What the Dongle Is That?

I recognized a while ago that I really don't watch a lot of tv; certainly not enough to justify my monthly cable bill. In fact the only thing that has kept me from calculating the estimated cost per hour of view time is how depressing the result would be. So when Netflix was recently recommended to me (and well after my youngest extolled its virtues based solely on his upcoming party for the release of Arrested Development) I decided to jump in and sign up to see what all the fuss is about.

Here's the thing... I don't have an XBox or Playstation or whatever other "device" they recommend to stream the feed through. But wait a moment... I'm sure I've seen the Netflix logo on my tv before, but from where? Turns out, my BluRay player shows that it's capable of playing Netflix (or so I think). So over I scroll, highlight the Netflix logo and wait in breathless anticipation. Only to be dissuaded by this message:

Install WiFi Dongle to continue.

I beg your pardon!?

Google, would you mind explaining what a wifi dongle is? And Google, as always, did right by me. Turns out a wifi dongle is an antennae. That's it. Which begs the question, who names this stuff? And why not just call it what it is?

I think the IT super-brains who create all the new toys that we can't live without like to name things by a name that means nothing to us just to further impose their superiority upon us. Yes. We love your product. No. I can't explain what a dongle is but if you say I need it, I KNOW I do. I should buy a few.

But wait again... I have a bin full of cables and plugs and spare accessories from IT purchases over the years. A big bin. A really big bin. A really big bin that I thought I was going to throw my back out lifting. A really big bin with heaps of tangled cables and wires, five old cell phones and yes, a wifi dongle! Who's the gal? I am.

Anyway, dongle installed and Netflix linked. I'm tired. I'll watch something tomorrow.