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

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program, Up:[8683]= M =

micro- pref.

Very small; this is the root of its use as a quantifier prefix. 2.

A quantifier prefix, calling for multiplication by 10^(-6) (see

[8684]quantifiers). Neither of these uses is peculiar to hackers, but

hackers tend to fling them both around rather more freely than is

countenanced in standard English. It is recorded, for example, that

one CS professor used to characterize the standard length of his

lectures as a microcentury -- that is, about 52.6 minutes (see also

[8685]attoparsec, [8686]nanoacre, and especially

[8687]microfortnight). 3. Personal or human-scale -- that is, capable

of being maintained or comprehended or manipulated by one human being.

This sense is generalized from `microcomputer', and is esp. used in

contrast with `macro-' (the corresponding Greek prefix meaning

`large'). 4. Local as opposed to global (or [8688]macro-). Thus a

hacker might say that buying a smaller car to reduce pollution only

solves a microproblem; the macroproblem of getting to work might be

better solved by using mass transit, moving to within walking

distance, or (best of all) telecommuting.

Node:MicroDroid, Next:[8689]microfloppies, Previous:[8690]micro-,

Up:[8691]= M =

MicroDroid n.

[Usenet] A Microsoft employee, esp. one who posts to various

operating-system advocacy newsgroups. MicroDroids post follow-ups to

any messages critical of Microsoft's operating systems, and often end

up sounding like visiting fundamentalist missionaries. See also

[8692]astroturfing; compare [8693]microserf.

Node:microfloppies, Next:[8694]microfortnight,

Previous:[8695]MicroDroid, Up:[8696]= M =

microfloppies n.

3.5-inch floppies, as opposed to 5.25-inch [8697]vanilla or

mini-floppies and the now-obsolete 8-inch variety. This term may be

headed for obsolescence as 5.25-inchers pass out of use, only to be

revived if anybody floats a sub-3-inch floppy standard. See

[8698]stiffy, [8699]minifloppies.

Node:microfortnight, Next:[8700]microLenat,

Previous:[8701]microfloppies, Up:[8702]= M =

microfortnight n.

1/1000000 of the fundamental unit of time in the

Furlong/Firkin/Fortnight system of measurement; 1.2096 sec. (A furlong

is 1/8th of a mile; a firkin is 1/4th of a barrel; the mass unit of

the system is taken to be a firkin of water). The VMS operating system

has a lot of tuning parameters that you can set with the SYSGEN

utility, and one of these is TIMEPROMPTWAIT, the time the system will

wait for an operator to set the correct date and time at boot if it

realizes that the current value is bogus. This time is specified in

microfortnights!

Multiple uses of the millifortnight (about 20 minutes) and

[8703]nanofortnight have also been reported.

Node:microLenat, Next:[8704]microReid, Previous:[8705]microfortnight,

Up:[8706]= M =

microLenat /mi:`-kroh-len'-*t/ n.

The unit of [8707]bogosity. consensus is that this is the largest unit

practical for everyday use. The microLenat, originally invented by

David Jefferson, was promulgated as an attack against noted computer

scientist Doug Lenat by a [8708]tenured graduate student at CMU. Doug

had failed the student on an important exam because the student gave

only "AI is bogus" as his answer to the questions. The slur is

generally considered unmerited, but it has become a running gag

nevertheless. Some of Doug's friends argue that of course a microLenat

is bogus, since it is only one millionth of a Lenat. Others have

suggested that the unit should be redesignated after the grad student,

as the microReid.

Node:microReid, Next:[8709]microserf, Previous:[8710]microLenat,

Up:[8711]= M =

microReid /mi:'kroh-reed/ n.

See [8712]microLenat.

Node:microserf, Next:[8713]Microsloth Windows,

Previous:[8714]microReid, Up:[8715]= M =

microserf /mi:'kro-s*rf/

[popularized, though not originated, by Douglas Copeland's book

"Microserfs"] A programmer at [8716]Microsoft, especially a low-level

coder with little chance of fame or fortune. Compare [8717]MicroDroid.

Node:Microsloth Windows, Next:[8718]Microsoft,

Previous:[8719]microserf, Up:[8720]= M =

Microsloth Windows /mi:'kroh-sloth` win'dohz/ n.

(Variants combine {Microshift, Macroshaft, Microsuck} with {Windoze,

WinDOS}. Hackerism(s) for `Microsoft Windows'. A thirty-two bit

extension and graphical shell to a sixteen bit patch to an eight bit

operating system originally coded for a four bit microprocessor which

was written by a two-bit company that can't stand one bit of

competition. Also just called `Windoze', with the implication that you

can fall asleep waiting for it to do anything; the latter term is

extremely common on Usenet. See [8721]Black Screen of Death and

[8722]Blue Screen of Death; compare [8723]X, [8724]sun-stools.

