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box

1. A computer; especially in the construction "foo box" where foo is some functional qualifier, like "graphics", or the name of an operating system (thus, "Unix box", "MS-DOS box", etc.) "We preprocess the data on Unix boxes before handing it up to the mainframe." The plural "boxen" is sometimes seen.

2. Without qualification in an IBM SNA site, "box" refers specifically to an IBM front-end processor.

[Jargon File]

(1994-11-29)