404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error 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." [Wired]
8th-FLOOR DECISION: Refers to the 8th floor at the FCC, where the comissioners' offices and meeting rooms are located. Decisions made on the 8th floor have a profound effect on new communication services. [Wired]
10-9 : A radio code that means "huh?" [bike messenger]

ALTA-VISITORS : Surfers who enter a site via a search engine - not through the front door. "We had to scrap the frame-based design 'cause we weren't getting ad hits from the Alta-visitors." [Wired]

BACKGROUNDING : The practice of not giving someone your full attention while multitasking. Occurs frequently during phone conversations when one party is reading email or surfing the Net. Dead giveaways: quiet typing, modem dialing. [Wired]
BACKHOE DAY : The information industry's equivalent of a snow day, or what happens when employees are sent home after a network outage blamed on careless backhoe work along the buried fiber line. From th older "backhoe-induced deep fade." [Wired]
BLUE SNAILS : Friendly online term for US postal workers. [Wired]
BRAIN BAG : A loptop carryall. From aviator's slang for the case that contains a pilot's flighht papers and personal effects. [Wired]
BRAIN STAIN : The inept, often irrevelant comments left by supervisors on copies of memoes and other documents. "That spec sheet was ready to distribute till Sanders left his brain stains all over it." [Wired]
BRANDALISM : The increased "defacing" of schools, libraries, and other public spaces with logos, advertisements, and corporate slogans. [Wired]
BREADHEADS : a.k.a. suits. [bike messenger]
BUGGIN' OUT : Old military slang for "getting the hell outta here" now being applied to those planning to head for the hills to ride out the feared Y2K crisis. [Wired]
BUGRADE : A software "upgrade" that's little more than a collection of bug fixes plus a few frills to tempt the product owners into purchasing the latest version. [Wired]
BULLET CLICKER : A web newbie. Someone who's so Web illiterate that they click on the bulets in the lists created with the <li> tag , thinking that they're clickable buttons. [Wired]
BUTT-BRUSH FACTOR : A.k.a le facteur bousculade. The theory set forth by retail anthropologistPaco Underhill that women shoppers are far less likely to make a purchase if they are brushed from behind - by a person, display table, or a piece of merchandise - while examining goods. Underhill's finding, backed up by extensive research, carries a corollary: Retailers should avoid jamming narrow aisles full of merchandise. [Wired]
BUZZWORD COMPLIANT : When a product is said by its maker to work with all the standards and tech trends du jour. [Wired]

CAR CLONING : A method of making a stolen vehicle "disappear" by copying another auto's license plate and vehicle ID and applying them to the stolen car. [Wired]
CIRCLE-JERKING : The practice, used on some porn sites, of redirecting cisitors back to the same site when they try to exit via ad banners for different sites. Circle-jerking raises the hit count of the offending site and drives up its ranking on top-site lists. [Wired]
CLICKOLA : The practice of MP3 bands asking fans (or using software bots) to inflate their standings on music charts, based on clickthrough rates. An online version of playola. [Wired]
CLICKTHROUGH FARMERS : Porn purveyors who operate free smapple sites designed to funnel traffic to pay commercial adult sites and get paid a few cents for each clickthrough. [Wired]
CLICK-WRAP AGREEMENTS : The software-licensing agreements that go into effect when you click the I Agree button; the virtual version of the long-standing "shrink-wrap agreement." Also called "Web-wap agreements." [Wired]
CLUSTERFUCK : The smell of a computer lab filled with programmers who've been too busy coding to bother with personal hygiene. A mutation of "Mongolian clusterfuck," a '60s synonym for orgy. [Wired]
CODE MASTER : An emergency-room doctor who excels at bringing people back from cardiac arrest. [Wired]
CODE MORPHING : Transmeta's scheme for software that will drive its Crusoe processor. Offers on-the-fly tranlation of hardware and software instructions so its microprocessor can work with any family of computers. [Wired]
CODENAPPING : Withholding source code and working files until paid in full for contract programming work - common practice among freelancers. [Wired]
COLD PEACE: A relationship between two countries in which there is no war, no trade, no travel, and no diplomatic relations. [Wired]
COMMCO : Telecos attempting to create a "whole-house opportunity" for communications services, thereby blurring the distinctions among local and long distance carriers, ISP,and cable providers. [Wired]
COP-SICLE : Bike cops. [bike messenger]
COURTESY CALL : What some telemarketers now claim they're giving you when asked "What is the nature of the call?" [Wired]
CRANKENSTYLE : Another name for a hoop'd. [bike messenger]
CUDDLETECH : Describes the iMac, the new VW Beetle, and other objects marketed as cute and friendly. A related term is iCandy, referring to the bright colors being used on such products. [Wired]

