Virtual reality

[Wilson Gray]

On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 7:27 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Virtual reality
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A University of Massachusetts Amherst police officer has filed a
> civil lawsuit alleging that cameras recording officers' conversations
> were installed in certain areas of the campus police station without
> the officers' knowledge. Â (Recording of conversations without the
> consent of both parties, even in public places, is presently illegal
> in Massachusetts, although I don't know if that has really been
> tested to the supreme court of Massachusetts, let alone the
> U.S. Â Videotaping, on the other hand, not illegal in public places.)
>
> Quoting the filing, the Boston Globe today reports that SIGNET
> Electronic Systems, the university's service provider, has "virtually
> removed the microphone and speakers from the system."
>
> Does that mean "almost, nearly, not quite really"? Â Well, no -- it
> apparently means that software was used to turn off the
> microphones. Â Says the Globe, "The company [SIGNET] is now the sole
> holder of the password required to change the camera settings,
> according to the filing."
>
> Of course, if they wanted to actually, instead of virtually, remove
> the microphones, they could have used some non-virtual tools.
>
> Joel
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

So, if _virtually_ means, "done in fact, using software," then
_actually_ probably means, "done in fact, using hardware."

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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