DEC is Dead

I was perusing Amazon and came upon this title: DEC is Dead. Long Live DEC. This book describes the rise and fall of Digital Equipment Corporation, a legend in the computing industry that introduced many innovations in processor and system design. Many of the architects went on to other companies such as AMD and Transmetta and continued to advance the state of the art. It's an appealing topic, to be sure.

I wanted to point that out.

Additionally, the title seems to confuse the etymological implications of "The x is dead. Long live y." In this case, even if x and y appear to be the same improper noun, lexically, they never refer to the same individual or entity; that'd be a contradiction. The phrase actually refers to a transitional event, where the life of an old entity, x, is over and we should now bestow praise and hope on the life of a new entity, y. See this for a foothold on more information.

I've seen a lot of smart people get this wrong, and evidently someone solidified their mistake as the title of their book. In this case, I suggest DEC is dead. Long live Intel, AMD, and Transmetta.

You're welcome.