DATA SPONGE : Silly slang for a handheld scanner. [Wired]
DECLUTTERIST : A professional who's called into an office or home to teach healthier organization habits. [Wired]
DON'T HAVE THE DONGLE : Phrase uttered by women when their ideas are not granted consideration equal to those offered by individuals equipped with outdoor plumbing. [Wired]
DOORED : When someone opens a door and you hit it. [bike messenger]
DROPPING PACKETS : Losing one's train of thought, due to fatigue or other wetware malfunctions. Similar to the earlier "blowing your buffer." [Wired]

EBAY EFFECT : The rise in a company's stock after announcing the addition of auctioning to its online offereings. Ticketmaster and Sharper Image both enjoyed the eBay effect. [Wired]

FACEBASE : A visual database used in the computer-based recognition and identification of a face. [Wired]
FAN SUBBERS : Anime fans who make their own English-language subtitles for Japanese-language videos. Exchange students often do the translating, and a genlock overlay device is used to add the text to the video. [Wired]
FRIENDS AND FAMILY VIRUS : A computer virus that replicates by using an infected machine to send out email messages either by accessing the machine's address book or by replying to incoming messages. [Wired]

G-COMMERCE : The online market for human genome research data and gene data-mining tools. [Wired]
GEEKBONE : What a gadget geek gets when aroused by a new piece of hardware. [Wired]
GENERATION LAP : The overtaking of baby boomers by their more technologically savvy offspring. The idea of a generation lap has been articulated by many who believe that the "Net generation" has an innate , magical relationship with information technologies. [Wired]
GENE SMOG : The genetic "pollution" some environmentallist say is permeating the food chain via genetically altered foodstuff. [Wired]
GGs : Short for "Genetic Girls." Term used in the transgender community to refer to biological women. [Wired]
GLAMBASSADOR : A diplomat selected for his or her celebrity and appearance, not for any particular knowledge of foriegn policy or international affairs. "Linda Gray of TV's Dallas was just made goodwill glambassador for the UN Population Fund." [Wired]
GLOBALITY : Term coined by Daniel Yergin and used often at the World Economic Forum's 1999 meeting. Where globalism describes a process, globality refers to our current condition of being an economically integrated global economy. [Wired]
GOD-FORBID ROOM : Slang for "safe rooms" being built into new luxary homes. These armored bunkers keep the inhabitants safe from (God forbid) a home invasion. Spotted in Mark Dery's Pyrotechnic Insanitarium. [Wired]
GREEN BULLETS : Ammo with a core of tungsten rather than lead - friendly to the environment but still lethal to moving targets. [Wired]
GREENSPEAK : The often impenetrable conundrums that Alan Greenspan utters. Interpretations of Greenspeak can cause the market to rise or fall, in what is known as the Greenspeak effect. [Wired]
GWICKS : Pronounced "gwicks." Derogatory tech-support term for Unix/Linux newbies who are used to GUIs and don't know their way around a command-line interface.[Wired]

HACK-O-GRAMS : The handwritten memos dispensed by General Motors manufacturing czar Donald Hackworth. Hack-o-grams often end in a request for a "chinwag."[Wired]
HEADLESS CLIENTS : the virtual customers used in test-load software on ecommerce sites to ensure that the site can handle traffic spikes. [Wired]
HOOK AND BOOK : Cable TV slang for the practice of hurriedly installing a customer's cable and leaving before testing the connection. [Wired]
HOOP'D (pronounced hoop-dee) : An antique bike or a bike that's been thrown together from spare parts. [bike messenger]
HYPERPOWER : Term coined by French foriegn minister Hubert Vedrine o describe the US as "predominant in all categories." US strength extends beyond military might to "a domination of attitudes, concepts, language, and modes of life." [Wired]

IandI HAPPY HOUR : "Internet and Information" mixers held in Asia where Web professionals go to unwind. [Wired]
IN the DEMO: MTV corporate slang for being a member of a targeted demographic group. [Wired]
ISSUE : Microspeak for "technical problem." Allegedly, Microsoft employees are instructed not to use the word bug. Acceptable terms also include "known issues," "intermittent issues," "design side effects," and "undocumented behaviors." [Wired]

J-list: Shorthand/lazy Netspeak for "journalist." [Wired]

LEGACY-FREE : Describes next-generation PCs that have abandoned such hardware standards as floppy drives, ISA slots, and serial ports. [Wired]

