I had always assumed the two were related, so I just did a quick search:

http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/ping.html


So the ping command seems to be related to the ping of a submarine radar. In each case, one is transmitting a signal (radar wave or ethernet packet) and waiting for a return (the ping).

I wrote a specialized ping program once (for multicast). They're trivial, of course, but useful for tracking down network problems.

In conversation, I've heard numerous non-tech types say, "I'll ping so-and-so about x" or simply "I'll ping so-and-so." The meaning varies on the context. Sometimes, it means, I'll ask X what he thinks. Others, it just means, I'll say hello.

k