Related:

• earthquake: [IBM] n. The ultimate real-world shock test for computer hardware.
  Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the Bay Area quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test quality-assurance procedures at its California plants....
• beta /bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/ n.
  1. Mostly working, but still under test; usu. used with `in'...
• Big Red Switch n. [IBM] The power switch on a computer, esp.
  he `Emergency Pull' switch on an IBM mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red....
• Big Red Switch: [IBM] n. The power switch on a computer, esp.
  he `Emergency Pull' switch on an IBM {mainframe} or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and red....
• As in Protestant Europe, by contrast, where sects divided endlessly into smaller competing sects and no church dominated any other, all is different in the fragmented world of IBM.
  That realm is now a chaos of conflicting norms and standards that not even IBM can hope to control....
• footprint: n. 1. The floor or desk area taken up by a piece of hardware.
  2. [IBM] The audit trail (if any) left by a crashed program (often in plural, `footprints')....
• ironmonger n. [IBM] A hardware specialist (derogatory). Compare sandbender, polygon pusher.
• The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness. -- James A. Froude (1818-1894)
• ofty: [IBM] n. Hardware hackers' term for a software expert who is largely ignorant of the mysteries of hardware.
  -- The AI Hackers Dictionary...