Showing posts with label virii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virii. Show all posts

Monday, March 31, 2008

Virii!!

Coolest 'computer virus' I've seen in a while:


First off, you have to agree that it's a fun idea! They're marketing it as computer virus art. But what makes a virus a virus? The replication? The infection or malicious intent/outcome? The fact that the receiver doesn't really want it and receives it unexpectedly? I tend to think of this more as a cool application than as a virus. Thoughts?

Also, I know that "virii" isn't really officially accepted as the plural of virus, but I like it more than "viruses" because it's more fun. Wikipedia has this to say:
  • The form virii would not have been a correct plural, since the ending -ii only occurs in the plural of masculine and feminine words ending in -ius. For instance, take radius, plural radii: the root is radi-, with the singular ending -us and the plural -i. Thus the plural virii is that of the nonexistent word virius. The form viri would also be incorrect in Latin. The ending -i is normally used for masculine or feminine nouns, not neuter ones such as virus; moreover, viri (albeit with a short i in the first syllable) is the plural of vir, and means "men."
Words are fun. :)