from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
cyberspace
/si:'br.spays`/, n.
1. Notional `information-space' loaded with visual cues and navigable
with brain-computer interfaces called cyberspace decks; a
characteristic prop of {cyberpunk} SF. Serious efforts to construct
{virtual reality} interfaces modeled explicitly on Gibsonian
cyberspace are under way, using more conventional devices such as
glove sensors and binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to
deny outright the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out of
the network (see {the network}).
2. The Internet or {Matrix} (sense #2) as a whole, considered as a
crude cyberspace (sense 1). Although this usage became widely popular
in the mainstream press during 1994 when the Internet exploded into
public awareness, it is strongly deprecated among hackers because the
Internet does not meet the high, SF-inspired standards they have for
true cyberspace technology. Thus, this use of the term usually tags a
{wannabee} or outsider. Oppose {meatspace}.
3. Occasionally, the metaphoric location of the mind of a person in
{hack mode}. Some hackers report experiencing strong synesthetic
imagery when in hack mode; interestingly, independent reports from
multiple sources suggest that there are common features to the
experience. In particular, the dominant colors of this subjective
cyberspace are often gray and silver, and the imagery often involves
constellations of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines
and angles, or moire patterns.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
cyberspace
<jargon> /si:'ber-spays/ 1. (Coined by {William Gibson})
Notional "information-space" loaded with visual cues and
navigable with brain-computer interfaces called "cyberspace
decks"; a characteristic prop of {cyberpunk} SF. In 1991
serious efforts to construct {virtual reality} interfaces
modelled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace were already under
way, using more conventional devices such as glove sensors and
binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to deny
outright the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out
of the network (see {network, the}).
2. Occasionally, the metaphoric location of the mind of a
person in {hack mode}. Some hackers report experiencing
strong eidetic imagery when in hack mode; interestingly,
independent reports from multiple sources suggest that there
are common features to the experience. In particular, the
dominant colours of this subjective "cyberspace" are often
grey and silver, and the imagery often involves constellations
of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines and
angles, or moire patterns.
[{Jargon File}]
(1999-02-01)