from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
Borg
n.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation the Borg is a species of cyborg that
ruthlessly seeks to incorporate all sentient life into itself; their
slogan is "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." In hacker
parlance, the Borg is usually {Microsoft}, which is thought to be
trying just as ruthlessly to assimilate all computers and the entire
Internet to itself (there is a widely circulated image of Bill Gates
as a Borg). Being forced to use Windows or NT is often referred to as
being "Borged". Interestingly, the {Halloween Documents} reveal that
this jargon is live within Microsoft itself. See also {Evil Empire},
{Internet Exploiter}.
Other companies, notably Intel and UUNet, have also occasionally been
equated to the Borg. In IETF circles, where direct pressure from
Microsoft is not a daily reality, the Borg is sometimes Cisco. This
usage commemorates their tendency to pay any price to hire talent away
from their competitors. In fact, at the Spring 1997 IETF, a large
number of ex-Cisco employees, all former members of Routing Geeks,
showed up with t-shirts printed with "Recovering Borg".