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What do you mean? Apparently Mary Jo Foley noticed.

"Fiji,"

"Media Center Edition +1."

Apologies in advance for being pedantic... but this English business of putting punctuation inside quotes is ridiculous.  It is hardly ever accurate (including these cases).  I realize there are exceptions when punctuation can be put outside the quotes, but it really should be the rule rather than the exception.  If enough of us simply start doing it, it will become the accepted standard.  Ok, back to your regularly scheduled program....

Actually, American usage dictates commas and periods as being placed inside quotation marks with semicolons and colons outside quotation marks.

British usage places commas and periods outside quotation marks.

I teach college-level writing. This is a common issue that is confusing to many people. I wish that all English writers could standardize, but we can't even agree on which side of the road to drive on.

Nevertheless, Paul's usage is correct because he is American and writing in an American setting.

Lotsamystuff... I'm pretty sure MJF heard about the Fiji beta from one of her beta tester tipsters. I'm referring to the name, not that a beta release has occurred.

Regarding quotes... Microsoft uses quotes around code names. That's why these names are written that way, though I don't always observe it to be honest. (On a semi-related note, I can't stand using the exclamation point in Yahoo!'s name.)

Regarding punctuation inside quotes... what he said. :)

Obviously, driving on the right side of the road is correct. I mean, that's not even "debatable." Sorry. :)

I second that. I am an "English major," and it is proper to place the comma inside the quotation marks and improper not to. Do a little homework before you get pedantic.

Paul,

Now, if only Microsoft wasn't so willing to comply with every whim of the content producers at the expense of the consumer's usability.  I'm sure you've seen this mess regarding Microsoft's VOLUNTARY compliance with the broadcast flag and media center blocking DVR for NBC shows  (American Gladiator in this case).

gizmodo.com/.../microsoft-will-totally-bork-your-media-center-dvr-if-nbc-or-anyone-asks-it-to

As the link outlines, the courts shot down mandatory compliance for hardware and software makers... which means that Media Center could legally ignore these flags and allow customers to record any show.  I'm certain users assume this is how media center works.

What an unpleasant surprise to find that Microsoft is once again not even trying to side with consumers here.  Just another reminder that the end user is NOT Microsoft's main customer or concern.  It's OEMs and content companies.

I'm not questioning whether it's correct according to current English "rules."  The rules are dynamic, obviously.  I'm saying it's time to change them.  In this case, if the product name includes the punctuation, the quotes should include the punctuation.  If it does not, it's technically inaccurate, and written language should place accuracy over grammar conventions.

matt.brown... not that I'm great at it myself, but regarding grammar, I believe one of your sentences ends with a preposition. :P  

(Granted, ending with a preposition has also become accepted in some scenarios.  Just joking with you....)  

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@bluvg

Actually it ends with the first half of an infinitive (viz. to place), but no one will care in a hundred years when there is yet another shift in the rules of grammar. In fact, they probably won't care too much about "Figi," iPhones, or cloud computing either. It's amazing how trivial things like these make us get worked up. Pardon my grammar:  like these up which make us get worked.

Paul, I forgot the all-forgiving wink of forgiveness.  ;-)

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@matt... thanks for pointing that out to me.  Is that acceptable practice?  Speaking of infinitives, I wonder if you cringe at how often infinitives are split in tech circles ("to better deliver," "to further improve," etc.).  

At any rate, I don't consider this trivial when I'm writing email, documentation, etc. (trivial in the big picture of life, sure...).  Occasionally I'll write instructions for various computer tasks.  Many times, the labels for controls will contain punctuation marks, such as ellipses.  These are professional documents, and I want to make them as accurate as possible.  It makes for complicated writing when you end up in situations where you use quotes around the label (including the ellipsis), but then the phrase ends with a comma.  Putting the comma inside the quotes makes the label inaccurate, but putting it outside the quotes is not the convention.  To my mind, the punctuation should be inside the quote only when it is properly part of what is within the quotes.

re:  "bluvg"

LOL!

I'm surprised losta wasn't the one that brought out the [sic] hammer!

Thanks for the english lesson but I totally blow usage and grammar all the time. Yet people still understand the worlds comming out of my mouth and blogs.

Anyways, I like the fact that Fiji will have access to Direct TV. That will be a good direction. Now if they could get Fiji to interact with local cable systems. That would be a real coup but I'm sure it won't happen.

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