Nice try, but "Virus" is not a Latin second declension noun with a plural in -i. It's a Latin FOURTH declension noun, and the plural is -u:s (that's -us with a long u). In other words, the Latin plural of virus is virus. With a length distinction that's lost in English. So you might as well use the English plural, "viruses." "Viri" is NOT a Latin word. Neither is "vira." "Virii" is another mistake, probably based on "radii" (which is from "radius," which IS a second declension Latin noun.) Most Latin nouns that end in -us are second declension and the plural is -i, but "virus," like "venus," is an exception. ("Venus" is 3rd declension, and has no plural, cause it's a proper noun, but if it did, the plural would be "veneres.")
The music industry is very alarmed about "Napster," a new internet music-sharing device which allows people to copy popular songs into an electronic "MP3" format and share them with anyone who wants to hear them. Labels and artists are angry about the lost revenue that this will cost them.
They don't know the half of it.
My research has uncovered the fact that there is an electronic piracy scandal of unprecedented proportions going on right under the record company's noses.
There are several components.
First, there are devices called "cassette recorders" which allow people to make duplicates of existing music and give them to their friends, without the record company or the hard-working artists accruing any revenue whatsoever. Many lawless "hackers" even create what are called "Mixer Tapes" containing songs stolen from many different artists, with no regards to their intellectual property rights -- and they give these "Mixer Tapes" away to friends at no cost whatsoever! The reproduction method, like mp3s, is "lossy," but these diabolical "Cassette Recorders" are able to duplicate sound at a level of quality suitable for everyday listening, parties, and even dances.
The existence of "cassette recorders" means that the second fact I am going to reveal should be even more shocking to anyone who cares about artists' intellectual property rights.
The second element of the scandal is called the "Frequency Modulation Radio Station." A Radio Station will receive CDs from record companies at no cost (obviously there is some kind of payola going on here) and then, using a new "hacking" technology called "Frequency Modulation," will broadcast the songs for FREE to anyone who owns an inexpensive "FM Radio" receiver unit. Popular songs are even re-broadcast many times per day! The Frequency Modulation signal, like mp3s and cassette tapes, is lossy, but is very high quality. This results in millions and millions of people listening to artists' music without paying them a dime. Obviously this is a huge threat to the music industry as we know it, and massive lawsuits are in order.
Now, many hackers have put together devices which *combine* these two technologies, that is, "FM Radios" with a "Cassette Recorder" built right in! This allows a hacker to tune in to an "FM Radio Station" and record the music onto a "Cassette" for later play or even trading with other people! If this sort of thing is allowed to proliferate, anyone will be able to listen to a popular artist's music any time, and they will be able to make their own copies so they can listen to whatever songs they want whenever they want, without paying the artist a dime! All of our most beloved pop icons will be in the poorhouse within months.
But I've saved the greatest scandal for last. This is a piece of technology called the "Speaker." It takes the intellectual property of an artist (whether on a legitimately paid for CD, or a pirated "Cassette" or "FM Radio" signal), and broadcasts it THROUGH THE AIR so that anyone with ears can listen to it! Whether they paid for it or not! Anyone who has a system with speakers can broadcast music at a range of hundreds or even thousands of feet (for a very powerful speaker) and people all around can hear the music without paying the artists one red cent.
Our beloved pop icons are being stolen from on a daily basis, and I for one thing massive legislation is called for before this technology runs completely out of control.
True story: a friend of mine has an Automatic Naughty Word Blocker on her work email. She's on a mailing list with a bunch of mutual friends. I sent an email that kept getting bounced back. I tried and tried to figure out what it was that was getting blocked by the filter. Finally I realized, I had mentioned the name of one of our friends... whose last name was "Van DYKE." That marked it as naughty. I grew up in Holland, MI and I know that there are probably about three dozen pages of "Van Dyke" alone in the phone book. This one might hit home if you mention it to them.:)
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It's not fourth declension at all, it's a very anomalous second declension one with no plural. As other posters have pointed out.
That'll teach me to talk without looking something up....
