Re: Internationalization--Standard Conventions

From: Michael Everson (everson@indigo.ie)
Date: Sun May 30 1999 - 13:01:51 EDT


Ar 08:52 -0700 1999-05-30, scríobh John Cowan:
>Markus Kuhn scripsit:
>
>> Used in most countries, used only partially in English-speaking
>> countries, used relatively little in the US (where a strange am/pm
>> convention dominates, even though the 23:59 notation is widely known and
>> understood).
>
>It would be more accurate to say "widely decipherable". Even I, who
>understand international mensuration as well as any American, have to convert
>20:22 into 10:22 PM before I can call up the correct range of
>associations.

One can get used to things being at 20 o'clock if you have a sense of
humour. I don't like to convert, though. I have a nice Sony VCR which
displays time in unambiguous 20:22 vs. 10:22 format. Unfortunately the TV
guides here display the time only as 10.22, with no AM/PM marker, and so
everybody who is setting their VCR timers has to do this unnecessary
conversion.

(Tirelessly, I am writing to the editors of a couple of our TV guides to
try to get them to see reason....)

--
Michael Everson, Everson Gunn Teoranta ** http://www.indigo.ie/egt
15 Port Chaeimhghein Íochtarach; Baile Átha Cliath 2; Éire/Ireland
Guthán: +353 1 478-2597 ** Facsa: +353 1 478-2597 (by arrangement)
27 Páirc an Fhéithlinn;  Baile an Bhóthair;  Co. Átha Cliath; Éire



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