3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  VAX  /vaks/  n.  1.  [from  Virtual  Address  eXtension]  The  most 
  successful  minicomputer  design  in  industry  history,  possibly  excepting 
  its  immediate  ancestor,  the  PDP-11.  Between  its  release  in  1978 
  and  its  eclipse  by  {killer  micro}s  after  about  1986,  the  VAX  was 
  probably  the  hacker's  favorite  machine  of  them  all  esp.  after  the 
  1982  release  of  4.2  BSD  Unix  (see  {BSD}).  Esp.  noted  for  its  large 
  assembler-programmer-friendly  instruction  set  --  an  asset  that  became  a 
  liability  after  the  RISC  revolution.  2.  A  major  brand  of  vacuum  cleaner 
  in  Britain.  Cited  here  because  its  sales  pitch,  "Nothing  sucks  like 
  a  VAX!"  became  a  sort  of  battle-cry  of  RISC  partisans.  It  is  even 
  sometimes  claimed  that  DEC  actually  entered  a  cross-licensing  deal 
  with  the  vacuum-Vax  people  that  allowed  them  to  market  VAX  computers  in 
  the  U.K.  in  return  for  not  challenging  the  vacuum  cleaner  trademark  in 
  the  U.S. 
 
  A  rival  brand  actually  pioneered  the  slogan:  its  original  form  was 
  "Nothing  sucks  like  Electrolux".  It  has  apparently  become  a  classic 
  example  (used  in  advertising  textbooks)  of  the  perils  of  not  knowing  the 
  local  idiom.  But  in  1996,  the  press  manager  of  Electrolux  AB  while 
  confirming  that  the  company  used  this  slogan  in  the  late  1960s,  also 
  tells  us  that  their  marketing  people  were  fully  aware  of  the  possible 
  double  entendre  and  intended  it  to  gain  attention. 
 
  And  gain  attention  it  did  -  the  VAX-vacuum-cleaner  people  thought 
  the  slogan  a  sufficiently  good  idea  to  copy  it  Several  British  hackers 
  report  that  VAX's  promotions  used  it  in  1986-1987,  and  we  have  one  report 
  from  a  New  Zealander  that  the  infamous  slogan  surfaced  there  in  TV  ads 
  for  the  product  in  1992. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  VAX 
 
    /vaks/  (Virtual  Address  eXtensio)  The  most 
  successful  {minicomputer}  design  in  industry  history,  possibly 
  excepting  its  immediate  ancestor,  the  {PDP-11}.  Between  its 
  release  in  1978  and  its  eclipse  by  {killer  micros}  after  about 
  1986,  the  VAX  was  probably  the  {hacker}'s  favourite  machine, 
  especially  after  the  1982  release  of  {4.2BSD}  {Unix}. 
  Especially  noted  for  its  large  {assembly 
  code}-programmer-friendly  {instruction  set}  -  an  asset  that 
  became  a  liability  after  the  {RISC}  revolution. 
 
  VAX  is  also  a  British  brand  of  {carpet  cleaner 
  (http://www.vax.co.uk/)}  whose  advertising  slogan,  "Nothing 
  sucks  like  a  VAX!"  became  a  battle-cry  of  RISC  partisans.  It 
  is  even  sometimes  claimed  that  DEC  actually  entered  a 
  licencing  deal  that  allowed  them  to  market  VAX  computers  in 
  the  UK  in  return  for  not  challenging  the  carpet  cleaner 
  trademark  in  the  US 
 
  The  slogan  originated  in  the  late  1960s  as  "Nothing  sucks  like 
  Electrolux",  Electrolux  AB  being  a  rival  Swedish  company.  It 
  became  a  classic  textbook  example  of  the  perils  of  not  knowing 
  the  local  idiom,  which  is  ironic  because  according  to  the 
  Electrolux  press  manager  in  1996,  the  double  entendre  was 
  intentional.  VAX  copied  the  slogan  in  their  promotions  in 
  1986-1987,  and  it  surfaced  in  New  Zealand  TV  ads  as  recently 
  as  1992! 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
  (2000-09-28) 
 
 
 
  From  V.E.R.A.  --  Virtual  Entity  of  Relevant  Acronyms  13  March  2001  [vera]: 
 
  VAX 
  Virtual  Address  eXtension  (DEC) 
 
 

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