Node:Microsoft, Next:[8725]micros~1, Previous:[8726]Microsloth

Windows, Up:[8727]= M =

Microsoft

The new [8728]Evil Empire (the old one was [8729]IBM). The basic

complaints are, as formerly with IBM, that (a) their system designs

are horrible botches, (b) we can't get [8730]source to fix them, and

(c) they throw their weight around a lot. See also [8731]Halloween

Documents.

Node:micros~1, Next:[8732]middle-endian, Previous:[8733]Microsoft,

Up:[8734]= M =

micros~1

An abbreviation of the full name [8735]Microsoft resembling the rather

[8736]bogus way Windows 9x's VFAT filesystem truncates long file names

to fit in the MS-DOS 8+3 scheme (the real filename is stored

elsewhere). If other files start with the same prefix, they'll be

called micros~2 and so on, causing lots of problems with backups and

other routine system-administration problems. During the US Antitrust

trial against Microsoft the names Micros~1 ans Micros~2 were suggested

for the two companies that would exist after a break-up.

Node:middle-endian, Next:[8737]middle-out implementation,

Previous:[8738]micros~1, Up:[8739]= M =

middle-endian adj.

Not [8740]big-endian or [8741]little-endian. Used of perverse byte

orders such as 3-4-1-2 or 2-1-4-3, occasionally found in the

packed-decimal formats of minicomputer manufacturers who shall remain

nameless. See [8742]NUXI problem. Non-US hackers use this term to

describe the American mm/dd/yy style of writing dates (Europeans write

little-endian dd/mm/yy, and Japanese use big-endian yy/mm/dd for

Western dates).

Node:middle-out implementation, Next:[8743]milliLampson,

Previous:[8744]middle-endian, Up:[8745]= M =

middle-out implementation

See [8746]bottom-up implementation.

Node:milliLampson, Next:[8747]minifloppies, Previous:[8748]middle-out

implementation, Up:[8749]= M =

milliLampson /mil'*-lamp`sn/ n.

A unit of talking speed, abbreviated mL. Most people run about 200

milliLampsons. The eponymous Butler Lampson (a CS theorist and systems

implementor highly regarded among hackers) goes at 1000. A few people

speak faster. This unit is sometimes used to compare the (sometimes

widely disparate) rates at which people can generate ideas and

actually emit them in speech. For example, noted computer architect C.

Gordon Bell (designer of the PDP-11) is said, with some awe, to think

at about 1200 mL but only talk at about 300; he is frequently reduced

to fragments of sentences as his mouth tries to keep up with his

speeding brain.

Node:minifloppies, Next:[8750]MIPS, Previous:[8751]milliLampson,

Up:[8752]= M =

minifloppies n.,obs.

5.25-inch floppy disks, as opposed to 3.5-inch or [8753]microfloppies

and the long-obsolescent 8-inch variety (if there is ever a smaller

size, they will undoubtedly be tagged `nanofloppies'). At one time,

this term was a trademark of Shugart Associates for their SA-400

minifloppy drive. Nobody paid any attention. See [8754]stiffy.

Node:MIPS, Next:[8755]misbug, Previous:[8756]minifloppies, Up:[8757]=

M =

MIPS /mips/ n.

[abbreviation] 1. A measure of computing speed; formally, `Million

Instructions Per Second' (that's 10^6 per second, not 2^(20)!); often

rendered by hackers as `Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed' or

in other unflattering ways, such as `Meaningless Information Provided

by Salesmen'. This joke expresses an attitude nearly universal among

hackers about the value of most [8758]benchmark claims, said attitude

being one of the great cultural divides between hackers and

[8759]marketroids (see also [8760]BogoMIPS). The singular is sometimes

`1 MIP' even though this is clearly etymologically wrong. See also

[8761]KIPS and [8762]GIPS. 2. Computers, especially large computers,

considered abstractly as sources of [8763]computrons. "This is just a

workstation; the heavy MIPS are hidden in the basement." 3. The

corporate name of a particular RISC-chip company; among other things,

they designed the processor chips used in [8764]DEC's 3100 workstation

series. 4. Acronym for `Meaningless Information per Second' (a joke,

prob. from sense 1).

Node:misbug, Next:[8765]misfeature, Previous:[8766]MIPS, Up:[8767]= M

=

misbug /mis-buhg/ n.

[MIT; rare (like its referent)] An unintended property of a program

that turns out to be useful; something that should have been a

[8768]bug but turns out to be a [8769]feature. Compare [8770]green

lightning. See [8771]miswart.

