You can find this very
aggravating expression used only in the furniture industry, and there, it is used by every single company that makes computer furniture. Theres nothing wrong with the word CPU holder, mind you. In fact my CPU came in an anti-static and anti-moisture "
cpu holder." The problem here is that their "CPU holder" is an enclosed shelf just about the right size to carry a mid-tower.
Apparently, they refer to a computer as cpu. It kind of reminds me of when I was younger and I discovered that the monitor is not the computer. So by calling a computer a CPU, it's kind of like their way of declaring "See, that's the part the processes data!" I wonder if they realize that a CPU would probably fit into a shirt pocket. The cool part about this, though, is the way it gives you an insight into the way languages and dialects develop. One person uses a word in a certain context, and others in that community or culture begin to use it that way too, without even realizing where they picked it up from, or what the word means.
This brings up even more interesting issues, but I think I should save that for another node.
Update: I went to this furniture place in Brooklyn with my mother, because my is room is basically a pile of books and papers, a bed, and a folding table. So we were talking with the guy about making a desk and my mother asked if he can make a little shelf to fit my computer. So he said he can make a "CPU holder" built right into the desk. So I said I don't want my computer stuck in a closet (overheating), I'd rather it just be next to, or under the desk. So he says "Your whole computer isn't going to be in that space, just the CPU.
So I said,
Me: "you mean the computer?"
(I held myself back from saying "The entire computer will be worthless if I don't have the CPU with the motherboard etc.)
Nachmun: "No, not the screen or the printer or anything, just the CPU, you know, the box."
Me: "It's not called a CPU it's a computer. A printer is a printer, and a monitor is a monitor."
Nachmun: "No it's called a CPU, you want me to show you???" (referring to some magazine or catalog he had.)
Me: "Listen, I know that people in the furniture industry call it a CPU, but just for your edification (fine, I didn't say edification), a CPU is a little chip that can very likely fit in your front pocket, and that box that everything connects to is called a computer).
I was so embarrassed about that. I'm such an ass