Historical note: One computer, the GE 600 (later Honeywell 6000) actually had an *analog* speedometer on the front panel, calibrated in instructions executed per second.
:spell: /n./ Syn. {incantation}.
:spelling flame: /n./ [Usenet] A posting ostentatiously
correcting a previous article's spelling as a way of casting scorn
on the point the article was trying to make, instead of actually
responding to that point (compare {dictionary flame}). Of
course, people who are more than usually slovenly spellers are
prone to think *any* correction is a spelling flame. It's an
amusing comment on human nature that spelling flames themselves
often contain spelling errors.
:spiffy: /spi'fee/ /adj./ 1. Said of programs having a
pretty, clever, or exceptionally well-designed interface. "Have
you seen the spiffy {X} version of {empire} yet?" 2. Said
sarcastically of a program that is perceived to have little more
than a flashy interface going for it. Which meaning should be
drawn depends delicately on tone of voice and context. This word
was common mainstream slang during the 1940s, in a sense close to
1.
:spike: /v./ To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state, and railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be moved. In programming environments it normally refers to a temporary change, usually for testing purposes (as opposed to a permanent change, which would be called {hardwired}).
:spin: /vi./ Equivalent to {buzz}. More common among C and Unix programmers.
:spl: /S-P-L/ [abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional Unix kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt levels. Used in jargon to describe the act of tuning in or tuning out ordinary communication. Classically, spl levels run from 1 to 7; "Fred's at spl 6 today" would mean that he is very hard to interrupt. "Wait till I finish this; I'll spl down then." See also {interrupts locked out}.
:splash screen: /n./ [Mac users] Syn. {banner}, sense 3.
:splat: /n./ 1. Name used in many places (DEC, IBM, and others)
for the asterisk (`*') character (ASCII 0101010). This may
derive from the `squashed-bug' appearance of the asterisk on many
early line printers. 2. [MIT] Name used by some people for the
`#' character (ASCII 0100011). 3. [Rochester Institute of
Technology] The {feature key} on a Mac (same as {alt}, sense
2). 4. obs. Name used by some people for the Stanford/ITS extended
ASCII
circle-x
character. This character is also called `blobby' and `frob',
among other names; it is sometimes used by mathematicians as a
notation for `tensor product'. 5. obs. Name for the
semi-mythical Stanford extended ASCII
circle-plus
character. See also {{ASCII}}.
:spod: /n./ [UK] A lower form of life found on {talker system}s and {MUD}s. The spod has few friends in {RL} and uses talkers instead, finding communication easier and preferable over the net. He has all the negative traits of the {computer geek} without having any interest in computers per se. Lacking any knowledge of or interest in how networks work, and considering his access a God-given right, he is a major irritant to sysadmins, clogging up lines in order to reach new MUDs, following passed-on instructions on how to sneak his way onto Internet ("Wow! It's in America!") and complaining when he is not allowed to use busy routes. A true spod will start any conversation with "Are you male or female?" (and follow it up with "Got any good numbers/IDs/passwords?") and will not talk to someone physically present in the same terminal room until they log onto the same machine that he is using and enter talk mode. Compare {newbie}, {tourist}, {weenie}, {twink}, {terminal junkie}, {warez d00dz}.