= N =
=====

   :N: /N/ quant.  1. A large and indeterminate number of    objects:
"There were N bugs in that crock!"  Also used in    its original sense
of a variable name: "This crock has N    bugs, as N goes to infinity."
(The true number of bugs is    always at least N + 1; see {Lubarsky's
Law of Cybernetic    Entomology}.)  2. A variable whose value is
inherited from the    current context.  For example, when a meal is
being ordered at a    restaurant, N may be understood to mean however
many people    there are at the table.  From the remark "We'd like to
order    N wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you    can
deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup,    even
though you don't know how many people there are (see    {great-wall}).
3. `Nth': adj. The ordinal counterpart    of N, senses 1 and 2.  "Now
for the Nth and last    time..." In the specific context "Nth-year grad
  student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is    usually
5 or more (see {tenured graduate student}).  See also    {{random
numbers}}, {two-to-the-N}.

   :nadger: /nad'jr/ v.  [UK] Of software or hardware (not    people),
to twiddle some object in a hidden manner, generally so    that it
conforms better to some format.  For instance, string    printing
routines on 8-bit processors often take the string text    from the
instruction stream, thus a print call looks like `jsr    print:"Hello
world"'.  The print routine has to `nadger' the    saved instruction
pointer so that the processor doesn't try to    execute the text as
instructions when the subroutine returns.

   Apparently this word originated on a now-legendary 1950s radio
comedy program called "The Goon Show".  The Goon Show usage    of
"nadger" was definitely in the sense of "jinxed"    "clobbered" "fouled
up".  The American mutation {adger}    seems to have preserved more of
the original flavor.

   :nagware: /nag'weir/ n.  [Usenet] The variety of {shareware}    that
displays a large screen at the beginning or end reminding you    to
register, typically requiring some sort of keystroke to continue    so
that you can't use the software in batch mode.  Compare    {annoyware},
{crippleware}.

   :nailed to the wall: adj.  [like a trophy] Said of a bug    finally
eliminated after protracted, and even heroic, effort.

   :nailing jelly: vi.  See {like nailing jelly to a tree}.

   :naive: adj.  1. Untutored in the perversities of some particular
program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive
way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these
coincide, but most designs aren't `really good' in the    appropriate
sense).  This trait is completely unrelated to general    maturity or
competence, or even competence at any other specific    program.  It is
a sad commentary on the primitive state of    computing that the
natural opposite of this term is often claimed    to be `experienced
user' but is really more like `cynical    user'.  2. Said of an
algorithm that doesn't take advantage of    some superior but advanced
technique, e.g., the {bubble sort}. It    may imply naivete on the part
of the programmer, although there are    situations where a naive
algorithm is preferred, because it is more    important to keep the
code comprehensible than to go for maximum    performance. "I know the
linear search is naive, but in this case the    list typically only has
half a dozen items."

   :naive user: n.  A {luser}.  Tends to imply someone who is
ignorant mainly owing to inexperience.  When this is applied to
someone who _has_ experience, there is a definite implication    of
stupidity.

   :NAK: /nak/ interj.  [from the ASCII mnemonic for 0010101]    1.
On-line joke answer to {ACK}?: "I'm not here."  2. On-line    answer to
a request for chat: "I'm not available."  3. Used to    politely
interrupt someone to tell them you don't understand their    point or
that they have suddenly stopped making sense.  See    {ACK}, sense 3.
"And then, after we recode the project in    COBOL...." "Nak, Nak, Nak!
I thought I heard you say    COBOL!"

   :NANA: //  [Usenet] The newsgroups news.admin.net-abuse.*,
devoted to fighting {spam} and network abuse. Each individual
newsgroup is often referred to by adding a letter to NANA.  For
example, NANAU would refer to news.admin.net-abuse.usenet.

   When spam began to be a serious problem around 1995, and a loose
network of anti-spammers formed to combat it, spammers immediately
accused them of being the {backbone cabal}, or the Cabal reborn.
Though this was not true, spam-fighters ironically accepted the
label and the tag line "There is No Cabal" reappeared (later, and
now commonly, abbreviated to "TINC").  Nowadays "the Cabal" is
generally understood to refer to the NANA regulars.

   :nano: /nan'oh/ n.  [CMU: from `nanosecond'] A brief    period of
time.  "Be with you in a nano" means you really will be    free
shortly, i.e., implies what mainstream people mean by "in a    jiffy"
(whereas the hackish use of `jiffy' is quite different    -- see
{jiffy}).

