28 novembre 2012

QwickUp

QwickUp provides access to your favorite online lookup services (dictionary, etc.) in one place by one or two clicks of mouse. 

Simply select some text in a web page and click on QwickUp icon to open results in a popup or new tab. You can visit QwickUp.com to customize your lookups and optionally sign in to save your customization in you account and load them elsewhere.

5 novembre 2012

The Dictionary is fidgetal

Most people today get their reference information via their computer, tablet, or phone and the message is clear: the future of the dictionary is digital.

Macmillan Dictionaries announced last Monday (5th of November 2012) it will no longer appear as physical books and from next year it will be available only online.

According to its Editor-in-Chief Michael Rundell, this transition can only be a positive one: the internet is the ideal medium.  “The traditional book format is very limiting for any kind of reference work. Books are out of date as soon as they're printed, and the space constraints they impose often compromise our goals of clarity and completeness. There is so much more we can do for our users in digital media.”

Macmillan Dictionary Online provides an English dictionary and thesaurus, as well as a popular blog about topical issues, a weekly 'Buzzword' column on newly-emerging words, and the crowd-sourced 'Open Dictionary'. Macmillan Dictionary Online also hosts the annual 'Love English Awards' and nominations for the 2012 prizes will open in late November.

Fidgetal: blend of finger and digital. Referred to the use of the fingers to provide input above a mobile device.
(Like this neologism? want more? here they are!)

2 novembre 2012

Here's a quick way to understand business jargon

If you are a person who cares about language and who possesses an adequate sense of humor, this website is for you.

"Unsuck It" is a place to explore the ways in which “professional” communication in English goes wrong and replaces any jargon and buzzword with simple language.



This website tries to tackle, in a funny way, the process that makes the English language sometimes ugly and inaccurate, other than difficult to understand. 

A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.

- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

Source: Unsuck It

Inclusive GIT branch naming

“main” branch is used to avoid naming like “master” and  “slaves” branches “feature branch” for new feature or bug fix   The shift fr...