Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:59:41 +0000 From: Chris Rees <utisoft@googlemail.com> To: Bob Johnson <fbsdlists@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Disk vs Disc (was: WD External Disc Drive) Message-ID: <b79ecaef0910261159h2bb87bbx919b2a573595ad0e@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <54db43990910261048k8a5d644q2950d4d5e5cb3b01@mail.gmail.com> References: <54db43990910261048k8a5d644q2950d4d5e5cb3b01@mail.gmail.com>
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2009/10/26 Bob Johnson <fbsdlists@gmail.com>: > On 10/26/09, Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> wrote: >> On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:07:45 +0000, Arthur Chance <freebsd@qeng-ho.org> >> wrote: >>> The distinction you make is one >>> I've not come across before, and I've worked with computers for nearly >>> 40 years. >> > > Same here. I've always been told they were completely interchangeable. > > I do recall that when floppy drives appeared for personal computers in > the late '70s and early '80s, there was some argument about the > correct spelling. The claim was that "disc" was correct, and that some > ignorant hobbyist at a new computer company had misspelled it as > "disk" and it stuck. But IBM used the "disk" spelling long before > that, so I don't think that was really what happened. > > Looking in the OED, I find that "disk" was the original spelling, and > in the late 1800s "disc" became popular, then around 1950 "disk" > started regaining popularity, largely in the computer industry. > > > - Bob > > -- > -- Bob Johnson > =A0 fbsdlists@gmail.com I have always considered hard disk, floppy diskette, and compact disc (and digital versatile disc) to be the terminology; but then again the official British spelling is disc, whereas AFAICR the US spelling is disk. Chris --=20 A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in a mailing list?
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