I don't know enough history of the language to know when the "pinnacle" was.
But I do know that at the rate we're going, our language will have half as many words in perhaps 10 years. I'm exaggerating of course, but if we take all homonyms and pick just one word for each set, we'll be giving up a lot of communicative control.
And yes, it is ignorance that is ruining the language. We may not have formal language police like the French, but that doesn't mean that anything goes. Ask is still pronounced "ass-k", despite what ebonics proponents might suggest.
Now that you've got me on the topic of ebonics, allow me to share an anecdote passed to me by a close friend.
My friend stepped onto an elevator in vegas. The two gentlemen already on the elevator were having a conversation...
Man A: Yo man, my docta said I gotta get mo pasta.
Man B: Huh? Pasta?
Man A: Yeah, he said my pasta was bad.
Man B: Pasta?
Then Man A, imitating a white man, as black comedians do, says "Pahs-ture"
Man B: Oh!
(conversation continues)
So what will we do when we reach the point where we can't understand each other, and we've forgotten the real words, (or in this case, the neutral, understood pronunciation)?
You call it a holy war, I call it English. The English language is being eroded gradually by ignorance.
There's a reason for having two words, then and than. It's preferrable to have exact words that aren't dependent upon context. If we just toss out "than", and exclusively use "then", our language will become even less precise.
Some other common mistakes that really suck:
confusing "your" with "you're"
confusing "their" with "they're"
adding unnecessary apostrophes to plural words - Dog's and Cat's...
Just because some people have forgotten or were never taught how to write the language they speak doesn't mean that we should just dumb it down completely. Taken to the extreme, we could just back all the way up to grunts and growls.
This will spur private research and investment in space technology. That's a good thing. We can't count on NASA to do it, they just don't have the budget to do much anymore.
Early development should be done by private groups since they're more flexible and agile. Then once a technology is established, larger bodies (NASA perhaps) could use their vast experience to manage/maintain. Despite the failings of NASA, they are still quite good at what they do. I doubt there are many other groups that can manage end-to-end some of the space applications that NASA does.
Of course, if the contest were to see who could make portable, inconspicuous nukes, that would be a different story.
Modern (common) homebuilding is nothing to be proud of.
We should be building Insulated Concrete Form homes. Instead we're still building them out of toothpicks. ICF homes are very much more energy efficient, and cost only slightly more to make. They also greatly reduce fire risk and wind damage risk.
But you have a lot of projects that your boss is hot on right now, so you'll want to consult the boss to make sure he doesn't mind you doing this "little thing" "real quick".
Then you're sort of playing good cop/bad cop, using your boss as the bad guy:)
You can't do this on everything, or you'll really get on other employees' bad sides.
That you're stuck with for the next 10 to 15 years.
It's a joke. And many of these schools are horribly mismanaged, which further drives up your costs.
Pick any state school in the state you live in. Go there. Take a variety of classes (not just in your major). Go to class. Do some/most of the homework.
Then you'll have a balanced, good education. Hopefully you'll be able to think and learn on your own by the time you graduate.
You're right, there's enormous momentum to overcome to change things.
Just like with the stock market (and publicly traded companies), it's time to refocus on medium and long-term goals instead of short term.
Focus on stability and correctness as a priority, and once we have a solid footing, then we can look at performance improvements.
Also speaking of which, imagine if CPU manufacturers put performance as a higher priority than reliability? Obviously reliability is higher importance to them than performance, yet they still manage to increase performance frequently.
Computers are so comparatively powerful now, we can afford to trade time performance for stability.
Drivers should be moved out of kernel space where possible. Even then, with some effort it could be up to the admin whether drivers run at kernel level or at user level.
For more information on the SCO Intellectual Property License for Linux, contact SCO by calling (800) 726-8649
I wonder what a million phone calls and requests for written information would do for SCO?:) Perhaps all Linux users should at least request written (paper) documentation on all information from SCO.
Slashdot Mirror
But I do know that at the rate we're going, our language will have half as many words in perhaps 10 years. I'm exaggerating of course, but if we take all homonyms
and pick just one word for each set, we'll be giving up a lot of communicative control.
And yes, it is ignorance that is ruining the language. We may not have formal language police like the French, but that doesn't mean that anything goes. Ask is still pronounced "ass-k", despite what ebonics proponents might suggest.
Now that you've got me on the topic of ebonics, allow me to share an anecdote passed to me by a close friend.
My friend stepped onto an elevator in vegas. The two gentlemen already on the elevator were having a conversation...
So what will we do when we reach the point where we can't understand each other, and we've forgotten the real words, (or in this case, the neutral, understood pronunciation)?
Yes, well more significant is the fact that CmdrTaco approved that submission.
/. editors :)
That's also a clue about the quality of
You call it a holy war, I call it English. The English language is being eroded gradually by ignorance.