As for "most" nouns in -us being 2nd declension, maybe, maybe not; anybody got a Latin wordlist we can grep through? :)
And of course they weren't all masculine; I don't think I claimed they were.
Nice try, but "Virus" is not a Latin second declension noun with a plural in -i. It's a Latin FOURTH declension noun, and the plural is -u:s (that's -us with a long u). In other words, the Latin plural of virus is virus. With a length distinction that's lost in English. So you might as well use the English plural, "viruses." "Viri" is NOT a Latin word. Neither is "vira." "Virii" is another mistake, probably based on "radii" (which is from "radius," which IS a second declension Latin noun.) Most Latin nouns that end in -us are second declension and the plural is -i, but "virus," like "venus," is an exception. ("Venus" is 3rd declension, and has no plural, cause it's a proper noun, but if it did, the plural would be "veneres.")
(my take on the situation)
The music industry is very alarmed about "Napster," a new internet music-sharing device which allows people to copy popular songs into an electronic "MP3" format and share them with anyone who wants to hear them. Labels and artists are angry about the lost revenue that this will cost them.
They don't know the half of it.
My research has uncovered the fact that there is an electronic piracy scandal of unprecedented proportions going on right under the record company's noses.
There are several components.
First, there are devices called "cassette recorders" which allow people to make duplicates of existing music and give them to their friends, without the record company or the hard-working artists accruing any revenue whatsoever. Many lawless "hackers" even create what are called "Mixer Tapes" containing songs stolen from many different artists, with no regards to their intellectual property rights -- and they give these "Mixer Tapes" away to friends at no cost whatsoever! The reproduction method, like mp3s, is "lossy," but these diabolical "Cassette Recorders" are able to duplicate sound at a level of quality suitable for everyday listening, parties, and even dances.
The existence of "cassette recorders" means that the second fact I am going to reveal should be even more shocking to anyone who cares about artists' intellectual property rights.
The second element of the scandal is called the "Frequency Modulation Radio Station." A Radio Station will receive CDs from record companies at no cost (obviously there is some kind of payola going on here) and then, using a new "hacking" technology called "Frequency Modulation," will broadcast the songs for FREE to anyone who owns an inexpensive "FM Radio" receiver unit. Popular songs are even re-broadcast many times per day! The Frequency Modulation signal, like mp3s and cassette tapes, is lossy, but is very high quality. This results in millions and millions of people listening to artists' music without paying them a dime. Obviously this is a huge threat to the music industry as we know it, and massive lawsuits are in order.
Now, many hackers have put together devices which *combine* these two technologies, that is, "FM Radios" with a "Cassette Recorder" built right in! This allows a hacker to tune in to an "FM Radio Station" and record the music onto a "Cassette" for later play or even trading with other people! If this sort of thing is allowed to proliferate, anyone will be able to listen to a popular artist's music any time, and they will be able to make their own copies so they can listen to whatever songs they want whenever they want, without paying the artist a dime! All of our most beloved pop icons will be in the poorhouse within months.
But I've saved the greatest scandal for last. This is a piece of technology called the "Speaker." It takes the intellectual property of an artist (whether on a legitimately paid for CD, or a pirated "Cassette" or "FM Radio" signal), and broadcasts it THROUGH THE AIR so that anyone with ears can listen to it! Whether they paid for it or not! Anyone who has a system with speakers can broadcast music at a range of hundreds or even thousands of feet (for a very powerful speaker) and people all around can hear the music without paying the artists one red cent.
Our beloved pop icons are being stolen from on a daily basis, and I for one thing massive legislation is called for before this technology runs completely out of control.
Ed Heil
True story: a friend of mine has an Automatic Naughty Word Blocker on her work email. She's on a mailing list with a bunch of mutual friends. I sent an email that kept getting bounced back. I tried and tried to figure out what it was that was getting blocked by the filter. Finally I realized, I had mentioned the name of one of our friends... whose last name was "Van DYKE." That marked it as naughty. I grew up in Holland, MI and I know that there are probably about three dozen pages of "Van Dyke" alone in the phone book. This one might hit home if you mention it to them. :)