TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Usage question From:sanders_j -at- TBOSCH -dot- DNET -dot- GE -dot- COM Date:Wed, 30 Jun 1993 10:18:56 EDT
Hi,
>They have allocated a small room and put a sign on the
>door saying, naturally enough, "demo suite."
>I know that in everyday English a suite must consist of more than one
>room. Does anyone know if there is any justification for an exception
>in the case of a demo suite? Or is that phrase not a special item of jargon
>that has any impact, if only one room is involved, on "how suite it is"?
Well, I'm not standing on bedrock with this one, but if the product they're
showing off uses a lot of specialized equipment to properly demonstrate, then
the term "Demo Suite" does not so much refer to the room, as the equipment to
do the demo. As in: "video suite" or "audio suite", both terms I have heard in
a number of different arenas. I would suggest, tentatively, that the "suite"
refers to the amount of equipment, its quality, and its completeness. A video
suite, for instance, should allow you to do just about anything you want to do
in video.