There's a reason for having two words, then and than. It's preferrable to have exact words that aren't dependent upon context. If we just toss out "than", and exclusively use "then", our language will become even less precise.
Some other common mistakes that really suck:
confusing "your" with "you're"
confusing "their" with "they're"
adding unnecessary apostrophes to plural words - Dog's and Cat's...
Just because some people have forgotten or were never taught how to write the language they speak doesn't mean that we should just dumb it down completely. Taken to the extreme, we could just back all the way up to grunts and growls.
I don't know about seismic issues, since I live in North Texas. But I do know about tornadoes.
ICF homes are rated for 200mph winds. Toothpick homes are good to about 100mph.
Having lived in Wichita Falls in 1979, tornadoes are something I pay attention to.
This will spur private research and investment in space technology. That's a good thing. We can't count on NASA to do it, they just don't have the budget to do much anymore.
Early development should be done by private groups since they're more flexible and agile. Then once a technology is established, larger bodies (NASA perhaps) could use their vast experience to manage/maintain. Despite the failings of NASA, they are still quite good at what they do. I doubt there are many other groups that can manage end-to-end some of the space applications that NASA does.
Of course, if the contest were to see who could make portable, inconspicuous nukes, that would be a different story.
Modern (common) homebuilding is nothing to be proud of.
We should be building Insulated Concrete Form homes. Instead we're still building them out of toothpicks. ICF homes are very much more energy efficient, and cost only slightly more to make. They also greatly reduce fire risk and wind damage risk.
So offtopic as it is, this quote is invalid.
I dunno what the real costs are in making spacecraft, but I doubt they have to deal with the FAA, their costs should be reasonable.
A significant cost of aircraft (non-experimental) is having to deal with the FAA and all its requirements.
Then != Than
And yeah, parent post is a troll.
Duh.
But you have a lot of projects that your boss is hot on right now, so you'll want to consult the boss to make sure he doesn't mind you doing this "little thing" "real quick".
:)
Then you're sort of playing good cop/bad cop, using your boss as the bad guy
You can't do this on everything, or you'll really get on other employees' bad sides.
Nothing new here...
You scratch my balls, I'll scratch yours. Hmm no that's not exactly how it goes, but you get the idea.
Fake Boobs?
And /. is good for you because it makes you make your hosting stronger :)
Or it eliminates the weak...
That you're stuck with for the next 10 to 15 years.
It's a joke. And many of these schools are horribly mismanaged, which further drives up your costs.
Pick any state school in the state you live in. Go there. Take a variety of classes (not just in your major). Go to class. Do some/most of the homework.
Then you'll have a balanced, good education. Hopefully you'll be able to think and learn on your own by the time you graduate.
*this is way off topic, and I have donned my flamesuit*
This SCO allegation reminds me of something... what was it...?
Oh! It reminds me of H. Clinton's claim that the whole Lewinski scandal was a Conservative-orchestrated media effort to smear her loving husband...
*cruel chuckle*
So next, should we expect SCO to debate the meaning of _is_?
You just summed it all up neatly.
That's the word that comes to mind when I read SCO's statements.
Bill Gates may be the devil to many people, but at least he's not a total fucking moron like these guys. Unbelievable.
You're right, there's enormous momentum to overcome to change things.
Just like with the stock market (and publicly traded companies), it's time to refocus on medium and long-term goals instead of short term.
Focus on stability and correctness as a priority, and once we have a solid footing, then we can look at performance improvements.
Also speaking of which, imagine if CPU manufacturers put performance as a higher priority than reliability? Obviously reliability is higher importance to them than performance, yet they still manage to increase performance frequently.
Why can't software be like this?
Computers are so comparatively powerful now, we can afford to trade time performance for stability.
Drivers should be moved out of kernel space where possible. Even then, with some effort it could be up to the admin whether drivers run at kernel level or at user level.
Ok, I'm the fool. I didn't know about that, and since I don't go snooping around /., I never saw those details.
I think we should make sure as many package names as possible contain words that will get picked up by their bot.
That would generate vast amounts of noise for them (and for us, yes), and it would really highlight the madness.
I always wondered who, if anyone, was actually a /. subscriber.
;)
Two first posts today from parent poster, and both with real content in the post are a givaway
I would be very curious to see a *nix version of your story (obviously pertaining to a *nix vulnerability + live problem).
What would be interesting is to compare the amount of effort, the level of risk, and the speed of reaching safety between the MS and non-MS worlds.
I wonder how many scenarios like this are factored into MS's TCO estimates...
MS Loses Lawsuit
MS Appeals
Case drags on
MS Settles for $100M
Everyone forgets
I wonder what a million phone calls and requests for written information would do for SCO? :) Perhaps all Linux users should at least request written (paper) documentation on all information from SCO.