A few weeks ago I was running errands and listening to NPR as usual when the current story switched over and the next story featured a man ranting about the death of the double space. That’s right– no longer is two spaces between the period and the next sentence acceptable. In fact, it’s considered taboo by the writing and publishing circles.

WHAT?!? I was taught by my parents and all of my teachers since 5th grade that the double space was a necessity. Of course this prompted me to do a little bit of research as to how evolution has brought us to this point. I found a wealth of knowledge in this Slate article. It turns out to be a fascinating story I find worth sharing.

To start with you have to look at the purpose of the double space; adding two spaces between a period and the next sentence originated with the first typewriters. Prior to typewriters, typesetters (a.k.a. printing presses) operated using “proportional spacing”, which meant each letter took up a different amount of space. For example, a lowercase ‘l’ took up much less space than a capital ‘Q’. In those ancient days people added anywhere from one to four spaces between sentences to help the reader determine the ends of sentences.

Now when the typewriter came along, it used something called “monospaced type” in which every character takes up the same amount of horizontal space. This made it more difficult for the reader to differentiate between sentences, and thus the “double space rule” was born.

Fast forward to the modern era beginning in the 1970′s – electric typewriters and then computers began using “proportional fonts” again! In fact nearly every modern font with the exception of “Courier” is a proportional font. This made the need for a double space at the end of sentences obsolete.

So why do some people still subscribe to the double space rule? Well, kids, it’s called tradition. Our grandparents grew up with those monospaced typewriters and had them in their homes and offices, so that’s what our parents and teachers used their whole lives before computers came into existence (Yes, it’s true- there was life before our computers.  Hard to believe, I know.).

So let’s give the double space a big send off and shed off that unnecessary space from our writing. I can’t imagine the Twitter-birds will be too upset.

Oh wait…there is one piece of equipment that hasn’t forgotten the double space rule: my iPhone. Interesting.

Comments(3) - Join the Conversation

Sara Gorsky Categories: General

Interesting article out today on QR codes in the AEC industry with uses from QR code links to installation instructions on packaging to QR codes on job site signs pointing to websites that answer community concerns. Read more here: http://www.customerthink.com/blog/innovative_uses_of_qr_codes_by_the_aec_industry

Comments(0) - Join the Conversation

Tom Lynch Categories: Technology, Voices from the Industry

I’m going to keep this short and sweet, since other blogs have already rehashed the recent Juniper Networks mobile threats report. I first heard about it this morning on NPR and figured it’s worth a mention. The big scary number is the 400% increase in Android malware observed from June 2010 to January 2011. There are Android security apps that you might consider to safeguard against malware, but as far as I know the only way to get a nefarious app on your phone is to actively download and install it yourself. There is no Android virus yet, and I don’t believe that’s something to be worried about.

I would again harken back here to the point that I (and Tom Hickey) keep coming back to: be skeptical and use some common sense. Don’t download and install something if it doesn’t have overwhelmingly positive reviews in Google Marketplace or Amazon Appstore.

This post was featured in ePiphany, Astek’s Monthly Newsletter |  Other ePiphany Articles

Haven’t experienced an ePiphany yet?  Sign up!

Comments(0) - Join the Conversation

Andrew Crowe Categories: ePiphany Featured Story, Gadget, Technology