from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
condom
n.
1. The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch microfloppy
diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk envelopes. Unlike the
write protect tab, the condom (when left on) not only impedes the
practice of {SEX} but has also been shown to have a high failure rate
as drive mechanisms attempt to access the disk -- and can even fatally
frustrate insertion.
2. The protective cladding on a {light pipe}.
3. keyboard condom: A flexible, transparent plastic cover for a
keyboard, designed to provide some protection against dust and
{programming fluid} without impeding typing.
4. elephant condom: the plastic shipping bags used inside cardboard
boxes to protect hardware in transit.
5. n. obs. A dummy directory /usr/tmp/sh, created to foil the {Great
Worm} by exploiting a portability bug in one of its parts. So named in
the title of a comp.risks article by Gene Spafford during the Worm
crisis, and again in the text of The Internet Worm Program: An
Analysis, Purdue Technical Report CSD-TR-823.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
condom
1. The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch
microfloppy diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk
envelopes. Unlike the write protect tab, the condom (when
left on) not only impedes the practice of {SEX} but has also
been shown to have a high failure rate as drive mechanisms
attempt to access the disk - and can even fatally frustrate
insertion.
2. The protective cladding on a {light pipe}.
3. "keyboard condom": A flexible, transparent plastic cover
for a keyboard, designed to provide some protection against
dust and {programming fluid} without impeding typing.
4. "elephant condom": the plastic shipping bags used inside
cardboard boxes to protect hardware in transit.
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-03-14)