The Jargon File by Eric S. Raymond (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

it starts up faster than the bulkier versions of

EMACS). See [14156]holy wars.

Node:video toaster, Next:[14157]videotex, Previous:[14158]vi,

Up:[14159]= V =

video toaster n.

Historically, an Amiga fitted with a particular line of special video

effects hardware from NewTek - long a popular platform at

special-effects and video production houses. More generally, any

computer system designed specifically for video production and

manipulation. Compare [14160]web toaster and see [14161]toaster.

Node:videotex, Next:[14162]virgin, Previous:[14163]video toaster,

Up:[14164]= V =

videotex n. obs.

An electronic service offering people the privilege of paying to read

the weather on their television screens instead of having somebody

read it to them for free while they brush their teeth. The idea bombed

everywhere it wasn't government-subsidized, because by the time

videotex was practical the installed base of personal computers could

hook up to timesharing services and do the things for which videotex

might have been worthwhile better and cheaper. Videotex planners badly

overestimated both the appeal of getting information from a computer

and the cost of local intelligence at the user's end. Like the

[14165]gorilla arm effect, this has been a cautionary tale to hackers

ever since. See also [14166]vannevar.

Node:virgin, Next:[14167]virtual, Previous:[14168]videotex,

Up:[14169]= V =

virgin adj.

Unused; pristine; in a known initial state. "Let's bring up a virgin

system and see if it crashes again." (Esp. useful after contracting a

[14170]virus through [14171]SEX.) Also, by extension, buffers and the

like within a program that have not yet been used.

Node:virtual, Next:[14172]virtual beer, Previous:[14173]virgin,

Up:[14174]= V =

virtual adj.

[via the technical term virtual memory', prob. from the termvirtual

image' in optics] 1. Common alternative to [14175]logical; often used

to refer to the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory

larger than physical memory) simulated by a computer system as a

convenient way to manage access to shared resources. 2. Simulated;

performing the functions of something that isn't really there. An

imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate. Oppose

[14176]real.

Node:virtual beer, Next:[14177]virtual Friday,

Previous:[14178]virtual, Up:[14179]= V =

virtual beer n.

Praise or thanks. Used universally in the Linux community. Originally

this term signified cash, after a famous incident in which some some

Britishers who wanted to buy Linus a beer and sent him money to

Finland to do so.

Node:virtual Friday, Next:[14180]virtual reality,

Previous:[14181]virtual beer, Up:[14182]= V =

virtual Friday n.

(also `logical Friday') The last day before an extended weekend, if

that day is not a `real' Friday. For example, the U.S. holiday

Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The next day is often also a

holiday or taken as an extra day off, in which case Wednesday of that

week is a virtual Friday (and Thursday is a virtual Saturday, as is

Friday). There are also `virtual Mondays' that are actually Tuesdays,

after the three-day weekends associated with many national holidays in

the U.S.

Node:virtual reality, Next:[14183]virtual shredder,

Previous:[14184]virtual Friday, Up:[14185]= V =

virtual reality n.

Computer simulations that use 3-D graphics and devices such as the

Dataglove to allow the user to interact with the simulation. See

[14186]cyberspace. 2. A form of network interaction incorporating

aspects of role-playing games, interactive theater, improvisational

comedy, and `true confessions' magazines. In a virtual reality forum

(such as Usenet's alt.callahans newsgroup or the [14187]MUD

experiments on Internet), interaction between the participants is

written like a shared novel complete with scenery, `foreground

characters' that may be personae utterly unlike the people who write

them, and common `background characters' manipulable by all parties.

The one iron law is that you may not write irreversible changes to a

character without the consent of the person who `owns' it. Otherwise

anything goes. See [14188]bamf, [14189]cyberspace,

[14190]teledildonics.

Node:virtual shredder, Next:[14191]virus, Previous:[14192]virtual

reality, Up:[14193]= V =

virtual shredder n.

The jargonic equivalent of the [14194]bit bucket at shops using IBM's

VM/CMS operating system. VM/CMS officially supports a whole bestiary

of virtual card readers, virtual printers, and other phantom devices;

these are used to supply some of the same capabilities Unix gets from

pipes and I/O redirection.

Node:virus, Next:[14195]visionary, Previous:[14196]virtual shredder,

Up:[14197]= V =

virus n.