   :nano-: pref.  [SI: the next quantifier below {micro-};    meaning *
10^(-9)] Smaller than {micro-}, and used in    the same rather loose
and connotative way.  Thus, one has    {{nanotechnology}} (coined by
hacker K. Eric Drexler) by analogy    with `microtechnology'; and a few
machine architectures have a    `nanocode' level below `microcode'.
Tom Duff at Bell Labs has    also pointed out that "Pi seconds is a
nanocentury".     See also {{quantifiers}}, {pico-}, {nanoacre},
{nanobot},    {nanocomputer}, {nanofortnight}.

   :nanoacre: /nan'oh-ay`kr/ n.  A unit (about 2 mm square) of    real
estate on a VLSI chip.  The term gets its giggle value from    the fact
that VLSI nanoacres have costs in the same range as real    acres once
one figures in design and fabrication-setup costs.

   :nanobot: /nan'oh-bot/ n.  A robot of microscopic    proportions,
presumably built by means of {{nanotechnology}}.  As    yet, only used
informally (and speculatively!).  Also called a    `nanoagent'.

   :nanocomputer: /nan'oh-k*m-pyoo'tr/ n.  A computer with
molecular-sized switching elements.  Designs for mechanical
nanocomputers which use single-molecule sliding rods for their    logic
have been proposed.  The controller for a {nanobot} would    be a
nanocomputer.

   :nanofortnight: n.  [Adelaide University] 1 fortnight    * 10^(-9),
or about 1.2 msec.  This unit was used    largely by students doing
undergraduate practicals.  See    {microfortnight}, {attoparsec}, and
{micro-}.

   :nanotechnology:: /nan'-oh-tek-no`l*-jee/ n.  A    hypothetical
fabrication technology in which objects are designed    and built with
the individual specification and placement of each    separate atom.
The first unequivocal nanofabrication experiments    took place in
1990, for example with the deposition of individual    xenon atoms on a
nickel substrate to spell the logo of a certain    very large computer
company.  Nanotechnology has been a hot topic    in the hacker
subculture ever since the term was coined by K. Eric    Drexler in his
book "Engines of Creation" (Anchor/Doubleday,    ISBN 0-385-19973-2),
where he predicted that nanotechnology could    give rise to
replicating assemblers, permitting an exponential    growth of
productivity and personal wealth (there's an authorized
transcription at    `http://www.foresight.org/EOC/index.html.').  See
also    {blue goo}, {gray goo}, {nanobot}.

   :nasal demons: n.  Recognized shorthand on the Usenet group
comp.std.c for any unexpected behavior of a C compiler on
encountering an undefined construct.  During a discussion on that
group in early 1992, a regular remarked "When the compiler
encounters [a given undefined construct] it is legal for it to make
demons fly out of your nose" (the implication is that the compiler
may choose any arbitrarily bizarre way to interpret the code    without
violating the ANSI C standard).  Someone else followed up    with a
reference to "nasal demons", which quickly became    established.

   :nastygram: /nas'tee-gram/ n.  1. A protocol packet or item    of
email (the latter is also called a {letterbomb}) that takes
advantage of misfeatures or security holes on the target system to
do untoward things.  2. Disapproving mail, esp. from a    {net.god},
pursuant to a violation of {netiquette} or a    complaint about failure
to correct some mail- or news-transmission    problem.  Compare
{shitogram}, {mailbomb}.  3. A status    report from an unhappy, and
probably picky, customer.  "What'd    Corporate say in today's
nastygram?"  4. [deprecated] An error    reply by mail from a {daemon};
in particular, a {bounce    message}.

   :Nathan Hale: n.  An asterisk (see also {splat},    {{ASCII}}).  Oh,
you want an etymology?  Notionally, from "I    regret that I have only
one asterisk for my country!", a misquote    of the famous remark
uttered by Nathan Hale just before he was    hanged.  Hale was a
(failed) spy for the rebels in the American War    of Independence.

   :nature: n.  See {has the X nature}.

   :neat hack: n.  [very common] 1. A clever technique.  2. A
brilliant practical joke, where neatness is correlated with
cleverness, harmlessness, and surprise value.  Example: the Caltech
Rose Bowl card display switch (see "{The Meaning of    `Hack'}",
Appendix A).  See also {hack}.

   :neats vs. scruffies: n.  The label used to refer to one of    the
continuing {holy wars} in AI research.  This conflict    tangles
together two separate issues.  One is the relationship    between human
reasoning and AI; `neats' tend to try to build    systems that `reason'
in some way identifiably similar to the    way humans report themselves
as doing, while `scruffies' profess    not to care whether an algorithm
resembles human reasoning in the    least as long as it works.  More
importantly, neats tend to believe    that logic is king, while
scruffies favor looser, more ad-hoc    methods driven by empirical
knowledge.  To a neat, scruffy methods    appear promiscuous,
successful only by accident, and not productive    of insights about
how intelligence actually works; to a scruffy,    neat methods appear
to be hung up on formalism and irrelevant to    the hard-to-capture
`common sense' of living intelligences.

