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Author Topic: Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus  (Read 7028 times)

iamasmith

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« on: February 19, 2005, 06:35:26 am »
Hi,

Anyone got any idea behind the naming of the Zaurus?, Does it actually mean anything? if it doesn't then it's probably a mix of names that marketing put together.

So does anyone know for sure?

- Andy
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jogloran

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2005, 09:16:04 am »
According to the Japanese wikipedia article http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaurus it's just a modification of 'saurus', ostensibly when some executive at Sharp liked the idea of strength that the association with dinosaurs conveyed.

Strikes me as an odd thing to name a PDA, since most people associate dinosaurs with incredible size, but there you go.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2005, 09:16:29 am by jogloran »
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loopy29

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2005, 09:31:22 am »
yeah, incredible size and extinction...
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padishah_emperor

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2005, 10:56:40 am »
They'd been smoking a lot of herb.
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iamasmith

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2005, 12:59:34 pm »
Gosh, so the rather dodgy JPEG that appears on the FAQ stuff was closer to the truth than I imaged.... I'm shocked. LOL.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2005, 03:16:06 pm by iamasmith »
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padishah_emperor

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2005, 06:01:47 pm »
Good heavens! He's trying to faq her, I'd never noticed! That's perverse ;-)
« Last Edit: February 19, 2005, 06:02:32 pm by padishah_emperor »
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nilch

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2005, 11:15:36 pm »
:-) ... and I am laughing and rolling on the floor here  

Oh God..., what a connotation to the name Zaurus :-)
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iamasmith

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2005, 05:08:58 am »
I don't know who acquired this incriminating shot of Mr Veloco R Aptor here, but I'm sure it's out of context....

we really have to suggest that he's lookiing over the girls shoulder because I'm sure that's what he would claim and it could be the source of a little 'heat' otherwise.....

I favour changing this pic on the FAQs to something a little less ambiguous.

+ Actually I think the 'saur' part of Dinosaur in latin means Lizard. Any latin buffs who can confirm?

(BTW: My original guess about the naming was 'The Zaurus' <- 'The Saurus' <- 'Thesaurus'. There doesn't seem to be any firm evidence to support that though.)
« Last Edit: February 20, 2005, 05:19:33 am by iamasmith »
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loopy29

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2005, 05:41:45 am »
Quote
I don't know who acquired this incriminating shot of Mr Veloco R Aptor here, but I'm sure it's out of context....

we really have to suggest that he's lookiing over the girls shoulder because I'm sure that's what he would claim and it could be the source of a little 'heat' otherwise.....

I favour changing this pic on the FAQs to something a little less ambiguous.

Don't know about this. I think it is hilarious...
Quote
+ Actually I think the 'saur' part of Dinosaur in latin means Lizard. Any latin buffs who can confirm?

Yep, it means horrible lizard.
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iamasmith

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2005, 12:27:24 pm »
Actually the picture could indicate the kind of 'geek addiction' that many of us suffer.... instead of a 'Monkey on your back'.....
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chrget

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2005, 02:49:20 pm »
Quote
Quote
Actually I think the 'saur' part of Dinosaur in latin means Lizard. Any latin buffs who can confirm?

Yep, it means horrible lizard.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67918\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

And for completeness' sake, it' greek and not latin

Best regards,
Chris.
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Stubear

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2005, 03:43:17 am »
Quote
Gosh, so the rather dodgy JPEG that appears on the FAQ stuff was closer to the truth than I imaged.... I'm shocked. LOL.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67870\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

That add was for the early M models of the zaurs, that didn't have linux as an OS but some proprietory OS that Sharp built or bought.

That was quite a populr add in Japan when it first came out (around 96 if memory serves), it was on TV all the time and that pic or slight variations of it were plastered all over the trains.

Can't seem to find any large size copies around on the net any more

Stu
« Last Edit: February 21, 2005, 03:44:34 am by Stubear »
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ev1l

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2005, 09:40:56 am »
Quote
Yep, it means horrible lizard.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67918\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Terrible, not horrible, silly
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jim-in-baltimore

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2005, 08:55:55 pm »
Quote
Quote
Yep, it means horrible lizard.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67918\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Terrible, not horrible, silly
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=68060\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Saurus is a Latin word (by definition, it uses latin characters).  According to the Oxford Latin Dictionary, saurus means a fish, in particular the horse-mackerel.

What you may be looking for is "saura" (\sigma\alpha\upsilon\rho\alpha), which is a Latinized Greek word meaning a type of lizard or salamander.  Neither terrible nor horrible is implied in the original word.      


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iamasmith

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Trivia Hunt : Why Is It Called A Zaurus
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2005, 04:29:57 am »
Excellent, yes I think people might be getting mixed up with the commonly known Tyrannosaurus - Which does, I believe, mean "Terrible Lizard".
« Last Edit: February 22, 2005, 04:30:51 am by iamasmith »
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