Computer literacy these days entails a major upgrade in basic language skills. Selections from Gareth Brandwyn's hypercard stack, "Beyond Cyberpunk: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to the Future."
cybercrud n. Obfuscatory tech-talk, the computer equivalent of bureaucratese. "That disk-drive manual bogged me down in cybercrud."
droid n. A person exhibiting a naive trust in authority, a company man.
drool-proof paper n. Documentation that has been dumbed down to the point where only a cretin could bear to read it. "My laser printer manual is on drool-proof paper."
flame war n. An acrimonious dispute conducted in an electronic forum. "If you want to see real action, check out the flame wars on Prodigy."
lunatic fringe n. Customers who buy early, often bug-ridden versions of software.
sagan n. A large quantity of anything, as in Carl Sagan's famous "billions and billions" quote. "The U. S. spends sagans on bombs and welfare."
wave a dead chicken v. To perform a futile repair ritual over a crashed system.
wirehead n. A hacker, especially one who concentrates on communications hardware. "If you can't crack the system, hire a wirehead."
zipperhead n. A person with a closed mind. Byline: Sheldon Teitelbaum Illustration DRAWING: Computer User, Paul Corio