   :neep-neep: /neep neep/ n.  [onomatopoeic, widely spread    through
SF fandom but reported to have originated at Caltech in the    1970s]
One who is fascinated by computers.  Less specific than    {hacker}, as
it need not imply more skill than is required to    boot games on a PC.
The derived noun `neeping' applies    specifically to the long
conversations about computers that tend to    develop in the corners at
most SF-convention parties (the term    `neepery' is also in wide use).
Fandom has a related proverb to    the effect that "Hacking is a
conversational black hole!".

   :neophilia: /nee`oh-fil'-ee-*/ n.  The trait of being    excited and
pleased by novelty.  Common among most hackers, SF    fans, and members
of several other connected leading-edge    subcultures, including the
pro-technology `Whole Earth' wing of    the ecology movement, space
activists, many members of Mensa, and    the Discordian/neo-pagan
underground.  All these groups overlap    heavily and (where evidence
is available) seem to share    characteristic hacker tropisms for
science fiction, {{music}}, and    {{oriental food}}.  The opposite
tendency is `neophobia'.

   :nerd: n.  1. [mainstream slang] Pejorative applied to anyone
with an above-average IQ and few gifts at small talk and ordinary
social rituals.  2. [jargon] Term of praise applied (in conscious
ironic reference to sense 1) to someone who knows what's really
important and interesting and doesn't care to be distracted by
trivial chatter and silly status games.  Compare the two senses of
{computer geek}.

   The word itself appears to derive from the lines "And then, just to
 show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo / And Bring Back an It-Kutch, a Preep
  and a Proo, / A Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker, too!" in the
Dr. Seuss book "If I Ran the Zoo" (1950). (The spellings    `nurd' and
`gnurd' also used to be current at MIT.) How it    developed its
mainstream meaning is unclear, but sense 1 seems to    have entered
mass culture in the early 1970s (there are reports    that in the
mid-1960s it meant roughly "annoying misfit"    without the connotation
of intelligence).

   An IEEE Spectrum article (4/95, page 16) once derived `nerd' in its
 variant form `knurd' from the word `drunk' backwards, but this
bears all the hallmarks of a bogus folk etymology.

   Hackers developed sense 2 in self-defense perhaps ten years later,
and some actually wear "Nerd Pride" buttons, only half as a    joke.
At MIT one can find not only buttons but (what else?) pocket
protectors bearing the slogan and the MIT seal.

   :net.-: /net dot/ pref.  [Usenet] Prefix used to describe    people
and events related to Usenet.  From the time before the    {Great
Renaming}, when most non-local newsgroups had names    beginning
`net.'.  Includes {net.god}s, `net.goddesses'    (various charismatic
net.women with circles of on-line admirers),    `net.lurkers' (see
{lurker}), `net.person', `net.parties'    (a synonym for {boink}, sense
2), and many similar constructs.     See also {net.police}.

   :net.god: /net god/ n.  Accolade referring to anyone who
satisfies some combination of the following conditions: has been
visible on Usenet for more than 5 years, ran one of the original
backbone sites, moderated an important newsgroup, wrote news
software, or knows Gene, Mark, Rick, Mel, Henry, Chuq, and Greg
personally.  See {demigod}.  Net.goddesses such as Rissa or the
Slime Sisters have (so far) been distinguished more by personality
than by authority.

   :net.personality: /net per`sn-al'-*-tee/ n.  Someone who has    made
a name for him or herself on {Usenet}, through either    longevity or
attention-getting posts, but doesn't meet the other    requirements of
{net.god}hood.

   :net.police: /net-p*-lees'/ n.  (var. `net.cops') Those    Usenet
readers who feel it is their responsibility to pounce on and    {flame}
any posting which they regard as offensive or in    violation of their
understanding of {netiquette}.  Generally    used sarcastically or
pejoratively.  Also spelled `net police'.     See also {net.-}, {code
police}.

   :NetBOLLIX: n.  [from bollix: to bungle] {IBM}'s NetBIOS, an
extremely {brain-damaged} network protocol that, like {Blue    Glue},
is used at commercial shops that don't know any better.

   :netburp: n.  [IRC] When {netlag} gets really bad, and    delays
between servers exceed a certain threshhold, the {IRC}    network
effectively becomes partitioned for a period of time, and    large
numbers of people seem to be signing off at the same time and    then
signing back on again when things get better.  An instance of    this
is called a `netburp' (or, sometimes, {netsplit}).

