disk versus disc

[Fred Cisin]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005, Jules Richardson wrote:
> Curiousity for the day - is there any difference between the use of disk
> and disc when describing floppy drives, hard drives etc.?
> The majority of people seem to use disc, but the use of one or the other
> doesn't seem to be a regional thing.
> I just wondered if one is technically right and the other wrong when it
> comes to computing...

Isn't there ANYBODY around old enough to remember that this was
THOROUGHLY discussed and settled in the computer press over 25 years ago?

A computer drive uses a "DISK"; sometimes derived from "diskette",
(and sometimes with a Germanic (NOT USA v Brits) influence).

There was a SPECIFIC EXCEPTION made for HP, who derive their "discs"
(and even sometimes "discettes"!) from "discus".
Because HP yousta make good test gear, and yousta have good
engineering, it was generally accepted that nobody objected
to their mispelling.
("I love this VTVM; they can spell things any way they want!")


However AUDIO "disc"s are spelled with a 'C'. When CD-ROMs came about,
they were derived from audio CDs; therefore, CD-ROMs are "DISC"s,
and floppies are "DISK"s.


OB_CCTALK: Do modern (oxymoron?) Japanese, British, and Amurican cars
have "Disc brakes" or "Disk brakes"?  (German cars have "disk")

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred     		cisin at xenosoft.com