Unless i've got the wrong end of the stick here but microchip must be loving the fact that when people refer to microprocessors or fancy integrated circuits, they wrongly refer to them as microchips.

microchip being the manufacturer.

What do you guys think?

 

In the same vein: my associates refer to the generic micro-controller as a PIC!

 

In my country the word PIC is pronounced in the same way as very common name for a very male specific body part. This has caused some giggling in the years like this as an example. people I got a new PIC here, look how small it is.
But yes we like the Microchip uCs here to

 

I frequently use the abbreviations of uC or MCU; both meaning "microcontroller unit" - but don't go quite so far as to suggest that a Microchip PIC is the only uC brand available. There are perhaps 20 or so big players in the uC industry.

Microchip may not like the fact that people are starting to refer to uC's generically as "microchips" or PICs. When such trademark names start to change the language, they fall into the "common use" category and they could lose it as a trademark.

This nearly happened to Xerox Corporation when people started saying "Make a Xerox of that..." instead of "Make a copy of that..."

 

And the worst offense is to use it as a verb, like, "go xerox it."

It is a complement, but can play havoc with trademark.

John

 

We don't search, we google

 

Unless i've got the wrong end of the stick here but microchip must be loving the fact that when people refer to microprocessors or fancy integrated circuits, they wrongly refer to them as microchips.

microchip being the manufacturer.

What do you guys think?

It could also benefit them in the long run, if people keep referring to them as microchips, and newbies go and google that, guess where they end up ....

here is what wikipedia says :

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microchip can also refer to:

• Integrated circuit, a set of electronic components on a single unit.
• Microchip Technology, a company that makes popular 8, 16 and 32-bit microcontroller lines.
• Microchip implant (animal), a microchip implanted into animals.
• Microchip implant (human), a microchip implanted into a human being.
• Microchip (comics), a supporting character in the Punisher comics

See also

• Micro Chips (or Microchips), a Mexican children rock band