Related:

• heartbeat n. 1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected.
  2. A periodic synchronization signal used by software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic interrupt....
• breath-of-life packet: [XEROX PARC] n. An Ethernet packet that contains bootstrap (see {boot}) code
  periodically sent out from a working computer to infuse the `breath of life' into any computer on the network that has happened to crash....
• breath-of-life packet n. [XEROX PARC] An Ethernet packet that contains bootstrap (see boot) code
  periodically sent out from a working computer to infuse the `breath of life' into any computer on the network that has happened to crash....
• clock 1. n 1. [techspeak] The master oscillator that steps a CPU or other digital circuit through its paces.
  This has nothing to do with the time of day, although the software counter that keeps track of the latter may be derived from the former....
• front end: n. 1. An intermediary computer that does set-up and filtering for another (usually more powerful but less friendly) machine (a `back end').
  2. What you're talking to when you have a conversation with someone who is making replies without paying attention....
• cycle: 1. n. The basic unit of computation. What every hacker wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper describes himself as a "cycle junkie").
  One can describe an instruction as taking so many `clock cycles'....
• bare metal n. 1. [common] New computer hardware, unadorned with such snares and delusions as an operating system, an bit bashing needed to create these basic tools for a new machine.
  Real bare-metal programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS chips, implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and writing the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back ends that will give the new machine a real development environment....
• jiffy: n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on the computer (see {tick}).
  Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the U....
• jiffy n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on your computer (see tick).
  Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the U....