MEDIA CONTAMINATION: Used by LA Superior Court Judge Lance Ito in the possible tainting of the O.J. Simposon jury by exposure to media coverage. [Wired]
MEMORY GLASSES : Videocam-equipped eyeglasses attached to a wearable computer programmed to recognize certain faces and objects and tell the user (such as an Alzheimer's sufferer) what they're seeing. [Wired]
METAJACKING : Stealing the content of another site's HTML meta tag because it will place your site higher in a search engine's results. [Wired]
METHOD FILMAKING : What the directors of The Blair Witch Project call the technique of arming actors with brief character sketches, a plot outline, and cameras, then letting them work out the rest. [Wired]
MOBILE SERVERS : The next generation of automotive technology, which will let drivers access the internet and remote networks, transfer files, send car diagnostic data to a mechanic, and get navigation info. [Wired]
MOMMY-SAVE : The act of indiscriminately clicking Save without first choosing an appropriate folder to store the document in. Common among newbies (e.g., your mother) who don't understand the concept of folders, directories, et cetera. "All of his papers and correspondence were mommy-saved inthe MS Word folder." [Wired]
MSDSL : Instantly coined name for the Microsoft / Intel / Compaq / Baby Bell digital subscriber line "standard." [Wired]

NANOBOMB : A microscopic chemical cocktail under development at the University of Michigan's Center for Biological Nanotechnology that would destroy pathogens by penetrating and neutralizing them. Human trials are still years away. [Wired]
NAVITORIAL : Editorial content on a Web site that clarifies and supports the site's navigational structure. [Wired]
THE NURSERY : Playful nickname of the east wing of the show floor at Electronic Entertainment Expo, where the start-ups and minor players had booths. The E3 '98 majors, some with two-story booths had the west wing. [Wired]

ONE-TWEAK LOOP : A regression of "one more fix" that seemingly extends a project indefinately. [Wired]
OPEN LAW : An experiment in collaborative public-interest law case building led by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig. Inspired by the free software movement. [Wired]
OPEN-PUBLICATION LICENSE : A publishing agreement allowing artists to release creations in any medium to the public domain for reproduction and modification, while preserving their rights to other commercial uses. [Wired]
OSTERICH YEARS : What Newsweek writer Jonathan Alter calls the current historical period, where celebrity murder trials, royal car wrecks, and the president's DNA have distracted the world's attention from serious problems such as growing poverty and post-Cold War instability. [Wired]

PAINTING THE SCREEN : The Practice of groups of investors buying shares in unison, creating the illusion of frenzied activity. As others are lured to invest, the group dumps the shares and pockets the profits. From the older Wall Street term "painting the tape." [Wired]
PENGUINHEAD : A diehard Linux evangelist. Refers to Linux's penguin logo. [Wired]
PIC POST : A free porn supersite on which adult sites post banner ads and links to images each day. The pick post gets content, users get lots of free dirty pictures, and participating sites gt, uhm, exposure. [Wired]
PROGRAMMING IN WORD : Euphemism for writing computer documentation. "I'm done with the coding, so I'll be programming in Word for the next few weeks." [Wired]
PUTT-PUTT MARKET : A growing market in low-cost electric "neighborhood vehicles" (or NVs). Federal regulators recently created a new "low-speed vehicle" class, exempting these autos from conventional passenger-car standards that were allegedly holding the market back. [Wired]

Q2K : Rallying cry for supporters of Dan Quayle's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. (Is the link with a potentially crippling computer bug an unintended cry for help?) [Wired]

REPETATIVE BRAIN INJURY : The psychological damage that can be done to telephone operators, tech-support personnel, and other who ha0ve to answer the same dumb questions over and over again. [Wired]
REPUTATION MANAGEMENT : Euphemism du jour for "public relations." [Wired]
ReVIN : To erase a stolen car's vehicle identification number and replace it with a new number. [Wired]
RICHARD PETTY SYNDOME : The overuse of buttons and banners from sponsors and partners on a Web site. Refers to the logo-festooned jumpsuits of autoracers. [Wired]

