In message , msg
writes
Ian Jackson wrote:

snip


I'd never heard it until it appeared here (about a week ago?). If you
have to have a term to describe such power supplies, it's quite a good
one. However, it's just one more step down the road where words don't
actually mean what they say (most of which seem to originate in the
USA).
Ian.

I had not heard of this usage regarding power consumption until this
thread, however 'vampire tap' in electronic parlance refers to
a piercing type of cable connector, most often a coaxial connector
used in Ethernet 10base5 wiring.

...hmmm, I never cease to be amazed by the Brits' continual misuse of
case in referring to companies (in usenet postings) in the plural instead
of the singular, e.g. "Hewlett Packard have a new line of servers" instead
of "Hewlett Packard has a new line of servers".

Regards,

Michael


Hey! You are right about the 'vampire tap'.

I'm in the CATV industry, and I've just remembered that, many years ago,
I did see reference to 'vampire taps' as being the latest and greatest
for coaxial ethernet. That took me back to the early 1960s, when similar
tap devices were manufactured in the UK (by Thorn, I think). I may still
have one somewhere. Nasty things!

Re the British incorrect use of plurals when referring to companies (or,
indeed, any group), yes, this is very common, eg the 'government are',
'the team are' etc. However, being grammatically correct does sometimes
grate a little. Maybe the Americans are not totally to blame for this
sad world we live in. But, of course, we always (correctly) say 'maths'
(for mathematics).

Ian.

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