[Macintosh users] 1. n. The call of a semi-legendary creature,
properly called the dogcow. (Some
previous versions of this entry claimed, incorrectly, that Moof
was the name of the creature.) 2. adj. Used to flag
software that's a hack, something untested and on the edge. On
one Apple CD-ROM, certain folders such as "Tools & Apps
(Moof!)" and "Development Platforms (Moof!)", are so marked to
indicate that they contain software not fully tested or
sanctioned by the powers that be. When you open these folders you
cross the boundary into hackerland. 3. v. On the Microsoft
Network, the term `moof' has gained popularity as a verb meaning
`to be suddenly disconnected by the system'. One might say "I got
moofed".
Node:Moore's Law, Next:moose call, Previous:Moof, Up:= M
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Moore's Law /morz law/ prov.
The observation that the logic density of silicon integrated
circuits has closely followed the curve (bits per square inch) =
2^(t - 1962) where t is time in years; that is, the amount of
information storable on a given amount of silicon has roughly
doubled every year since the technology was invented. This
relation, first uttered in 1964 by semiconductor engineer Gordon
Moore (who co-founded Intel four years later) held until the late
1970s, at which point the doubling period slowed to 18 months.
The doubling period remained at that value through time of
writing (late 1999). Moore's Law is apparently self-fulfilling.
The implication is that somebody, somewhere is going to be able
to build a better chip than you if you rest on your laurels, so
you'd better start pushing hard on the problem. See also Parkinson's Law of
Data and Gates's
Law.