this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 month ago (30 children)

My comment from last time this was posted.

The most commonly cited monitor in recent years for this is “AW3423DWF”… Which is AlienWare 34" from 2023, DisplayPort, WQHD, Freesync.

Point is, people see a lot of characters and complain when in reality it is exactly what you are referring to. The name is an encoded version of its capabilities. Its just that the encoding isn’t always clear because if every company used the same encoding they would have the same name. and if there are 2 similar monitors you would need to have every feature in the name to differentiate them, so the shorthand encoding becomes necessary. (Eg, AW3423DW and AW3423DWF only really differ on freesync vs gsync, thus the F at the end)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (9 children)

I get the logic here but I just don’t think most people think like this. Products are called the “Honda Accord” and the “Apple iPhone” and the “Cordless handheld vacuum” for a reason.

Maybe these code names make sense for the actual engineers working on them. But only the nerdiest of the nerdiest of nerdy consumers will remember a couple of these names. In my line of work I’ve spent a couple decades with a ton of regular folks, non-techy people. You might be surprised how many of them can barely remember what number of iPhone they’re on, and don’t even think about asking them which version of iOS is installed.

TBC: This is not a knock against people who aren’t neck-deep in every industry of every product they own. I couldn’t tell you which engine is in my Hyundai Tuscon or which generation of motor is in my cordless vacuum.

I just think these names are gibberish, probably greenlit by people who don’t think about this stuff. But they aren’t effective names for regular consumers.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

But the model number isn't really the "name" either. That would be "Alienware 34-inch Monitor", from that year, etc. That they don't call that their "Mars" line of monitors is maybe a marketing issue, but the thing people want to know first/most about a tv/monitor is how big it is.

Cars and Phones have product numbers that break down the same way but like you say the general public doesn't refer to them that way. Like the Samsung Galaxy S24 instead of "SM-S928U", which is the North American (T-Mobile?) specific model.

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