SIDELOADING : Transferring data from one Internet site to another. New virtual storage sites such as I-drive let users sideload files from mp3.com to a personal rempote directory (a.k.a. an "Internet drive"). [Wired]
SKITCHING : Another name for clinging onto cars. [bike messenger]
SLASHDOT EFFECT : When a Web site is brought to its knees after being mentioned (and hyperlinked) on slashdot.org, the popular "News for Nerds" site. "The Forbes site fell victim to the slashdot effect after a story was posted about Linus Torvalds being on the cover." [Wired]
SLEEP CHANNELS : Ultraworkaholics who go for days on end and then power-sleep most of the weekend in an attempt to store up rest for the weekend. [Wired]
SLOGO: Short for Slogan + Logo. Corporate slogans used repeatedly, in a manner similar to a logo. Nike's "Just Do It" and AT&T's "you Will" are prime examples. [Wired]
SMALL INDULGENCE SYNDROME: Spending money on small luxuries and frivolous purchases when hard economic times prevent purchasing big-ticket items such as cars, houses, and expensive vacations. Coined by cultural trend watcher Faith Popcorn. [Wired]
SPENDORPHINS : The pleasure protiens that seem to be released during a shopping frenzy. Coined by Martha Barnette in Allure magazine. [Wired]
SPIN DOCTORS : New spin on old dlang; Nickname for the quantum-computer engineers who manipulate the spin directions of atoms to represent 1s and 0s. [Wired]
SQUAMMER : An InterNIC saboteur who submits bogus registration forms (probably automated) for a given domain, thus tying up the name so that others cannot register it. [Wired]
SUCKS SITE : "Consumer opinion sites" that air grievances. Refers to the format of the site's names or domains (www.chasebanksucks.com, www.aolsucks.com) [Wired]

TASKBAR LINT : The annoying little icons that show up in the system tray of the Windows taskbar after installing software. "I have this taskbar lint from programs I never even use." [Wired]
TECHNICAL BUTT-SNIFFING : Posturing of techies trying to determine who has the more impressive computer mojo. [Wired]
TECNOLOGY BUTLER : Hotel staffer who helps guests with software and hardware problems. [Wired]
TERMINATOR TECH : The agribusiness practice of inserting a sterility gene into bio-engineered plants to prevent farmers and "seed pirates" from harvesting and selling the seeds. The agricultural equivalent of copyright protection. [Wired]
TOPIC SETTING : A feature found in an NSA software program called Semantic Forrests that can sort through transcribed speech and search for phrases and specific concepts. [Wired]
TOXIC WARRIORS : People who obsess over everything that could possibly go wrong - to the point of paralysis. Toxic warriors are two and a half times more likely to suffer heart attacks than the less stressed-out individuals. [Wired]
TRAP CAR : A drug dealer's car that's been retrofitted with James Bond-style auto hacks - elaborate hidden compartments, gun stashes, booby traps, and rear halogen lights to blind pursuing law enforcement. [Wired]

VEAL PENS : Another name, like cube farms, for offices divided into cubicles. [Wired]
VERTICAL KEYBOARD : A keyboard in development at Cornell that splits into two pieces, allowing users to type in a more natural hand-shake-like position. [Wired]
VIRTUAL TRADING COMMUNITIES : Online enterprises that link buyers and sellers, provide purchasing and distribution, and facilitate private negotiations, sealed bids, and requests for proposals. TPN Register, the joint venture of GE Information Services and Thomas Publishing Company, is a well-known example. [Wired]

WEATHER TOURIST : A weather freak who likes to spend his or her vacation chasing tornadoes, hurricanes, and other forms of heavy weather. [Wired]
WHACK-A-MOLE : The "game" one has to play to quickly close the interstitial ads and other windows that pop up on some commercial Web pages (especially porn sites). These pages will sometimes generate new windows everytime you close a previous one, creating a situation similar to the popular arcade game Whack-a-Mole. [Wired]
WHOLE-HOUSE OPPORTUNITY : Term used by John Malone to describe what the combined efforts of AT&T/TCI could offer consumers: "seamless" integration of video, voice, and Internet services. [Wired]
X CONSUMER : Term used inthe online porn industry for viewers of adult content. "Jane's Guide is the X consumers bests friend." [Wired]
X-MEN : A group of illustrious messengers in New York City who cling onto cars. [bike messenger]
Y2.038K BUG: Anotehr time/date bug - this one will cause counters on certain legacy systems to leap back 136 years when January 19, 2038, rolls around. The relevant code may no longer exist in 39 years, but then again, two-digit dates once seemed a harmless temporary fix. [Wired]
YARD SALE : When you hit a door and all the stuff in your bag goes all over the street. [bike messenger]
YUPPIE SCUM FACTOR : The negative perception of mobile phone users held by those who don't use such devices. [Wired]
THE ZIPS : Nickname for the first decade of the 21st century, coined by a reader in the Washington Post contest. [Wired]