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. [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, Blue Glue.