Node:misfeature, Next:[8772]Missed'em-five, Previous:[8773]misbug,

Up:[8774]= M =

misfeature /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee`chr/ n.

[common] A feature that eventually causes lossage, possibly because it

is not adequate for a new situation that has evolved. Since it results

from a deliberate and properly implemented feature, a misfeature is

not a bug. Nor is it a simple unforeseen side effect; the term implies

that the feature in question was carefully planned, but its long-term

consequences were not accurately or adequately predicted (which is

quite different from not having thought ahead at all). A misfeature

can be a particularly stubborn problem to resolve, because fixing it

usually involves a substantial philosophical change to the structure

of the system involved.

Many misfeatures (especially in user-interface design) arise because

the designers/implementors mistake their personal tastes for laws of

nature. Often a former feature becomes a misfeature because trade-offs

were made whose parameters subsequently change (possibly only in the

judgment of the implementors). "Well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature

that file names are limited to six characters, but the original

implementors wanted to save directory space and we're stuck with it

for now."

Node:Missed'em-five, Next:[8775]missile address,

Previous:[8776]misfeature, Up:[8777]= M =

Missed'em-five n.

Pejorative hackerism for AT&T System V Unix, generally used by

[8778]BSD partisans in a bigoted mood. (The synonym `SysVile' is also

encountered.) See [8779]software bloat, [8780]Berzerkeley.

Node:missile address, Next:[8781]miswart,

Previous:[8782]Missed'em-five, Up:[8783]= M =

missile address n.

See [8784]ICBM address.

Node:miswart, Next:[8785]MMF, Previous:[8786]missile address,

Up:[8787]= M =

miswart /mis-wort/ n.

[from [8788]wart by analogy with [8789]misbug] A [8790]feature that

superficially appears to be a [8791]wart but has been determined to be

the [8792]Right Thing. For example, in some versions of the

[8793]EMACS text editor, the `transpose characters' command exchanges

the character under the cursor with the one before it on the screen,

except when the cursor is at the end of a line, in which case the two

characters before the cursor are exchanged. While this behavior is

perhaps surprising, and certainly inconsistent, it has been found

through extensive experimentation to be what most users want. This

feature is a miswart.

Node:MMF, Next:[8794]mobo, Previous:[8795]miswart, Up:[8796]= M =

MMF //

[Usenet; common] Abbreviation: "Make Money Fast". Refers to any kind

of scheme which promises participants large profits with little or no

risk or effort. Typically, it is a some kind of multi-level marketing

operation which involves recruiting more members, or an illegal

pyramid scam. The term is also used to refer to any kind of spam which

promotes this. For more information, see the [8797]Make Money Fast

Myth Page.

Node:mobo, Next:[8798]moby, Previous:[8799]MMF, Up:[8800]= M =

mobo /moh'bo/

Written and (rarely) spoken contraction of "motherboard"

Node:moby, Next:[8801]mockingbird, Previous:[8802]mobo, Up:[8803]= M =

moby /moh'bee/

[MIT: seems to have been in use among model railroad fans years ago.

Derived from Melville's "Moby Dick" (some say from `Moby Pickle'). Now

common.] 1. adj. Large, immense, complex, impressive. "A Saturn V

rocket is a truly moby frob." "Some MIT undergrads pulled off a moby

hack at the Harvard-Yale game." (See [8804]Appendix A for discussion.)

n. obs. The maximum address space of a machine (see below). For a

680[234]0 or VAX or most modern 32-bit architectures, it is

4,294,967,296 8-bit bytes (4 gigabytes). 3. A title of address (never

of third-person reference), usually used to show admiration, respect,

and/or friendliness to a competent hacker. "Greetings, moby Dave.

How's that address-book thing for the Mac going?" 4. adj. In

backgammon, doubles on the dice, as in moby sixes',moby ones', etc.

Compare this with [8805]bignum (sense 3): double sixes are both

bignums and moby sixes, but moby ones are not bignums (the use of

`moby' to describe double ones is sarcastic). Standard emphatic forms:

Moby foo',moby win', moby loss'.Foby moo': a spoonerism due to

Richard Greenblatt. 5. The largest available unit of something which

is available in discrete increments. Thus, ordering a "moby Coke" at

the local fast-food joint is not just a request for a large Coke, it's

an explicit request for the largest size they sell.

This term entered hackerdom with the Fabritek 256K memory added to the

MIT AI PDP-6 machine, which was considered unimaginably huge when it

was installed in the 1960s (at a time when a more typical memory size

for a timesharing system was 72