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From: rdm@hoptoad.uucp (Rich Morin)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: [Nn][Ee][Ww][Ss]
Message-ID: <2168@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: Fri, 22-May-87 19:22:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.2168
Posted: Fri May 22 19:22:00 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 18:01:31 EDT
Organization: Canta Forda Computer Laboratory
Lines: 40
Keywords: overloading registration kitsch

The case sensitivity of UNIX (or is that Unix?) has long been considered to
be a great virtue.  Until recently, however, little use was made of it.  Now,
through the combined efforts of an international collection of techies and
marketeers, we are starting to see some promising applications.

The "network news" in UNIX-land refers to the netnews system, as opposed to
any syndicated TV program.  The netnews home directory is generally called
"news".  The default location for files saved by news reading programs,
however, is a directory named "News".

This modest bit of name overloading is pretty timid, however, being in the
same class as, say, [Mm]akefile.  Recently, however, Sun (*not* SUN) has
introduced the "NeWS" software for window management.  Always quick to seize
upon new ideas, Sony has now introduced the "NEWS" workstation.

By CFCL's careful calculation, this four-way overloading has used up only
25% of the available permutations, as:

  0  news	netnews
  ...
  8  News	rn, etc.
  ...
  B  NeWS	Sun
  ...
  F  NEWS	Sony

In line with the increasing commercialization of usenet (or is that Usenet?),
CFCL has set up the [Nn][Ee][Ww][Ss] registration service.  Anyone wishing to
register their use of a [Nn][Ee][Ww][Ss] permutation can now send in the
economical fee of $25K, and have CFCL's assurance that NO OTHER PARTY will be
allowed to register a conflicting one.

In the future, CFCL will be exploring the registration of other names, as part
of its Name Registration OFFicialization (NROFF) program.  Yours for a more
orderly name space...
-- 
Richard Morin, proprietor	{hoptoad,leadsv,lll-lcc}!cfcl!rdm
Canta Forda Computer Lab.	+1 415 994 6860
Post Office Box 1488		Full spectrum consulting services
Pacifica, CA  94044  USA	for science and en