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This document will list some words and how they should be used.
- Palm OS has a space between "Palm" and "OS".
- Pocket PC has a space between "Pocket" and "PC".
- There is no space around the colon in "ZATZ:Pure Internet Publishing".
- Always use two dashes with no spaces (not an emdash) as in: the computer--the monitor...
- MB (for megabytes). Always place next to the number without a space, as in "2MB." Never list as "Mb". The same goes for K, as in "20K".
- Mhz, on the other hand, is the preferred method of specifying megahertz and interestingly, as a space between the number and the abbreviation, as in "20 Mhz".
- Mbits/s is the proper abbreviation for megabits/sec, and there should be no space between the number and the abbreviation, as in "10Mbits/s".
- Doc files are files that use the Palm OS "Doc" format. These are different from Microsoft Word files, which have the extension ".DOC".
- Watch the use of "and", "that", and "then". These words are often overused and become useless filler. In each instance, remove the word and determine whether or not the piece reads the same with or without it. If it reads the same, then the word is just useless filler and can be removed.
- Its vs. it's. These two words can sometimes be confusing. "Its" is used to denote possession, as in "The dog ate its food." Whereas "it's" is used as a contraction for "it is", as in "It's a beautiful day out today."
- Than and then. These two words are another pair that are frequently used incorrectly. "Than" is used in the context of comparison, such as, "My car is better than your car." Whereas "then" is used in a sequence of events, as in, "First I loaded the file, then I configured the software."
- Both "gage" and "gauge" are correct when describing a meter or a measuring device. However, the New York Times uses "gauge" and when there's a possible conflict in usage, we tend to follow the Times' lead. Therefore, use "gauge".
- UNIX is written in all caps.
- Linux is not written in all caps.
- ISV (Independent Software Vendor)
- SDK (Software Development Kit)
- PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
- DLL (Dynamic Link Library)
- ACL (Access Control List), at least in the Notes/Domino world
- ASP (Active Server Pages)
- IDE (Interactive Development Environment)
- COM (Component Object Model)
- OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)
- SQL (Structured Query Language)
- RDMS (Relational Database Management System)
- The words "Rich Text Format" should always be in initial caps. If discussing a Rich Text field, "Rich" and "Text" should be in initial caps.
- Do use a hyphen in "e-business", "e-commerce", and "e-book".
- Internet and Web have initial caps; intranet is lower case.
- AFAIK means "as far as I know" and should never be used (you know who you are.. don't!)
| Still baffled about an acronym? Check out Acronym Finder. We love this site and use it almost every day.
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