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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. |
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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. |
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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!" |
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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). |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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nanocomputer /nan'oh-k m-pyoo'tr/ n. A computer with molecular-sized switching elements. Designs for mechanical nanocomputers which use |
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