box n. 1. A computer; esp. in the construction `foo box' where foo is some functional qualifier,

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