A product that has been proven to not live up to the vendor's marketing hype. The term comes from the 1800s in which elixirs and potions of all kinds, even ones that supposedly included the oils from snakes, were sold as a cure for everything that ailed a person.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Gore's latest attention-getting challenge: Eliminate fossil fuels as an electricity source by 2018
- Since my blogging buddy Harry Fuller is on vacation this week, I need to pick up the gauntlet and ensure that we've got some good political fodder for those of you who want to debate the existence of global warming and the necessity of reducing our dependence on foreign oil....
- Blog posts 2008-07-18
- Confirmed: Apple files suit against Psystar
- Confirmed: Apple files suit against PsystarThis may end the US based Mac clonesBut it is a big, big world and other countries don't honor the US's laws. I would not be feeling to secure about my overseas markets if I was Apple.Adrian, the hater of PsystarHe seems to have a...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-15
- Do problems with Wikipedia presage social networking's end?
- Do problems with Wikipedia presage social networking's end?Comparison to democracy very apt.When I look at the modest level of education, intelligence, and self-centered approach to life of many of my fellow citizens, the fact that I live in a democracy seems scary.But what would we have instead - the fabled...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-15
- Elf Bowling: Hawaiian Vacation (exe)
- You won't have to check your list twice to see if Santa's elves have been naughty or nice. With six months until Christmas, the whole gang has abandoned the workshop for sunny Hawaii. And in the best tradition of the Elf Bowling series, they're up to their usual antics, getting...
- Software downloads 2008-07-15
- Survey: 39 percent of iPhone 3G buyers own PCs
- Survey: 39 percent of iPhone 3G buyers own PCsLooking at the data another way,there were fewer Mac owners getting iPhone 3G's than the original iPhones. Not just %, but raw number. Wonder what conclusions could be drawn from that?Good luck with the corporate TrojanYeah I don't see this being any...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-14
- When proprietary companies go open source
- I've been burning the midnight oil yet again, working like a beaver on speed as I build my software castle on a server in Los Angeles not that beavers build castles. It's going well, and we are on the verge of starting trials in the UK. If any of you...
- Blog posts 2008-07-11
- 2008 Pontiac G8 GT
- Photo gallery:2008 Pontiac G8 GT With a 6-liter V-8 and brawny styling, the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT looks like the return of American muscle, only, it's not. The new G8, an example of International brand engineering, actually comes from Australia, where it's called a Holden VE Commodore. These origins explain...
- Product reviews 2008-07-10
- FTC opposes online privacy law
- FTC opposes online privacy lawSure, sure... Self regulation works...NOTOne look at my monthly Cable, Phone and other bills tells me that.Not to mention the Oil industry.And lets not forget where self-regulated privacy has gotten us so far, with the number of companies that have had major security/privacy failures with...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-10
- The next generation will deal with global warming, we promise
- The next generation will deal with global warming, we promiseEmission cuts promised unfeasible without clean coalWithout clean coal, the emission cuts promised by the G8 puny though they are are unfeasible: "The vast majority of new power stations in China and India will be coal-fired; not "may be coal-fired"; will...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-08
- (Photos: Top 10 newly discovered species)
- (Photos: Top 10 newly discovered species)How did the snake get the name?!?Oxyuranus temporalisMaybe I shouldn't ask. LOLXerocomus silwoodensisI wonder how many 'new species' we walk by every day?
- Discussion threads 2008-07-08
- Ticking bombs in enterprise land
- Ticking bombs in enterprise landAbsolutely rightDennis,You brilliantly describe one of the fundamental issues that business will have to address in the near future.To do your article justice will require a blog to discuss in detail the points you have raised, I’ll need to get typing.You might be interested in taking...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-08
- Energy Independence Day...not yet, but it's a popular idea
- Energy Independence Day...not yet, but it's a popular ideaAnd, yet againWe see the asinine argument that the path to energy independence isn't to produce energy, but to restrict use.But this is no surprise. Like all environmental issues, it really isn't about what it says it's about. Energy independence isn't about...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-07
- Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?
- Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?I for oneI for one welcome our new giant rubber snake overlords.RE: Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?I woke up one morning and my friend was hitting my forehead with a giant rubber snake...at least I think that's what it was.1 MW powers...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-06
- Energy Independence Day...not yet, but it's a popular idea
- Click on any image to see the whole picture. These are just three of the images from our local Fourth of July Parade today. We happen to live in a state which does not produce much...
- Blog posts 2008-07-04
- Inventor of Web lamented election results
- Inventor of Web lamented election resultsLAUDING G DUBYA????i had come across these statements while searching for an article and (albeit 4 yrs later) i was appalled by the plaudits given him by so many!!! he will, no doubt, be remembered in history as a "who cares" and the...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-03
- Seven Tech ways to make America better this July 4
- Seven Tech ways to make America better this July 4Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.Get the environazi boot of our neck.Build more refineries.Reduce government regulations.Eliminate the Endangered Species Act.Build more dams for flood control.Build more highways to relieve traffic congestion.Relax nuclear power plant requirements to build more reactors.Your mindset is...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-03
- Calling all auto engineers: this is an emergency
- Calling all auto engineers: this is an emergencyThere are no engineersTheir parents made sure they went into business and got MBAs due to the wonders of globalization!Too many chiefs, not enough indians.-MWhy not just drill for more oil?I think it is simply amazing how everyone in Congress is standing around...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-02
- Calling all auto engineers: this is an emergency
- They're even talking about it on the radio now--can Detroit automakers survive? If you listened to this show on NPR the future of Chrysler is south of bleak. Ford and GM may just be bigger and have more blood to lose. The local Detroit paper's headline: auto sales...
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
- Can your insurance force you out of the country?
- Can your insurance force you out of the country?Will they include airfare and a guarantee?Most people have found good doctors they have a rapport with. If computer systems can't be dealt with by words printed on a cue card, human medicine is going to be a thousandfold more complex...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-02
- OMG! texting is so expensive
- Amid all the talk about AT&T's data plan fees and the cost of buying an unlocked iPhone perhaps the most notable jump is the cost of texting. News.com's Maggie Reardon breaks it down: Since 2005, rates to send and receive text messages on all four major...
- Blog posts 2008-07-02
Neighboring Terms
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