scanner.
> The device doesn't instigate. You and your computer have the files, and
> you and your computer tell the device what is coming. The device can refuse
> (or just not accept, like if you don't press the [Enter] or [Yes] button ),
> but it can't initiate a transfer, and it can't pick and choose what it
> gets. If that matters.
>
> What's the current view, and why do you think so?
>
> Oh, and FWIW, I'm old enough to remember when "download" and "upload" were
> applied to transfers between a CPU and a tape drive or similar. And an
> array of switches on a front panel was how commands were input. But let's
> not get stuck on that. What do the terms mean to you, today, and in the
> context of your more powerful/comprehensive device sending update files
> (like bootloader and firmware kernel) to a smaller/lesser device?
> Let's further stipulate that the laptop and device are connected by a
> short cable, so that you (the person) are both issuing commands on the
> laptop and pressing acknowledgement buttons on the device.... just to
> preclude any notion of "us" and "them" in the "upload/download"
> consideration.
>
>
> ~
>
>
>
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Hannah L. Drake
Lead Technical Documentation Specialist
Formulatrix, Inc.
