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Subject:Re: To utilize or not to utilize From:"Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- net -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 5 Sep 2001 07:30:22 +1000
>the Project
> Manager (who is a marketing guy, not an engineer), maintains that
> "Utilization" is the (everyone bow now) "Industry Standard" and we should
> stick with whatever the industry is comfortable with. \
While it is true that many say or write
"utilize" only because they think it sounds
more impressive than "use," a careful writer
will always remember that the two words are not
exact synonyms. To people who care about
precise meaning, the words carry different
connotations, because they have separate
etymologies, and your preference should be
based on precision and audience.
You haven't specified exactly how the word is
being used in your scenario. To me, the heading
"Bandwidth Usage" suggests that I will find
statistics about how much bandwidth is being
used. "Bandwidth Utilization," on the other hand,
suggests that I will find information not only about
*how much* is being used, but how it is being
used, or where, or when, and how it might be
used more efficiently, and so on.
As to whether or not "Utilization" is the "Industry
Standard" -- again, you haven't provided enough
information for anyone to assess the validity of that
claim. What industry? Standard for what, and for whom?
You may be right, the marketing guy may be right.
I'd suggest, though, that the issue is not as simple
as you have presented it.
--
Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
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