Poll - What does WI-FI Stand For ?

I had been curious what the "FI" stood for, so I googled until I found it. I'll post
the correct answer in a day or two... ( And a related poll could be what SHOULD
it stand for ).

I have to assume that one of the choices is the correct answer - particularly since only one of them sounds right while the others don't even remotely sound right.

I figured there would be at least one vote for the last one from MKL aka JERRY aka WIZ.

I cheated and googled, but even if it did stand for something I would say that it's developed into a word of its own. I mean back in the day when people used "CD" - I think the general knowledge was that it was still just a compact disc. This compares to the use of "radar" - which although it is an acronym most people think of it as its own entity... not "radio detection and ranging". So either way I would still say it doesn't stand for anything and is its own word.

This all goes back to the term "Hi-Fi," which means "High Fidelity." It refers to high sound quality in stereo equipment, and started being used in the 70s. So going on an etymological basis, the term should mean "Wireless Fidelity," which is ridiculous as the wireless signal itself does not reproduce anything with or without fidelity.

Quote: JohnnyQ

I figured there would be at least one vote for the last one from MKL aka JERRY aka WIZ.

It wasn't me, but thanks to whoever did. I fear I'm more frequently boring.

Quote: Nareed

This all goes back to the term "Hi-Fi," which means "High Fidelity." It refers to high sound quality in stereo equipment, and started being used in the 70s. ....

In the '70s? Nareed, I think you are showing your youth. Which us usually a good thing, but maybe not always. I saw stereo vinyl records starting around '59 or '60, though I'm not sure when they first appeared. But "Hi-Fi" and "Hi-Fidelity" were terms used to describe monophonic sound systems at least back in the early '50s and maybe earlier. (Even I am not old enough to remember trivia details before that!) I think the term may have been promoted by Fisher or one of the other high-end (at least back then) manufacturers.

Quote: Doc

In the '70s? Nareed, I think you are showing your youth.

Flatterer ;)

Quote:

Which us usually a good thing, but maybe not always. I saw stereo vinyl records starting around '59 or '60, though I'm not sure when they first appeared. But "Hi-Fi" and "Hi-Fidelity" were terms used to describe monophonic sound systems at least back in the early '50s and maybe earlier.

I remember monophonic records. In the 70s records did have a prominent "Stereo" logo or sign. What never went anywhere were the quadraphonic systems popular with synthesizer artists at the time.

Quote:

(Even I am not old enough to remember trivia details before that!) I think the term may have been promoted by Fisher or one of the other high-end (at least back then) manufacturers.

Wow! I haven't heard the brand name "Fisher" in years!

Well based on the following, and I could be going out on a limb slightly because it is from Wiki-pedia, the answer is
NOTHING.

However, I think that the evolution of it means that WIRELESS FIDELITY is also an acceptable answer, and possibly
actually more correct, since it seems like that it came about from that play on words of HIGH FIDELITY.

And while technically true, WIZARD IS FREQUENTLY INTERESTING is not an appropriate answer.

Here's the WIKI entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi#The_name_Wi-Fi

The term Wi-Fi suggests Wireless Fidelity, resembling the long-established audio-equipment classification term high fidelity (in use since the 1930s[5]) or Hi-Fi (used since 1950[5]). Even the Wi-Fi Alliance itself has often used the phrase Wireless Fidelity in its press releases[6][7] and documents;[8][9] the term also appears in a white paper on Wi-Fi from ITAA.[10] However, based on Phil Belanger's[note 1] statement, the term Wi-Fi was never supposed to mean anything at all.[11][12]

The term Wi-Fi, first used commercially in August 1999,[13] was coined by a brand-consulting firm called Interbrand Corporation that the Alliance had hired to determine a name that was "a little catchier than 'IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence'".[11][12][14] Belanger also stated that Interbrand invented Wi-Fi as a play on words with Hi-Fi, and also created the yin-yang-style Wi-Fi logo.

The Wi-Fi Alliance initially used an advertising slogan for Wi-Fi, "The Standard for Wireless Fidelity",[11] but later removed the phrase from their marketing. Despite this, some documents from the Alliance dated 2003 and 2004 still contain the term Wireless Fidelity.[8][9] There was no official statement related to the dropping of the term.