"Disc" vs "Disk"

[Frodo]

I guess I never really thought about it!

http://www.macworld.com/article/143421/ ... _disk.html

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Saw that too. I never knew which was witch, on the whole...



Is that an electric broom, or are you just enjoying the piano?

[HCMarkus]

I am eternally grateful for the clarification. Now, if Apple had only seen fit to offer a little background on the matter, it would be even better. Are we talking Latin word roots here? Apparently not:

From: Ruth Glynn <RGLYNN@VAX.OXFORD.AC.UK>
Subject: Disc vs. disk

The rule of thumb Adam Engst defined re disc and disk is not correct.
The difference between the two respected in the computer industry and by
most publishers is that 'disc' refers to all optical discs, whereas
'disk' refers to magnetic disks.

Prior to the emergence of optical media, in the UK at least the
preferred form was 'disc' for your floppy and hard disks, with 'disk'
being considered an Americanism. (oh the gall! -ed.)

There is no good reason for there to be a distinction, but since one has
arisen, all OUP's electronic publications now respect the 'disc'/'disk'
definitions as above.

Ruth Glynn
Oxford Electronic Publishing, OUP

[Phil O]

Hello, Mr. Frodo. I noticed you posted this in the "General Macintosh" forum. Who IS this General Macintosh guy anyway?

[donreynolds]

He is the father of Kernal Panic

[Frodo]

I am eternally grateful for the clarification. Now, if Apple had only seen fit to offer a little background on the matter, it would be even better. Are we talking Latin word roots here? Apparently not:

From: Ruth Glynn <RGLYNN@VAX.OXFORD.AC.UK>
Subject: Disc vs. disk

The rule of thumb Adam Engst defined re disc and disk is not correct.
The difference between the two respected in the computer industry and by
most publishers is that 'disc' refers to all optical discs, whereas
'disk' refers to magnetic disks.

Prior to the emergence of optical media, in the UK at least the
preferred form was 'disc' for your floppy and hard disks, with 'disk'
being considered an Americanism. (oh the gall! -ed.)

There is no good reason for there to be a distinction, but since one has
arisen, all OUP's electronic publications now respect the 'disc'/'disk'
definitions as above.

Ruth Glynn
Oxford Electronic Publishing, OUP

Interesting! Very interesting.

You know, it's funny that Apple's clarification might be construed as "an Americanism" considering that Apple is an American company. I don't see anything necessarily wrong with that. If the syntax is different in other countries, than I would support a more universal usage standard where terminology is concerned.

Honestly? Where CDs and DVDs are concerned, we've been seeing this for years:



That is an internationally accepted insignia, so I'm not completely buying Ruth Glynn's assertions hook, line, and sinker.... although I respectfully don't pretend to speak for how terms have been adopted in other countries.

In truth, I rarely use "disk" as a term. For CDs and DVDs it's always been "disc". Where hard drives are concerned, it's always been "hard drive" without the need for the term "disk". This is probably why I never really thought about it before now.

Ya live and ya learn--- and then you're all confused.

[Frodo]

Hello, Mr. Frodo. I noticed you posted this in the "General Macintosh" forum. Who IS this General Macintosh guy anyway?

Maybe he's a cohort of Sgt. Apple?

[HCMarkus]

Hello, Mr. Frodo. I noticed you posted this in the "General Macintosh" forum. Who IS this General Macintosh guy anyway?

Maybe he's a cohort of Sgt. Apple?

His parents were admirers of General Confusion.

Laughed so hard I slipped a disc.

[Phil O]

It seems my comment has caused a Major Disruption of this thread.

[Frodo]

It seems my comment has caused a Major Disruption of this thread.

LOL! That's very "Admiral" of you!

[HCMarkus]

LOL. Corporal Punishment is your destiny Phil.

[Phil O]

Ahhh, puns at MotuNation are a dangerous thing. It's like opening a flood gate. I love this place!

Phil

[Frodo]

You know, we could have done all this by *Private* message, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.

Actually, there are some interesting military ranks that rarely get used, like Brigadier, Warrant Officer, Ensign, etc.

But none of those are nearly as punny.

[HCMarkus]

Back in the day, I used to work on an Ensignic Mirage.

[Frodo]

Back in the day, I used to work on an Ensignic Mirage.

Ouch!