New definitions in the high-tech world...
Dilberted-
To be exploited and oppressed by your boss. Derived
from the experiences of Dilbert, the geek-in-hell comic
strip character. "I've been dilberted again. The old man
revised the specs for the fourth time this week."
- Link Rot
-
The process by which links on a web page became as
obsolete as the sites they're connected to change location
or die.
- Chip Jewelry
-
A euphamism for old computers destined to be scrapped
or turned into decorative ornaments. "I paid three grand
for that Mac SE, and now it's nothing but chip jewelry."
- Crapplet
-
A badly written or profoundly useless Java applet. "I just
wasted 30 minutes downloading this stinkin' crapplet!"
- Plug-and-Play
-
A new hire who doesn't need any training. "The new guy,
John, is great. He's totally plug-and-play."
- World Wide Wait
-
The real meaning of WWW.
- CGI Joe
-
A hard-core CGI script programmer with all the social
skills and charisma of a plastic action figure.
- Dorito Syndrome
-
Feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction triggered by
addictive substances that lack nutritional content. "I just
spent six hours surfing the Web, and now I've got a bad
case of Dorito Syndrome."
- Under Mouse Arrest
-
Getting busted for violating an online service's rule of
conduct. "Sorry I couldn't get back to you. AOL put me
under mouse arrest."
- Glazing
-
Corporate-speak for sleeping with your eyes open. A
popular pastime at conferences and early-morning
meetings. "Didn't he notice that half the room was glazing
by the second session?"
- 404
-
Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web
message "404, URL Not Found," meaning that the
document you've tried to access can't be located. "Don't
bother asking him...he's 404, man."
- Dead Tree Edition
-
The paper version of a publication available in both paper
and electronic forms, as in: "The dead tree edition of the
San Francisco Chronicle..."
- Egosurfing
-
Scanning the net, databases, print media, or research
papers looking for the mention of your name.
- Graybar Land
-
The place you go while you're staring at a computer that's
processing something very slowly (while you watch the
gray bar creep across the screen). "I was in graybar land
for what seemed like hours, thanks to that CAD
rendering."
- Open-Collar Workers
-
People who work at home or telecommute.
- Squirt The Bird
-
To transmit a signal up to a satellite. "Crew and talent are
ready...what time do we squirt the bird?"
- Cobweb Site
-
A World Wide Web Site that hasn't been updated for a
long time. A dead web page.
- It's a Feature
-
>From the adage "It's not a bug, it's a feature." Used
sarcastically to describe an unpleasant experience that you
wish to gloss over.
- Keyboard Plaque
-
The disgusting buildup of dirt and crud found on computer
keyboards. "Are there any other terminals I can use? This
one has a bad case of keyboard plaque."
- Career-Limiting Move (CLM)
-
Used among microserfs to describe an ill-advised activity.
Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a
serious CLM.
- Elvis Year
-
The peak year of something's popularity. "Barney the
dinosaur's Elvis year was 1993."
- Alpha Geek
-
The most knowledgable, technically proficient person in
an office or work group. "Ask Larry, he's the alpha geek
around here."
- Adminisphere
-
The rarified organizational layers beginning just above the
rack and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are
often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the
problems they were designed to solve.
- Tourists
-
People who are taking training classes just to get a
vacation from their jobs. "We had about three serious
students in the class; the rest were tourists."
- Blowing Your Buffer (alt. "Head Crash")
-
Losing one's train of thought. Occurs when the person
you are speaking with won't let you get a word in
edgewise or has just said something so astonishing that
your train gets derailed. "Rats, I just blew my buffer!"
- Gray Matter
-
Older, experienced business people hired by young
entrpreneurial firms looking to appear more reputable and
established.
- Bookmark
-
To take note of a person for future reference (a metaphor
borrowed from web browsers). "I bookmarked him after
seeing his cool demo at Siggraph."
- Nyetscape
-
Nickname for AOL's less-than-full-featured Web
browser.
- Beepilepsy
-
The brief siezure people sometimes suffer when their
beepers go off, especially in vibrator mode. Characterized
by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions, and stopping
speech in mid-sentence.
- Salmon Day
-
The experience of spending an entire day swimming
upstream only to get screwed in the end.
Note: The information on this page was gleaned from one of many sources (email, etc.) and may or may not be copyrighted. If you are aware of any copyright on this material, please notify me immediately so I can secure permission to reprint or remove this from my site.
November 27, 1996