   :netdead: n.  [IRC] The state of someone who signs off    {IRC},
perhaps during a {netburp}, and doesn't sign back on    until later.
In the interim, he is "dead to the net".     Compare {link-dead}.

   :nethack: /net'hak/ n.  [Unix] A dungeon game similar to    {rogue}
but more elaborate, distributed in C source over    {Usenet} and very
popular at Unix sites and on PC-class machines    (nethack is probably
the most widely distributed of the freeware    dungeon games).  The
earliest versions, written by Jay Fenlason and    later considerably
enhanced by Andries Brouwer, were simply called    `hack'.  The name
changed when maintenance was taken over by a    group of hackers
originally organized by Mike Stephenson.  There    is no official page
(as of early 1999) but there is representative    one at
`http://pinky.wtower.com/nethack/'.

   :netiquette: /net'ee-ket/ or /net'i-ket/ n.     [portmanteau,
network + etiquette] The conventions of politeness    recognized on
{Usenet}, such as avoidance of cross-posting to    inappropriate groups
and refraining from commercial pluggery    outside the biz groups.

   :netlag: n.  [IRC, MUD] A condition that occurs when the    delays
in the {IRC} network or on a {MUD} become severe    enough that servers
briefly lose and then reestablish contact,    causing messages to be
delivered in bursts, often with delays of up    to a minute.  (Note
that this term has nothing to do with    mainstream "jet lag", a
condition which hackers tend not to be    much bothered by.)  Often
shortened to just `lag'.

   :netnews: /net'n[y]ooz/ n.  1. The software that makes    {Usenet}
run.  2. The content of Usenet.  "I read netnews    right after my mail
most mornings."

   :netrock: /net'rok/ n.  [IBM] A {flame}; used esp. on    VNET, IBM's
internal corporate network.

   :Netscrape: n.  Standard name-of-insult for Netscape
Navigator/Communicator, Netscape's overweight Web browser.  Compare
{Internet Exploiter}.

   :netsplit: n.  Syn. {netburp}.

   :netter: n.  1. Loosely, anyone with a {network address}.     2.
More specifically, a {Usenet} regular.  Most often found in    the
plural.  "If you post _that_ in a technical group, you're    going to
be flamed by angry netters for the rest of time!"

   :network address: n.  (also `net address') As used by    hackers,
means an address on `the' network (see {the    network}; this used to
include {bang path} addresses but now    almost always implies an
{{Internet address}}).   Net    addresses are often used in email text
as a more concise substitute    for personal names; indeed, hackers may
come to know each other    quite well by network names without ever
learning each others'    `legal' monikers.  Indeed, display of a
network address (e.g on    business cards) used to function as an
important hacker    identification signal, like lodge pins among Masons
or tie-dyed    T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans.  In the day of
pervasive    Internet this is less true, but you can still be fairly
sure that    anyone with a network address handwritten on his or her
convention    badge is a hacker.

   :network meltdown: n.  A state of complete network overload;    the
network equivalent of {thrash}ing.  This may be induced by a
{Chernobyl packet}.  See also {broadcast storm}, {kamikaze    packet}.

   Network meltdown is often a result of network designs that are
optimized for a steady state of moderate load and don't cope well
with the very jagged, bursty usage patterns of the real world.  One
amusing instance of this is triggered by the popular and very    bloody
shoot-'em-up game Doom on the PC.  When used in    multiplayer mode
over a network, the game uses broadcast packets to    inform other
machines when bullets are fired.  This causes problems    with weapons
like the chain gun which fire rapidly -- it can blast    the network
into a meltdown state just as easily as it shreds    opposing monsters.

   :New Jersey: adj.  [primarily Stanford/Silicon Valley]
Brain-damaged or of poor design.  This refers to the allegedly
wretched quality of such software as C, C++, and Unix (which
originated at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey).  "This    compiler
bites the bag, but what can you expect from a compiler    designed in
New Jersey?"  Compare {Berkeley Quality Software}.     See also {Unix
conspiracy}.

   :New Testament: n.  [C programmers] The second edition of    K&R's
"The C Programming Language" (Prentice-Hall, 1988; ISBN
0-13-110362-8), describing ANSI Standard C.  See {K&R}; this    version
is also called `K&R2'.

   :newbie: /n[y]oo'bee/ n.  [verry common; orig. from    British
public-school and military slang variant of `new boy'] A    Usenet
neophyte.  This term surfaced in the {newsgroup}    talk.bizarre but is
now in wide use.  Criteria for being    considered a newbie vary
wildly; a person can be called a newbie in    one newsgroup while
remaining a respected regular in another.  The    label `newbie' is
sometimes applied as a serious insult to a    person who has been
around Usenet for a long time but who carefully    hides all evidence
of having a clue.  See {B1FF}.