[from the obvious analogy with biological viruses, via SF] A cracker

program that searches out other programs and `infects' them by

embedding a copy of itself in them, so that they become [14198]Trojan

horses. When these programs are executed, the embedded virus is

executed too, thus propagating the `infection'. This normally happens

invisibly to the user. Unlike a [14199]worm, a virus cannot infect

other computers without assistance. It is propagated by vectors such

as humans trading programs with their friends (see [14200]SEX). The

virus may do nothing but propagate itself and then allow the program

to run normally. Usually, however, after propagating silently for a

while, it starts doing things like writing cute messages on the

terminal or playing strange tricks with the display (some viruses

include nice [14201]display hacks). Many nasty viruses, written by

particularly perversely minded [14202]crackers, do irreversible

damage, like nuking all the user's files.

In the 1990s, viruses became a serious problem, especially among

Windows users; the lack of security on these machines enables viruses

to spread easily, even infecting the operating system (Unix machines,

by contrast, are immune to such attacks). The production of special

anti-virus software has become an industry, and a number of

exaggerated media reports have caused outbreaks of near hysteria among

users; many [14203]lusers tend to blame everything that doesn't work

as they had expected on virus attacks. Accordingly, this sense of

`virus' has passed not only into techspeak but into also popular usage

(where it is often incorrectly used to denote a [14204]worm or even a

[14205]Trojan horse). See [14206]phage; compare [14207]back door; see

also [14208]Unix conspiracy.

Node:visionary, Next:[14209]VMS, Previous:[14210]virus, Up:[14211]= V

=

visionary n.

One who hacks vision, in the sense of an Artificial Intelligence

researcher working on the problem of getting computers to `see' things

using TV cameras. (There isn't any problem in sending information from

a TV camera to a computer. The problem is, how can the computer be

programmed to make use of the camera information? See [14212]SMOP,

[14213]AI-complete.) 2. [IBM] One who reads the outside literature. At

IBM, apparently, such a penchant is viewed with awe and wonder.

Node:VMS, Next:[14214]voice, Previous:[14215]visionary, Up:[14216]= V

=

VMS /V-M-S/ n.

[14217]DEC's proprietary operating system for its VAX minicomputer;

one of the seven or so environments that loom largest in hacker

folklore. Many Unix fans generously concede that VMS would probably be

the hacker's favorite commercial OS if Unix didn't exist; though true,

this makes VMS fans furious. One major hacker gripe with VMS concerns

its slowness -- thus the following limerick:

There once was a system called VMS

Of cycles by no means abstemious.

It's chock-full of hacks And runs on a VAX

And makes my poor stomach all squeamious.

--- The Great Quux

See also [14218]VAX, [14219]TOPS-10, [14220]TOPS-20, [14221]Unix,

[14222]runic.

Node:voice, Next:[14223]voice-net, Previous:[14224]VMS, Up:[14225]= V

=

voice vt.

To phone someone, as opposed to emailing them or connecting in

[14226]talk mode. "I'm busy now; I'll voice you later."

Node:voice-net, Next:[14227]voodoo programming, Previous:[14228]voice,

Up:[14229]= V =

voice-net n.

Hackish way of referring to the telephone system, analogizing it to a

digital network. Usenet [14230]sig blocks not uncommonly include the

sender's phone next to a "Voice:" or "Voice-Net:" header; common

variants of this are "Voicenet" and "V-Net". Compare [14231]paper-net,

[14232]snail-mail.

Node:voodoo programming, Next:[14233]VR, Previous:[14234]voice-net,

Up:[14235]= V =

voodoo programming n.

[from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] 1. The use by guess or

cookbook of an [14236]obscure or [14237]hairy system, feature, or

algorithm that one does not truly understand. The implication is that

the technique may not work, and if it doesn't, one will never know

why. Almost synonymous with [14238]black magic, except that black

magic typically isn't documented and nobody understands it. Compare

[14239]magic, [14240]deep magic, [14241]heavy wizardry, [14242]rain

dance, [14243]cargo cult programming, [14244]wave a dead chicken. 2.

Things programmers do that they know shouldn't work but they try

anyway, and which sometimes actually work, such as recompiling

everything.

Node:VR, Next:[14245]Vulcan nerve pinch, Previous:[14246]voodoo

programming, Up:[14247]= V =

VR // [MUD] n.

On-line abbrev for [14248]virtual reality, as opposed to [14249]RL.

Node:Vulcan nerve pinch, Next:[14250]vulture capitalist,

Previous:[14251]VR, Up:[14252]= V =

Vulcan nerve pinch n.

[from the old "Star Trek" TV series via Commodore Amiga hackers] The

keyboard combination that forces a soft-boot or jump to ROM monitor

(on machines that support such a feature). On PC clones this is

Ctrl-Alt-Del; on Suns, L1-A; on Macintoshes, it is -<Power

switch> or --! Also called [14253]three-finger

salute. Compare [14254]quadruple bucky.

