Last patch train of the decade rolls in from Redmond

A critical update addressing a zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer starred among the six bulletins published by Microsoft on Tuesday, as part of Redmond's last Black Tuesday update of the decade. Microsoft closed out 2009 with six security bulletins - three rated "critical" and three classified as "important" - …

[rpjs]

Inevitable pedantry

Last patch train of the year maybe, but in my calendar the first decade of the 21st century still has another year to run.

[chipman]

Last patches of the decade? Not in my world.

Can I be the first to say this decade will not be out before another year. There is no year zero in our calendar. The first year was "1 ad", the one before was "1 bc".

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Last patches of the decade? Not in my world.

No more of these. Go and tell it to the people who are frivolously and erroneously compiling best-and-worst-of-the-decade lists ie EVERYONE.

[Emilio Desalvo]

The Truth

Ok, you give us a .45, and we will show them The Truth...

[Ivor]

Pedantry corner

oh one more please?

You're both wrong of course. decade from the latin "decas" meaning a period of 10 years.

i.e. any 10 years.So when we say "this last decade", we are referring to the previous 10 years. We could in fact compile a list of the most pedantic posts of the last decade in the year 2012.

The designation is therefore used by well pretty much anyone - except you two of course - as a shorthand for a group of 10 years in the same "X0's" grouping. i.e. the 80's the 90's etc.

What you *should* have quibbled as professional pedantrists is that saying "the decade" is inaccurate.

[David Adams]

Re: Pedantry corner

"We could in fact compile a list of the most pedantic posts of the last decade in the year 2012."

I think Ivor has just won that one!

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Pedantry corner

We're quibbling with quibbles now? It was a generalised plea for people to shut their yaps on this matter but yes. You are allowed. No further quibbling though, not with my pleas, or there will be consequences.

[kain preacher]

How a decade is calculated

THe mistake you folks are doing is saying 2009-2000 != 10

but 2000 is considered to be the first yers the decade .

2000 = 1

2001 =2

2002 =3

2003 =4

2004 =5

2005 = 6

2006 =7

2008=9

2009 = 10

[chipman]

RE: How a decade is calculated

Problem here is the calendar started at year 1, not year 0. Or you would have a 1ste decade of only 9 years.

[John Square]

That's exactly what happened!

Back in ye olde days, accountants ran the calendars and they decided on a one-off, write down of the first decade (I think they classed it as a depreciation) so as to regularise the flow of TV nostalgia shows for generations to come, and to free Ms. Bee from the yoke of pedantic tyranny.

[OldDogNewWalk]

Ahhhhhh.....

Freeing Ms. Bee..........

[Eugene Goodrich]

Just make two decade, century definitions.

One definition will be zero-based. It's right, but like most zero-based systems it seems odd to the average folk because they only understand the number zero as how many beers they have left when they've drunk them all.

The other definition will be one-based. It runs first in all this "best of the decade/century!" hooplah.

Win: this allows us the opportunity to run all the "best of the decade!" hooplahs twice, going forward. An asterisk on the one-based "decade" indicating the fine print "1-based decade counting; truer, 0-based decade counting will be run again next year" should appease all the twitchy nerd types (like me).

Paris, because she may not appease all the twitchy nerd types, but she'd certainly work for me.

P.S. I look forward to seeing all technical media the world over make my suggested change k thx bai

[Sorry that handle is already taken.]

Pedantry aside

Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft indeed didn't have to release any security updates next year?