"Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@hotmail.com> wrote in message > On Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:49:22 +0200, Mike Fry <mikefry@iafrica.com> wrote: >>In article <e51sm3hh5r8cfvpmf9qncvsum8bfr86gsc@4ax.com>, >>hayesmstw@hotmail.com says... >>> TV news is reporting that for the third time in as many months important >>> data >>> about British citizens have gone missing from government departments. >>> >>> It's all getting a bit much -- haven't British civil servants ever heard >>> of >>> backups? >>> >> >>I think you'll find that the data hasn't been 'lost' as such, just a >>copy or backup of the original data. UK media doesn't seem to care about >>the subtle distinction. > > They are going on about "lost data" and "the loss of records of 160000 > children". > > People who work for the media use computers. They know what "lost data" > means. It seems they don't. Sky news seems to have very sloppily taken a report of a CD being "lost in transit" to mean "lost data". The two are not the same thing at all. It seems that increasingly people working in the media don't understand English. Either that or perhaps they think that the language skills of their audience is as bad as their own.

In article <476f351e$0$6824$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au>, "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> writes: > "Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@hotmail.com> wrote in message >> On Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:49:22 +0200, Mike Fry <mikefry@iafrica.com> wrote: >>>In article <e51sm3hh5r8cfvpmf9qncvsum8bfr86gsc@4ax.com>, >>>hayesmstw@hotmail.com says... >>>> TV news is reporting that for the third time in as many months important >>>> data >>>> about British citizens have gone missing from government departments. >>>> >>>> It's all getting a bit much -- haven't British civil servants ever heard >>>> of >>>> backups? >>>> >>> >>>I think you'll find that the data hasn't been 'lost' as such, just a >>>copy or backup of the original data. UK media doesn't seem to care about >>>the subtle distinction. >> >> They are going on about "lost data" and "the loss of records of 160000 >> children". >> >> People who work for the media use computers. They know what "lost data" >> means. > > It seems they don't. Sky news seems to have very sloppily taken a report of > a CD being "lost in transit" to mean "lost data". The two are not the same > thing at all. > > It seems that increasingly people working in the media don't understand > English. Either that or perhaps they think that the language skills of > their audience is as bad as their own. > > Dunno how it is in Blighty, but here in the US, sensational sells news, particularly on the 24 hour cycle. And, of course, the reporting is correct, as far as it goes: the data WAS lost - copies of the data, at any event. If B is an exact copy of A and the medium on which B is stored is lost ... Still, sensational sells news. Bob -- Robert G. Melson | Rio Grande MicroSolutions | El Paso, Texas ----- Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason so few engage in it. -- Henry Ford

"Robert Melson" <melsonr@aragorn.rgmhome.net> wrote in message > "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> writes: >> "Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@hotmail.com> wrote in message >>> They are going on about "lost data" and "the loss of records of 160000 >>> children". >>> >>> People who work for the media use computers. They know what "lost data" >>> means. >> >> It seems they don't. Sky news seems to have very sloppily taken a report >> of a CD being "lost in transit" to mean "lost data". The two are not the >> same >> thing at all. >> >> It seems that increasingly people working in the media don't understand >> English. Either that or perhaps they think that the language skills of >> their audience is as bad as their own. > Dunno how it is in Blighty, but here in the US, sensational > sells news, particularly on the 24 hour cycle. True and it's probably the same the whole world over, but consumers usually get sick of poor reporting very quickly and vote with their remotes. > And, of course, the reporting is correct, as far as it goes: > the data WAS lost - copies of the data, at any event. If > B is an exact copy of A and the medium on which B is stored is > lost ... :-)) I like it! When you put it like that, I can just see the IT nerds dining out on that sort of comment. "I've got a problem, I've just lost my data!". "Crashed HD?" "No, there's nothing wrong with it. I've lost a disc!" "You had a backup?" "Of course! Do you think I'm stupid!" "So you haven't lost your data?" "Yes I have, I just told you I had!" "No you haven't, but Sky News will think you have" Well done! I'll retell it tomorrow at Xmas dinner - there will be a few people there who will really appreciate the tale.