Related:

• green lightning n. [IBM] 1. Apparently random flashing streaks on the face of 3278-9 terminals while a new symbol set is being downloaded.
  This hardware bug was left deliberately unfixed, as some genius within IBM suggested it would let the user know that `something is happening'....
• misbug: /mis-buhg/ [MIT] n. An unintended property of a program that turns out to be useful
  omething that should have been a {bug} but turns out to be a {feature}....
• green bytes: n. (also `green words') 1. Meta-information embedded in a file, such as the length of the file or its name
  as opposed to keeping such information in a separate description file or record....
• misbug /mis-buhg/ n. [MIT; rare (like its referent)] An unintended property of a program that turns out to be useful
  something that should have been a bug but turns out to be a feature....
• green card: n. [after the "IBM System/360 Reference Data" card] A summary of an assembly language, even if the color is not green.
  Less frequently used now because of the decrease in the use of assembly language....
• hysterical reasons: (also `hysterical raisins') n. A variant on the stock phrase "for historical reaso
  indicating specifically that something must be done in some stupid way for backwards compatibility, and moreover that the feature it must be compatible with was the result of a bad design in the first place....
• dinosaur: n. 1. Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power.
  Used especially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast with newer microprocessor-based machines....
• footprint: n. 1. The floor or desk area taken up by a piece of hardware.
  2. [IBM] The audit trail (if any) left by a crashed program (often in plural, `footprints')....
• fossil: n. 1. In software, a misfeature that becomes understandable only in historical context, as a remnant of times past retained so as not to break compatibility.
  Example: the retention of octal as default base for string escapes in {C}, in spite of the better match of hexadecimal to ASCII and modern byte-addressable architectures....