Subj : Re: Off Topic (was: MS XCOPY v 4DOS internal COPY)
To   : R.A.G. Seely
From : Outsider
Date : Mon Feb 11 2002 08:57 am

From: Outsider@f3.n342.z1.cereal.mv.com (Outsider)
Subject: Re: Off Topic (was: MS XCOPY v 4DOS internal COPY)

From: Outsider <"o?o"@microsoft.com>

R.A.G. Seely wrote:
>

....snipped
> Must be my training as a mathematician, but "greater" also means "larger" -
> or more accurately "more positive" (since -5 > -10 is a true statement:
> "minus 5 is greater than minus 10") ...
>
> The point I think you and Outsider are missing is that one often is
> referring to version *numbers* when saying "4DOS 6.0 or higher" or "4NT
> 4.01 or greater" and so it is a legitimate use to say "bigger", "larger",
> "greater", or other adjectives referring to the size (more precisely, the
> ordinal position) of the numbers involved.  Of course, there is ambiguity
> here, so that one might be also (syntactically, rather than semantically)
> be referring to the *versions* themselves, in which case "newer", "later",
> and so on are correct.

But the _version_ is not higher or greater, only the _version number_ itself.
The version is newer, which is designated by a higher or greater number.


> In either case, I think phrases like "an abuse of English" are probably a
> bit extreme - but I guess that was their point.

I see it as willful abuse on the part of software producers who purposely
mislead users into thinking a version is "greater", "higher" or "better", when,
in fact, it is newer -only- as indicated by the newer version number.
Everything else is subject to individual subjective evaluation and marketing
hype.


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