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Dibakar Advanced
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 699 Topics: 63 Location: USA
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 6:24 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the avatar option otherwise I would have never known how I look like.
By the way, is 'AVATAR' an english word? What does it mean? |
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[bond] Beginner
Joined: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 28 Topics: 6
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 11:32 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | From Jargon File (4.3.0, 30 APR 2001) :
avatar n. Syn. [in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god] 1. Among
people working on virtual reality and cyberspace interfaces, an
"avatar" is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual
reality. The term is sometimes used on MUDs. 2. [CMU, Tektronix]
root, superuser. There are quite a few Unix machines on which the
name of the superuser account is `avatar' rather than `root'. This quirk
was originated by a CMU hacker who found the terms `root' and
`superuser' unimaginative, and thought `avatar' might better impress
people with the responsibility they were accepting.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (09 FEB 02) :
avatar
1. An image representing a user in a
multi-user virtual reality (or VR-like, in the case of
Palace) space.
2. (CMU, Tektronix) root, superuser. There are quite a
few Unix computers on which the name of the superuser
account is "avatar" rather than "root". This quirk was
originated by a CMU hacker who disliked the term
"superuser", and was propagated through an ex-CMU hacker at
Tektronix.
[{Jargon File]
(1997-09-14)
From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms December 2001 :
AVATAR
Advanced Video Attribute Terminal Assembler and Recreator (BBS) |
_________________ “In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity” ~ Winston Churchill |
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Dibakar Advanced
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 699 Topics: 63 Location: USA
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 5:20 am Post subject: |
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Bond,
Being indian I was aware of the Sanskrit meaning but could not relate it to the present context.
Thanks for the info,
Diba.
Maybe we can revive Sanskrit or other extinct or semi-extinct languages by using more of there terminologies, like, again from Sanskrit -
Rakshas(a) (demons) Hacker
Dev(ta) (semi gods) Anti Hackers
Shraap (curse) Virus
Vur(dan) (boon) Anti-Virus |
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DaveyC Moderator
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 151 Topics: 3 Location: Perth, Western Australia
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 6:38 am Post subject: |
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hmmm. A hacker is old jargon for a very smart computer programmer who cuts code very quickly. A "cracker" is a computer programmer who breaks into other peoples networks with malicious intent. Over the years people have got the two terms very confused. Now we have silly terms like "white hat hackers" and "black hat hackers".
It's good to be a hacker... _________________ Dave Crayford |
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CaptBill Beginner
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 100 Topics: 2 Location: Pasadena, California, USA
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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Dibakar said:
Quote: | ...other extinct or semi-extinct languages... |
English is filled with many words whose origins are from latin and ancient greek. My favorite is callipygous (spelling has been corrected).
Last edited by CaptBill on Fri Feb 07, 2003 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mervyn Moderator
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 415 Topics: 6 Location: Hove, England
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[bond] Beginner
Joined: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 28 Topics: 6
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | Maybe we can revive Sanskrit or other extinct or semi-extinct languages by using more of there terminologies, like, again from Sanskrit -
Rakshas(a) (demons) Hacker
Dev(ta) (semi gods) Anti Hackers
Shraap (curse) Virus
Vur(dan) (boon) Anti-Virus
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I understand that ancient Hindu literature was written in Sanskrit. But in the modern age the entire literature has been rewritten either in English or some regional language so that people from other cultures can read it. Only a handful of people know this language now ! Maybe it's time for the Indian Govt. to step in and save the language.
My Indian friend tells me that even though Hindi is the national language in India, people in many parts of India do not follow it. Sanskrit would have been a better option as most Indian languages are descendents of it but Sanskrit is not acceptable to people from religions other than Hinduism who speak and understand Hindi. phew ! _________________ “In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity” ~ Winston Churchill |
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CaptBill Beginner
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 100 Topics: 2 Location: Pasadena, California, USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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[bond] said:
Quote: |
I understand that ancient Hindu literature was written in Sanskrit.
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Don't forget the great classic "Kama Sutra", the authoritive book on manners translated from Sanskrit into English by the great explorer, Sir Richard Burton. |
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DaveyC Moderator
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 151 Topics: 3 Location: Perth, Western Australia
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Richard Burton the actor, boozer and two times husband of the lovely Liz? _________________ Dave Crayford |
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CaptBill Beginner
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 100 Topics: 2 Location: Pasadena, California, USA
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 11:12 am Post subject: |
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He may have been all of those things, but he lived during the 19th century, so he is not the one you are thinking of. Here is a link with a short blurb on him. http://hallbiographies.com/british/50.shtml |
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[bond] Beginner
Joined: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 28 Topics: 6
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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wow ! ... he must be a genious in languages ... I'm still struggling with my German. Our teacher claims that Deutsch grammar is much simpler than English !!! _________________ “In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity” ~ Winston Churchill |
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Dibakar Advanced
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 699 Topics: 63 Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 5:52 am Post subject: |
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Bond's Quote: |
Maybe it's time for the Indian Govt. to step in and save the language.
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It seems you have a very high opinion about Govts, atleast of Indian Govt. |
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Dibakar Advanced
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 699 Topics: 63 Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:11 am Post subject: |
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Moreover,
I am a from Bengal so I had to learn Bengali. Now govt wants us to learn Hindi and business demands English so our school decided to each us both, English and Hindi, but in a Punjabi environment. In the event I forgot to speak one language, Telugu, which I picked from my neighbours when I spent some of my childhood years in Andhra.
Now if govt tries to go for Sanskrit too, then my four year daughter who is already having a tough time coping with three languages will stop speaking at all. |
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santosh_kumar Beginner
Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 8 Topics: 1
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2003 9:59 am Post subject: |
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Dibakar Advanced
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 699 Topics: 63 Location: USA
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 2:12 am Post subject: |
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Content deleted upon posters request. |
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