   :newgroup wars: /n[y]oo'groop worz/ n.  [Usenet] The salvos of
dueling `newgroup' and `rmgroup' messages sometimes    exchanged by
persons on opposite sides of a dispute over whether a    {newsgroup}
should be created net-wide, or (even more    frequently) whether an
obsolete one should be removed.  These    usually settle out within a
week or two as it becomes clear whether    the group has a natural
constituency (usually, it doesn't).  At    times, especially in the
completely anarchic alt hierarchy, the    names of newsgroups
themselves become a form of comment or humor;    e.g., the group
alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork which originated    as a birthday joke
for a Muppets fan, or any number of specialized    abuse groups named
after particularly notorious {flamer}s, e.g.,    alt.weemba.

   :newline: /n[y]oo'li:n/ n.  1. [techspeak, primarily Unix]    The
ASCII LF character (0001010), used under {{Unix}} as a text    line
terminator.  A Bell-Labs-ism rather than a Berkeleyism;
interestingly (and unusually for Unix jargon), it is said to have
originally been an IBM usage.  (Though the term `newline'    appears in
ASCII standards, it never caught on in the general    computing world
before Unix).  2. More generally, any magic    character, character
sequence, or operation (like Pascal's writeln    procedure) required to
terminate a text record or separate lines.     See {crlf}, {terpri}.

   :NeWS: /nee'wis/, /n[y]oo'is/ or /n[y]ooz/ n.  [acronym;    the
`Network Window System'] The road not taken in window systems,    an
elegant {{PostScript}}-based environment that would almost    certainly
have won the standards war with {X} if it hadn't been    {proprietary}
to Sun Microsystems.  There is a lesson here that    too many software
vendors haven't yet heeded.  Many hackers insist    on the two-syllable
pronunciations above as a way of distinguishing    NeWS from Usenet
news (the {netnews} software).

   :newsfroup: // n.  [Usenet] Silly synonym for    {newsgroup},
originally a typo but now in regular use on    Usenet's talk.bizarre,
and other lunatic-fringe groups.  Compare    {hing}, {grilf}, {pr0n}
and {filk}.

   :newsgroup: n.  [Usenet] One of {Usenet}'s huge collection of
topic groups or {fora}.  Usenet groups can be `unmoderated'    (anyone
can post) or `moderated' (submissions are automatically    directed to
a moderator, who edits or filters and then posts the    results).  Some
newsgroups have parallel {mailing list}s for    Internet people with no
netnews access, with postings to the group    automatically propagated
to the list and vice versa.  Some    moderated groups (especially those
which are actually gatewayed    Internet mailing lists) are distributed
as `digests', with groups    of postings periodically collected into a
single large posting with    an index.

   Among the best-known are comp.lang.c (the C-language forum),
comp.arch (on computer architectures), comp.unix.wizards    (for Unix
wizards), rec.arts.sf.written and siblings (for    science-fiction
fans), and talk.politics.misc (miscellaneous    political discussions
and {flamage}).

   :nick: n.  [IRC; very common] Short for nickname.  On    {IRC},
every user must pick a nick, which is sometimes the same    as the
user's real name or login name, but is often more fanciful.     Compare
{handle}, {screen name}.

   :nickle: /ni'kl/ n.  [from `nickel', common name for the    U.S.
5-cent coin] A {nybble} + 1; 5 bits.  Reported among    developers for
Mattel's GI 1600 (the Intellivision games    processor), a chip with
16-bit-wide RAM but 10-bit-wide ROM.  See    also {deckle}, and
{nybble} for names of other bit units.

   :night mode: n.  See {phase} (of people).

   :Nightmare File System: n.  Pejorative hackerism for Sun's
Network File System (NFS).  In any nontrivial network of Suns    where
there is a lot of NFS cross-mounting, when one Sun goes down,    the
others often freeze up.  Some machine tries to access the down    one,
and (getting no response) repeats indefinitely.  This causes    it to
appear dead to some messages (what is actually happening is    that it
is locked up in what should have been a brief excursion to    a higher
{spl} level).  Then another machine tries to reach    either the down
machine or the pseudo-down machine, and itself    becomes pseudo-down.
The first machine to discover the down one is    now trying both to
access the down one and to respond to the    pseudo-down one, so it is
even harder to reach.  This situation    snowballs very quickly, and
soon the entire network of machines is    frozen -- worst of all, the
user can't even abort the file access    that started the problem!
Many of NFS's problems are excused by    partisans as being an
inevitable result of its statelessness, which    is held to be a great
feature (critics, of course, call it a great    {misfeature}).  (ITS
partisans are apt to cite this as proof of    Unix's alleged bogosity;
ITS had a working NFS-like shared file    system with none of these
problems in the early 1970s.)  See also    {broadcast storm}.

