No one wants to hear about *Nix and BSD? Show them how widely those are used, from smartphones to routers to e-readers. Let them know that the only reason people don't hear about Linux et al is because it is not heavily advertised (i.e. hardly ever see "LINUX" written in big, bold letters on a product, let alone on a billboard).

Care to provide quotations for that?

Choosing the right kernel options? Sounds like you build your own kernels. I asked that question because I also happen to own a machine that doesn't support PAE, and I was curious as to which distros (in its latest iteration) still offer non-PAE kernels.

I'm using Manjaro partially because of that, by the way.

Out of curiosity, which distro do you run on that machine? I'm asking this question because distros that do not have PAE as a requirements are rare birds, so to speak.

So, you're telling me that a Latin word that can mean "connection" or "binding" has nothing to do with a phone called "Nexus"? A phone is a tool that we use to connect to each other, right? I find it hard to believe that the people behind that brand just made up a name that exactly looks like an English word — that stems from Latin — when this sort of coincidence arises.

At any rate, that doesn't really matter. I was merely pointing out to the grandparent poster that, if he wishes to use a Latin plural, he should try to at least do it properly. Why bother going through the hassle of using irregular stuff that is optional, anyway? This the mental picture I get when I see such a thing happen: exception handling everywhere in your code — except the error messages don't mean a thing.

Any case beside the nominative in never used, except when using Latin phrases.

So, you're right, but case is irrelevant here.

The plural of "nexus" in Latin in "nexûs." (Actually, the diacritic on the 'u' should be a macron, but alas, Slashdot won't display that character.)

My €0.02.

Today, Americans fear terrorism.

A few decades ago, it was communism.

Before the fear of communism, was the fear of black people.

Before the abolition of slavery, was the fear of the wilderness (what lied beyond the American frontier).

Finally, before the fear of the wilderness, was the fear of tyranny — i.e. from the English crown.

I suppose that fear is quite simply an integral part of American society's fabric.

(Note that those events sometimes overlap. I did not imply that, for a given one event to start, the ongoing one needs to stop.)



P.S. : I can't remember where I read or heard this. It was most likely during American civilization class.

[Citation needed]

Ever heard of rolling release distros ?

Yes, because you absolutely have to use Ubuntu. There are no other distros out there, no sir.

Wait... So you're telling me there's no way to tell there's an intersection? Like, no signs? No white paint on the road? That screams defective by design.

That's gotta be one of the weirdest thing I've read. Well, I realize— WOAH, man! That's a brilliant palindrome you've got in your signature. Briliant and awesome.

So yeah, I realize that, despite having a bachelor's in English, I don't know much about it outside of its American and British dialects.


Congratulations for having surprised the old, blasé dog that I am.

You're completely right. Whether we use a or an depends on what sound comes after it. The letter itself doesn't matter, because a letter that is a vowel can sill begin with a consonant sound-wise, and vice versa.

E.g. : "a university" but "an umbrella"

Remember: language is first and foremost spoken. Letters are scriptural elements, and as such, weigh much less in the language balance.

It annoys you because you're not familiar with what the letter h actually does in French. Sometimes — remember, this is French, so you'll always have a nice list of exceptions to cram into your brain —, words that begin with an h (1) will mean that there is a glottal stop, word initially.

Try comparing the phrases "sept amis" and "sept héros" and you'll understand what I'm talking about. It's impossible for a native speaker to pronounce the latter "saitero" No, sir, they'll always say "sait'ero".(2)
That weird question mark-looking symbol is the glottal stop I mentioned above. Basically, you block the air going through your throat with your glottis, generating what is called a plosion in linguistics.

If that is still obscure, try comparing with how some English speakers pronounce the word "mutton." While most will say /muh-tn/, some speakers say /muh'n/. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've paid attention to the way British people speak.

I know... French is like, impossible to learn for foreigners. Good thin I'm a native speaker. :D


(1) Quite funny, huh? "An h..." no one would ever want to say "a h."
(2) Because I can't seem to make IPA work in the comments, Ichose to represent the glottal stop with an apostrophe.