Get Affordable VMs - excellent virtual server hosting


browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

speedometermore about speedometer

speedometer


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  speedometer 
  n  :  a  measuring  device  fixed  to  a  vehicle  that  measures  and 
  displays  its  speed  [syn:  {speed  indicator}] 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  speedometer  n.  A  pattern  of  lights  displayed  on  a  linear  set 
  of  LEDs  (today)  or  nixie  tubes  (yesterday,  on  ancient  mainframes).  The 
  pattern  is  shifted  left  every  N  times  the  operating  system  goes  through 
  its  {main  loop}.  A  swiftly  moving  pattern  indicates  that  the  system  is 
  mostly  idle;  the  speedometer  slows  down  as  the  system  becomes  overloaded. 
  The  speedometer  on  Sun  Microsystems  hardware  bounces  back  and  forth  like 
  the  eyes  on  one  of  the  Cylons  from  the  wretched  "Battlestar  Galactica" 
  TV  series. 
 
  Historical  note:  One  computer,  the  GE  600  (later  Honeywell  6000) 
  actually  had  an  _analog_  speedometer  on  the  front  panel,  calibrated  in 
  instructions  executed  per  second 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  speedometer 
 
  A  pattern  of  lights  displayed  on  a  linear  set  of  LEDs  (today) 
  or  nixie  tubes  (yesterday,  on  ancient  mainframes).  The 
  pattern  is  shifted  left  every  N  times  the  operating  system 
  goes  through  its  {main  loop}.  A  swiftly  moving  pattern 
  indicates  that  the  system  is  mostly  idle;  the  speedometer 
  slows  down  as  the  system  becomes  overloaded.  The  speedometer 
  on  Sun  Microsystems  hardware  bounces  back  and  forth  like  the 
  eyes  on  one  of  the  Cylons  from  the  wretched  "Battlestar 
  Galactica"  TV  series. 
 
  Historical  note:  One  computer,  the  GE  600  (later  Honeywell 
  6000)  actually  had  an  *analog*  speedometer  on  the  front  panel, 
  calibrated  in  instructions  executed  per  second 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
 




more about speedometer