February 13, 2006

Springfield's XML Tactical Light

I'm implementing an XML-based authoring environment for my employer, and as I also write about martial arts-related topics, I found Springfield Armory's new "XML Tactical Light" rather funny.

Jeff Cooper comments on the use of "tactical" and "digital" as appelations for products to make them sound sexier, without the products themselves actually being better than the garden variety:

I have always been interested in words but I cannot remain on top of the situation. Take, for example, this adjective "digital." I have asked around at length and I have yet to find anyone who knows what it means. In common usage it signifies "better" or "best," but for reasons unknown to the user. I have yet to see advertised a digital burgundy, or a digital laxative, or a digital South Sea island cruise, but I await the day. Possibly if Steyr Mannlicher had advertised the Scout as a digital Scout, they might have pushed the sales of the weapon into economic success.

[I don't really want to know what a digital laxative would be, given that most doctors and nurses have 5 digits on each hand. Turn your head and cough now.]

I've seen similar things when XML was just starting to catch on--before everyone really used it, you'd see tools advertised as "XML ready" or "works with XML". Like Microsoft Word, for example, which may or may not be truly useful for anything to do with XML.

But now we have gunlights marked "XML". Maybe my DITA XSL transformations might run faster if I hold them at gunpoint?

Posted by jameshom at February 13, 2006 02:16 PM | TrackBack
Comments are turned off
All content copyright © 1999 - 2010 James Hom