box
n. 1. A computer; esp. in the construction `foo box'
where foo is some functional qualifier, like `graphics', or
the name of an OS (thus, `UNIX box', `MS-DOS box', etc.) "We
preprocess the data on UNIX boxes before handing it up to the
mainframe." 2. [within IBM] Without qualification but within an
SNA-using site, this refers specifically to an IBM front-end
processor or FEP /F-E-P/. An FEP is a small computer necessary
to enable an IBM
mainframe to communicate beyond the limits of
the
dinosaur pen. Typically used in expressions like the cry
that goes up when an SNA network goes down "Looks like the
box has fallen over." (See
fall over.) See also
IBM,
fear and loathing,
fepped out, {Blue
Glue}.