   :NIL: /nil/  No.  Used in reply to a question, particularly    one
asked using the `-P' convention.  Most hackers assume this    derives
simply from LISP terminology for `false' (see also    {T}), but NIL as
a negative reply was well-established among    radio hams decades
before the advent of LISP.  The historical    connection between early
hackerdom and the ham radio world was    strong enough that this may
have been an influence.

   :Ninety-Ninety Rule: n.  "The first 90% of the code    accounts for
the first 90% of the development time.  The remaining    10% of the
code accounts for the other 90% of the development    time."
Attributed to Tom Cargill of Bell Labs, and popularized by    Jon
Bentley's September 1985 "Bumper-Sticker Computer Science"    column in
"Communications of the ACM".  It was there called    the "Rule of
Credibility", a name which seems not to have stuck.     Other maxims in
the same vein include the law attributed to the    early British
computer scientist Douglas Hartree: "The time from    now until the
completion of the project tends to become constant."

   :NMI: /N-M-I/ n.  Non-Maskable Interrupt.  An IRQ 7 on the    PDP-11
or 680[01234]0; the NMI line on an 80[1234]86.  In contrast    with a
{priority interrupt} (which might be ignored, although    that is
unlikely), an NMI is _never_ ignored.  Except, that    is, on {clone}
boxes, where NMI is often ignored on the    motherboard because flaky
hardware can generate many spurious    ones.

   :no-op: /noh'op/ n.,v.  alt. NOP /nop/ [no    operation] 1. A
machine instruction that does nothing (sometimes    used in
assembler-level programming as filler for data or patch    areas, or to
overwrite code to be removed in binaries).  2. A    person who
contributes nothing to a project, or has nothing going    on upstairs,
or both.  As in "He's a no-op."  3. Any operation or    sequence of
operations with no effect, such as circling the block    without
finding a parking space, or putting money into a vending    machine and
having it fall immediately into the coin-return box, or    asking
someone for help and being told to go away.  "Oh, well,    that was a
no-op."  Hot-and-sour soup (see {great-wall}) that    is insufficiently
either is `no-op soup'; so is wonton soup if    everybody else is
having hot-and-sour.

   :noddy: /nod'ee/ adj.  [UK: from the children's books]    1. Small
and un-useful, but demonstrating a point.  Noddy programs    are often
written by people learning a new language or system.  The    archetypal
noddy program is {hello world}.  Noddy code may be    used to
demonstrate a feature or bug of a compiler.  May be used of    real
hardware or software to imply that it isn't worth using.     "This
editor's a bit noddy."  2. A program that is more or less    instant to
produce.  In this use, the term does not necessarily    connote
uselessness, but describes a {hack} sufficiently trivial    that it can
be written and debugged while carrying on (and during    the space of)
a normal conversation.  "I'll just throw together a    noddy {awk}
script to dump all the first fields."  In North    America this might
be called a {mickey mouse program}.  See    {toy program}.

   :node: n.  1. [Internet, UUCP] A host machine on the network.     2.
[MS-DOS BBSes] A dial-in line on a BBS.  Thus an MS-DOS {sysop}
might say that his BBS has 4 nodes even though it has a single
machine and no Internet link, confusing an Internet hacker no end.

   :Nominal Semidestructor: n.  Soundalike slang for `National
Semiconductor', found among other places in the Networking/2
networking sources.  During the late 1970s to mid-1980s this    company
marketed a series of microprocessors including the NS16000    and
NS32000 and several variants.  At one point early in the great
microprocessor race, the specs on these chips made them look like
serious competition for the rising Intel 80x86 and Motorola 680x0
series.  Unfortunately, the actual parts were notoriously flaky and
never implemented the full instruction set promised in their
literature, apparently because the company couldn't get any of the
mask steppings to work as designed.  They eventually sank without
trace, joining the Zilog Z8000 and a few even more obscure    also-rans
in the graveyard of forgotten microprocessors.  Compare    {HP-SUX},
{AIDX}, {buglix}, {Macintrash}, {Telerat},    {ScumOS}, {sun-stools},
{Slowlaris}.

   :non-optimal solution: n.  (also `sub-optimal solution') An
astoundingly stupid way to do something.  This term is generally
used in deadpan sarcasm, as its impact is greatest when the person
speaking looks completely serious.  Compare {stunning}.  See    also
{Bad Thing}.

