Whenever I read something referencing computer memory, or hear geeks talking about it, they use the word “stick” in both the singular and plural. For example:
“The motherboard can accomodate up to four stick of DDR.”
“I bought two stick of 512 megabyte DDR memory.”
Why is the plural of a “stick” of computer memory just “stick” without a final “s”?
They’re geeks - they’re probablky just doing it in the hope that girls will notice them.
That is the computer geek version of light gansta speak. It is not correct.
Stick, schmick! Real geeks call 'em “modules.”
Sticks.
I recommend slapping people if you hear them do it in person.
No self-respecting geek uses the word “stick.” They say “DIMM” or “SIMM” or whatever other name is appropriate to the PCB at hand, and usually include the RAM type and pin count.
Why not use stick that way if you’re using it as a measure? After all, we already have head and foot used that way:
[ul][li]Five head of cattle[/li]Five foot four[/ul]
10,000 post wonder
two wheel drive
three dog night
four day weekend
but those are examples of a different sort of construction
I’d like to see where people are using plural “stick”. I’ve only ever noticed people using “sticks”.
In other words, “Cite?”
http://www.google.com/search?q="two+stick+of+memory"&hl=en&lr=&start=20&sa=N
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="two+stick+of+ram"&btnG=Search
Fair enough. I will note that the same Google test using “sticks” instead of “stick” shows that the former usage is still more common.
I clicked on a few of these and they look like typos. One person used “sticks” in the paragraph prior to where he used “stick”.
I’m trying to think if I’ve ever heard someone talk about blowing something up with three stick o’ dynamite. I can almost hear it, maybe a Texas or Southern dialect.
I don’t know if elmwood is female, but if so, they appear to have succeeded.
Personally I wouldn’t say “sticks of memory.” I’d just say “memory sticks.” That makes it much easier, I think.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q="two+sticks+of+memory"
Yep, that’s better.
It’s more of a grammar issue.
A co-worker of mine would say that his PC had two stick of RAM, but English does not appear to be his first language, and he commonly mixes up plurals and verb tenses. I would not be surprised to see him write “I install two new stick of RAM in her computer and test if to be sure it work.”
Not geek-speak, but just missing a few small aspects of this nuty language.