[NTLUG:Discuss] On Linux distributions.

[Jeremy Blosser]

Christopher Browne [cbbrowne at localhost.brownes.org] wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Mar 2001 21:37:14 CST, the world broke into rejoicing as
> Jeremy Blosser <jblosser at firinn.org>  said:
> >Chris Cox [cjcox at acm.org] wrote:
> >> Charles Jacobus wrote:
> >>> What is *ix systems? As one of the Great Unwashed I don't recognise them.
> 
> >> Unix is a trademarked term... so a lot of people use *ix to refer
> >> to Unix and Unix-work-a-like systems.
> 
> > To be pedantic, and add a bit more history ;), UNIX is the trademarked term
> > (all caps).  From the jargon file:
> 
> > "Some people are confused over whether this word is appropriately
> > `UNIX' or `Unix'; both forms are common, and used
> > interchangeably. Dennis Ritchie says that the `UNIX' spelling
> > originally happened in CACM's 1974 paper "The UNIX Time-Sharing
> > System" because "we had a new typesetter and troff had just been
> > invented and we were intoxicated by being able to produce small
> > caps." Later, dmr tried to get the spelling changed to `Unix' in a
> > couple of Bell Labs papers, on the grounds that the word is not
> > acronymic. He failed, and eventually (his words) "wimped out" on the
> > issue. So, while the trademark today is `UNIX', both capitalizations
> > are grounded in ancient usage; the Jargon File uses `Unix' in
> > deference to dmr's wishes."
> 
> I've shifted over to the same "deference," myself.
> 
> Note that for the many modern implementations that are not formally
> compliant with what standards are required to attain the UNIX (tm)
> trademark, it's probably more appropriate to call them "Unix"
> anyways...

Oh yeah, I definitely prefer Unix myself.  I find it humourous that the
trademarking group at Bell Labs trademarked the wrong version of the
term, thus giving all of us an easy way to still refer to things the
correct way.  Just one more place the suits don't get it, I guess.

It's also always humourous to have people ask what UNIX is an acronym for
and explain that it really was just a play on words/pun.  It's nice to be
using something that actually has substantial history and culture behind
it.

-- 
Jeremy Blosser   |   jblosser at firinn.org   |   http://jblosser.firinn.org/
-----------------+-------------------------+------------------------------
the crises posed a question / just beneath the skin
the virtue in my veins replied / that quitters never win