   :nonlinear: adj.  [scientific computation] 1. Behaving in an
erratic and unpredictable fashion; unstable.  When used to describe
the behavior of a machine or program, it suggests that said machine
or program is being forced to run far outside of design
specifications.  This behavior may be induced by unreasonable
inputs, or may be triggered when a more mundane bug sends the
computation far off from its expected course.  2. When describing
the behavior of a person, suggests a tantrum or a {flame}.     "When
you talk to Bob, don't mention the drug problem or he'll go
nonlinear for hours."  In this context, `go nonlinear' connotes
`blow up out of proportion' (proportion connotes linearity).

   :nontrivial: adj.  Requiring real thought or significant
computing power.  Often used as an understated way of saying that a
problem is quite difficult or impractical, or even entirely
unsolvable ("Proving P=NP is nontrivial").  The preferred    emphatic
form is `decidedly nontrivial'.  See {trivial},    {uninteresting},
{interesting}.

   :not ready for prime time: adj.  Usable, but only just so; not
very robust; for internal use only.  Said of a program or device.
Often connotes that the thing will be made more solid {Real Soon
Now}.  This term comes from the ensemble name of the original cast
of "Saturday Night Live", the "Not Ready for Prime Time    Players".
It has extra flavor for hackers because of the special    (though now
semi-obsolescent) meaning of {prime time}.  Compare    {beta}.

   :notwork: /not'werk/ n.  A network, when it is acting    {flaky} or
is {down}.  Compare {nyetwork}.  Said at IBM to    have originally
referred to a particular period of flakiness on    IBM's VNET corporate
network ca. 1988; but there are independent    reports of the term from
elsewhere.

   :NP-: /N-P/ pref.  Extremely.  Used to modify adjectives
describing a level or quality of difficulty; the connotation is
often `more so than it should be' This is generalized from the
computer-science terms `NP-hard' and `NP-complete';    NP-complete
problems all seem to be very hard, but so far no one    has found a
proof that they are.  NP is    the set of Nondeterministic-Polynomial
algorithms, those that can    be completed by a nondeterministic Turing
machine in an amount of    time that is a polynomial function of the
size of the input; a    solution for one NP-complete problem would
solve all the others.     "Coding a BitBlt implementation to perform
correctly in every case    is NP-annoying."

   Note, however, that strictly speaking this usage is misleading;
there are plenty of easy problems in class NP.  NP-complete    problems
are hard not because they are in class NP, but because    they are the
hardest problems in class NP.

   :nroff:: /N'rof/  n. [Unix, from "new roff" (see    {{troff}})] A
companion program to the Unix typesetter {{troff}},    accepting
identical input but preparing output for terminals and    line
printers.

   :NSA line eater: n.  The National Security Agency trawling
program sometimes assumed to be reading the net for the    U.S.
Government's spooks.  Most hackers describe it as a mythical    beast,
but some believe it actually exists, more aren't sure, and    many
believe in acting as though it does exist just in case.  Some
netters put loaded phrases like `KGB', `Uzi', `nuclear    materials',
`Palestine', `cocaine', and `assassination' in    their {sig block}s in
a (probably futile) attempt to confuse and    overload the creature.
The {GNU} version of {EMACS} actually    has a command that randomly
inserts a bunch of insidious    anarcho-verbiage into your edited text.

   There is a mainstream variant of this myth involving a `Trunk Line
Monitor', which supposedly used speech recognition to extract words
from telephone trunks.  This one was making the rounds in the    late
1970s, spread by people who had no idea of then-current    technology
or the storage, signal-processing, or speech recognition    needs of
such a project.  On the basis of mass-storage costs alone    it would
have been cheaper to hire 50 high-school students and just    let them
listen in.  Speech-recognition technology can't do this    job even now
(1999), and almost certainly won't in this millennium,    either.  The
peak of silliness came with a letter to an alternative    paper in New
Haven, Connecticut, laying out the factoids of this    Big Brotherly
affair.  The letter writer then revealed his actual    agenda by
offering -- at an amazing low price, just this once, we    take VISA
and MasterCard -- a scrambler guaranteed to daunt the    Trunk Trawler
and presumably allowing the would-be Baader-Meinhof    gangs of the
world to get on with their business.

   :NSP: /N-S-P/ n.  Common abbreviation for `Network Service
Provider', one of the big national or regional companies that
maintains a portion of the Internet backbone and resells
connectivity to {ISP}s.  In 1996, major NSPs include ANS, MCI,
UUNET, and Sprint.  An Internet wholesaler.

   :nude: adj.  Said of machines delivered without an operating
system (compare {bare metal}).  "We ordered 50 systems, but    they all
arrived nude, so we had to spend a an extra weekend with    the
installation disks."  This usage is a recent innovation    reflecting
the fact that most IBM-PC clones are now delivered with    an operating
system pre-installed at the factory.  Other kinds of    hardware are
still normally delivered without OS, so this term is    particular to
PC support groups.

