Style notes
In general terms, we follow Microsoft guidelines for terminology, as detailed in:
Microsoft® Computer Dictionary, Fifth Edition (Microsoft Press, 05/01/2002).
This establishes basic meanings, spellings and wordforms.
Unfortunately, this has not been updated for more than five years although MicroSoft (MS) terminology changes almost as often as they issue software patches.
More recent glossaries can be accessed through http://www.microsoft.com/resources/glossary/default.mspx.
Some exceptions are noted below:
We use ie. (NOT i.e.) for "that is", and eg. (NOT e.g.) "for example". This violates Microsoft documentation standards, but we like to live dangerously.
We also use etc. as an abbreviation for "et cetera" (it means "and so on"). Curiously, this also violates MS standards, but you'll find many examples of this in their software and documentation.
Like MS, we use both "System tray" and "Notification area" as the name of the right-hand section of the Taskbar that normally includes the clock. (If anyone's actually interested, there's a whole debate about it [here].)
For Your Amusement
Writer's Rules, OK ?
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These rules are normally attributed to William Safire, "the most widely read writer on the English language". In reality, these "Fumble Rules" have a long history and there are many, many variants of these lists. Some may have descended from the "xeroxlore" that circulated throughout campuses and offices in the 1970s.
Life
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Unfortunately, life and writing are seldom simple, and despite its obvious brilliance, (7,12,17 in particular) Safire's list has attracted some criticism.
The following list may also be useful.
George Orwell
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George Orwell (1946) reckoned that writers "need rules to rely on when instinct fails". He proposed the following rules. (Slightly modernized here.)
Mark Twain
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Mark Twain wrote (in a letter):
Jargon Problems
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