Node:vulture capitalist, Next:[14255]W2K bug, Previous:[14256]Vulcan

nerve pinch, Up:[14257]= V =

vulture capitalist n.

Pejorative hackerism for `venture capitalist', deriving from the

common practice of pushing contracts that deprive inventors of control

over their own innovations and most of the money they ought to have

made from them.

Node:= W =, Next:[14258]= X =, Previous:[14259]= V =, Up:[14260]The

Jargon Lexicon

= W =

[14261]W2K bug:

[14262]wabbit:

[14263]WAITS:

[14264]waldo:

[14265]walk:

[14266]walk off the end of:

[14267]walking drives:

[14268]wall:

[14269]wall follower:

[14270]wall time:

[14271]wall wart:

[14272]wallpaper:

[14273]wango:

[14274]wank:

[14275]wannabee:

[14276]war dialer:

[14277]-ware:

[14278]warez:

[14279]warez d00dz:

[14280]warez kiddies:

[14281]warlording:

[14282]warm boot:

[14283]wart:

[14284]washing machine:

[14285]washing software:

[14286]water MIPS:

[14287]wave a dead chicken:

[14288]weasel:

[14289]web pointer:

[14290]web toaster:

[14291]webify:

[14292]webmaster:

[14293]web ring:

[14294]wedged:

[14295]wedgie:

[14296]wedgitude:

[14297]weeble:

[14298]weeds:

[14299]weenie:

[14300]Weenix:

[14301]well-behaved:

[14302]well-connected:

[14303]wetware:

[14304]whack:

[14305]whack-a-mole:

[14306]whacker:

[14307]whales:

[14308]whalesong:

[14309]What's a spline?:

[14310]wheel:

[14311]wheel bit:

[14312]wheel of reincarnation:

[14313]wheel wars:

[14314]White Book:

[14315]whitelist:

[14316]whizzy:

[14317]wibble:

[14318]WIBNI:

[14319]widget:

[14320]wiggles:

[14321]WIMP environment:

[14322]win:

[14323]win big:

[14324]win win:

[14325]Winchester:

[14326]windoid:

[14327]window shopping:

[14328]Windoze:

[14329]winged comments:

[14330]winkey:

[14331]winnage:

[14332]winner:

[14333]winnitude:

[14334]Wintel:

[14335]wired:

[14336]wirehead:

[14337]wirewater:

[14338]wish list:

[14339]within delta of:

[14340]within epsilon of:

[14341]wizard:

[14342]Wizard Book:

[14343]wizard hat:

[14344]wizard mode:

[14345]wizardly:

[14346]wok-on-the-wall:

[14347]womb box:

[14348]WOMBAT:

[14349]womble:

[14350]wonky:

[14351]woofer:

[14352]workaround:

[14353]working as designed:

[14354]worm:

[14355]wormhole:

[14356]wound around the axle:

[14357]wrap around:

[14358]write-only code:

[14359]write-only language:

[14360]write-only memory:

[14361]Wrong Thing:

[14362]wugga wugga:

[14363]wumpus:

[14364]WYSIAYG:

[14365]WYSIWYG:

Node:W2K bug, Next:[14366]wabbit, Previous:[14367]vulture capitalist,

Up:[14368]= W =

W2K bug

[from `Y2K bug' for the Year 2000 problem] The upcoming deployment of

Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, which hackers generally

expect will be among the worst train wrecks in the history of software

engineering. Such is the power of Microsoft marketing, however, that

it is also expected this will not become obvious until it has incurred

hundreds of millions of dollars in downtime and lost opportunity

costs.

Node:wabbit, Next:[14369]WAITS, Previous:[14370]W2K bug, Up:[14371]= W

=

wabbit /wab'it/ n.

[almost certainly from Elmer Fudd's immortal line "You wascawwy

wabbit!"] 1. A legendary early hack reported on a System/360 at RPI

and elsewhere around 1978; this may have descended (if only by

inspiration) from a hack called RABBITS reported from 1969 on a

Burroughs 5500 at the University of Washington Computer Center. The

program would make two copies of itself every time it was run,

eventually crashing the system. 2. By extension, any hack that

includes infinite self-replication but is not a [14372]virus or

[14373]worm. See [14374]fork bomb and [14375]rabbit job, see also

[14376]cookie monster.

Node:WAITS, Next:[14377]waldo, Previous:[14378]wabbit, Up:[14379]= W =

WAITS /wayts/ n.

The mutant cousin of [14380]TOPS-10 used on a handful of systems at

[14381]SAIL up to 1990. There was never an `official'