   :nugry: /n[y]oo'gree/  [Usenet, 'newbie' + '-gry'] `. n.     A
{newbie} who posts a {FAQ} in the rec.puzzles newsgroup,    especially
if it is a variant of the notorious and unanswerable    "What, besides
`angry' and `hungry', is the third common English    word that ends in
-GRY?".  In the newsgroup, the canonical answer    is of course `nugry'
itself. Plural is `nusgry'    /n[y]oos'gree/. 2. adj. Having the
qualities of a    nugry.

   :nuke: /n[y]ook/ vt.  [common] 1. To intentionally    delete the
entire contents of a given directory or storage volume.     "On Unix,
`rm -r /usr' will nuke everything in the usr    filesystem."  Never
used for accidental deletion; contrast    {blow away}.  2. Syn. for
{dike}, applied to smaller things    such as files, features, or code
sections.  Often used to express a    final verdict.  "What do you want
me to do with that 80-meg    {wallpaper} file?"  "Nuke it."  3. Used of
processes as well    as files; nuke is a frequent verbal alias for
`kill -9' on    Unix.  4. On IBM PCs, a bug that results in {fandango
on core}    can trash the operating system, including the FAT (the
in-core copy    of the disk block chaining information).  This can
utterly scramble    attached disks, which are then said to have been
`nuked'.  This    term is also used of analogous lossages on
Macintoshes and other    micros without memory protection.

   :number-crunching: n.  [common] Computations of a    numerical
nature, esp. those that make extensive use of    floating-point
numbers.  The only thing {Fortrash} is good for.     This term is in
widespread informal use outside hackerdom and even    in mainstream
slang, but has additional hackish connotations:    namely, that the
computations are mindless and involve massive use    of {brute force}.
This is not always {evil}, esp. if it    involves ray tracing or
fractals or some other use that makes    {pretty pictures}, esp. if
such pictures can be used as    {wallpaper}.  See also {crunch}.

   :numbers: n.  [scientific computation] Output of a computation
that may not be significant results but at least indicate that the
program is running.  May be used to placate management, grant
sponsors, etc.  `Making numbers' means running a program because
output -- any output, not necessarily meaningful output -- is    needed
as a demonstration of progress.  See {pretty pictures},    {math-out},
{social science number}.

   :NUXI problem: /nuk'see pro'bl*m/ n.  Refers to the problem    of
transferring data between machines with differing byte-order.     The
string `UNIX' might look like `NUXI' on a machine with a    different
`byte sex' (e.g., when transferring data from a    {little-endian} to a
{big-endian}, or vice-versa).  See also    {middle-endian}, {swab}, and
{bytesexual}.

   :nybble: /nib'l/ (alt. `nibble') n.  [from v.     `nibble' by
analogy with `bite' => `byte'] Four bits;    one {hex} digit; a
half-byte.  Though `byte' is now techspeak,    this useful relative is
still jargon.  Compare {{byte}}; see also    {bit}. The more mundane
spelling "nibble" is also commonly    used.  Apparently the `nybble'
spelling is uncommon in Commonwealth    Hackish, as British orthography
would suggest the pronunciation    /ni:'bl/.

   Following `bit', `byte' and `nybble' there have been quite a few
analogical attempts to construct unambiguous terms for bit blocks    of
other sizes.  All of these are strictly jargon, not techspeak,    and
not very common jargon at that (most hackers would recognize    them in
context but not use them spontaneously).  We collect them    here for
reference together with the ambiguous techspeak terms    `word',
`half-word' and `double word'; some (indicated) have    substantial
information separate entries.
    2 bits:
          {crumb}, {quad}, {quarter}, tayste

    4 bits:
          nybble

    5 bits:
          {nickle}

    10 bits:
          {deckle}

    16 bits:
          playte, {chawmp} (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 16-bit
          machine), half-word (on a 32-bit machine).

    18 bits:
          {chawmp} (on a 36-bit machine), half-word (on a 36-bit
          machine)

    32 bits:
          dynner, {gawble} (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 32-bit
          machine), longword (on a 16-bit machine).

    36:
          word (on a 36-bit machine)

    48 bits:
          {gawble} (under circumstances that remain obscure)

    64 bits
          double word (on a 32-bit machine)

The fundamental motivation for most of these jargon terms (aside
from the normal hackerly enjoyment of punning wordplay) is the
extreme ambiguity of the term `word' and its derivatives.

   :nyetwork: /nyet'werk/ n.  [from Russian `nyet' = no] A    network,
when it is acting {flaky} or is {down}.  Compare    {notwork}.

