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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Unix or UNIX?
From:       Lauri Watts <lauri () kde ! org>
Date:       2005-01-27 2:29:11
Message-ID: 200501270329.11581.lauri () kde ! org
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On Wednesday 26 January 2005 02.36, Gary Cramblitt wrote:
> When the user clicks a test button in KTTS, it speaks the following test
> message:
>
>   KDE is a modern graphical desktop for Unix computers.
>
> mhunter recently changed this to
>
>   KDE is a modern graphical desktop for UNIX computers.
>
> Why?  The KDE home page says
>
>   KDE is a powerful Free Software graphical desktop environment for Linux
> and Unix workstations.
>
> The Trolltech website also uses "Unix".

While I'm sure everyone is having a grand time with the legal discussions, 
because lord knows there isn't any other place they could go to have that, 
and while it's much more fun to rail against KDE buckling to the demands of 
"the man", I expect the change was made for the usual reason we make such 
tweaks - simple consistency.  

The docs exclusively use the UNIX(tm) form, and a quick grep in the gui 
strings tells me that UNIX wins over Unix or unix 2 to 1.  Considering this 
also takes in a lot of material that we (where we is the docs team and the 
GUI proofreaders) don't really have any sway over (the extragear apps for 
instance, where we'll go clean house if invited, but won't otherwise), or 
don't watch even if we do, such as kdenonbeta, it's a fair bet that any time 
you see UNIX mentioned in a KDE setting inside KDE itself, it is far more 
likely to be the capitalized form as not.  The web page certainly used to say 
that, I have no idea who changed it, but they should clearly be beaten with 
large sponge baseball bats or something for their temerity.

I suggest avoiding the issue entirely, by changing the text to something 
totally neutral,  Something about flowers or kittens perhaps.  I'd dearly 
like to hear my computer trying to pronounce Poinsettia or Bougainvillea or 
Pohutukawa.

Regards,
-- 
Lauri Watts
 
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