Re: Diskussion

[Robert Bononno <bononno -at- ACF2 -dot- NYU -dot- EDU>]

OK. So it's been vacillating back and forth and has temporarily settled
into the disk/disc groove and been solidified by a trademark. I wonder if
there's an ANSI or ASTM paper on this terminology?

Well, it has the advantage of enabling the reader to quickly
differentiate between the two categories. I suppose that's a plus. I
wonder which came first? I should check this.


     Robert Bononno /// Techline
     bononno -at- acf2 -dot- nyu -dot- edu
     CIS 73670,1570



On Fri, 22 Apr 1994, Mark Levinson wrote:

> I've noticed that there are two spelling for the word disk: disk and
> disc. I read somewhere that you should only use the latter (disc) when
> describing laser discs and CD-ROMS.

> ** Originally it was a coin-toss.  I recall switching from "disk" to
>    "disc" when I switched from writing about Control Data hardware to
>    writing about Hewlett-Packard hardware.  Or was it the other way
>    around?

>    The invention of diskettes caused a big swing toward "disk" because
>    no one wants to write about "discettes".

>    But there's a graphical trademark for the standard laser disc
>    technology (used both in musical CDs and in CD-ROMs) and that
>    trademark features the "disc" spelling.  Curiously, it's strongly
>    reminiscent of the trademark of the Kodak disc camera, which--
>    rather like the musical CD-- was based on the idea that the masses
>    would appreciate the reduced need for carefulness and only
>    the cranks would notice the reduction in quality.