Lundi 30 août 2010

Internet may phase out printed Oxford Dictionary

LONDON – It weighs in at more than 130 pounds, but the authoritative guide to the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary, may eventually slim down to nothing. Oxford University Press, the publisher, said Sunday so cheap ugg boots many people prefer to look up words using its online product that it's uncertain whether the 126 -year-old dictionary's next edition will be printed on paper at all. The digital version of the Oxford English Dictionary now gets 2 million hits a month from subscribers, who pay $295 a year for the service in the U.S. In contrast, the current printed edition — a 20-volume, 750-pound ($1,165) set published in 1989 — has sold about 30,000 sets in total. It's just one more sign that the speed and ease of using Internet reference sites — and their ability to be quickly updated — are phasing out printed reference books. Google and Wikipedia are much more popular research tools than the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and dozens of free online dictionaries offer word meanings at the click of a mouse. Dictionary.com even offers a free iPhone application. By the time the lexicographers behind the century-old UGG Classic Argyle Knit Boots Oxford English Dictionary finish revising and updating its third edition — a gargantuan task that will take a decade or more — publishers doubt there will be a market for the printed form. "At present we are experiencing increasing demand for the online product," a statement from the publisher said. "However, a print version will certainly be considered if there is sufficient demand at the time of publication." Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press, told The Sunday Times in an interview he didn't think the newest edition will be printed. "The print dictionary market is just disappearing. It is falling away by tens of percent a year," he said. His comment related primarily to the full-length UGG Classic Cardy Boots dictionary, but he said the convenience of the electronic format also is affecting demand for its shorter dictionaries. It's too early to predict whether digital dictionaries will completely wipe out the printed format, and Portwood stressed that Oxford University Press has no plans to stop publishing print dictionaries. Schools still rely primarily on printed versions, the publisher said, and demand for its best-seller, the Advanced Learner's Dictionary, is still high among nonnative English learners. Ben Robinson owns a micro-print version of the full Oxford that requires a magnifying glass to read, but the London part-time writer said he rarely uses it these days. Instead, he now consults the iPhone dictionary and thesaurus most often, and sometimes uses the online Oxford English Dictionary when he wants to find out the full history or more meanings of a word. "Few people own the full version so maybe now UGG Classic Crochet Boots that it is online more people can gain access to it," said the 30 -year-old. He would still mourn the loss of the printed version, he added. Launched in 2000, the online Oxford also makes it easier for its publisher to catch up with rapid semantic changes and new words. Editors put updates out every three months. In March, for example, they added words such as "techy" and "superbug" to the online version. The dictionary was first published in parts starting in 1884. It kept growing for decades until the complete text went out in 1928. It was the first comprehensive English dictionary since Samuel Johnson's "A Dictionary of the English Language" was published in 1755, and has since evolved to become the accepted authority on the meaning and history of words. The version users now consult — the second UGG Classic Tall Patent Paisley Boots edition — has 291,500 entries, plus 2.4 million quotations as sources. Unlike shorter printed versions such as the single-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, it doesn't track current usage. A team of 80 lexicographers are preparing the third edition of the dictionary, which is just one-quarter finished. Oxford University Press hasn't yet given a date for when the third edition will be ready. In December, the online version will be relaunched to include a historical thesaurus to make cross-referencing easier.
Par lagogogo123 - 3 commentaire(s)le 30 août 2010
Samedi 28 août 2010

US-India talks could put more pressure on China

Beijing - Washington is hosting the first-ever uggs outlet strategic dialogue between the United States and India in hopes of forging stronger ties, a move observers say may put more pressure on China. It is expected that cooperation on counter-terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, India's role in Afghanistan, South Asian relations, science and technology will be discussed during the meeting. "(The dialogue) elevates India to the rank of our most important global partners, allowing us to discuss and coordinate policies of global importance, including on the future shape of the international economic system and on what we can do together to UGG Handbags promote human development in other parts of the world," William Burns, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, said on Tuesday as the dialogue began. The current US administration "has been, and will remain, deeply committed to supporting India's rise and to building the strongest possible partnership between us," Burns said. As the first of its kind, the dialogue is thought to be laying the foundation for US President Barack Obama's visit to India later this year, while international observers fear hopes for the talk may be too high as the two nations still haven't formed a close bond yet. "The two sides are still far away from a common understanding on most issues," the Financial Times said. India, as a major power in Asia, has long UGG Classic Tall Boots placed its relationship with the US at its heart especially in regards to its rising regional influence, said Hu Shisheng, a scholar of South Asia studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Hu said New Dehli hopes to see more dedication to practical fields such as nuclear cooperation and technology transfer, while Washington wants its partner to further open its market and show continual support on the Iranian nuclear issue. "But the dialogue will be more ceremonious UGG Classic Short Boots than effective. The US has already held many such dialogues with China and Pakistan, and now India needs to verify its importance to the US through the same channel," Hu said. Washington just hosted a second round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue with Beijing last month, while earlier in March Pakistan and the US completed their fourth round of strategic dialogue, one that was upgraded to ministerial level last year. Obama's joint statement during a visit to Beijing last November, which said the US and China would work together to promote peace, stability and development in South Asia, had "rankled New Delhi", said the Times of India. But the American Thinker said with the US "rebuffed on all major points" during its talks with Beijing in May, the dialogue with India is an opportunity to strengthen ties with nations that share common security interests, including "concern over UGG Classic Mini Boots China's rising influence". "The US may hope to get from India what it failed to get from China, and through a strengthened cooperation with another Asian giant, pressure China more on many issues," Hu said.
Par lagogogo123 - 0 commentaire(s)le 28 août 2010

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