to his site'. Compare {blast}, {snarf}, {BLT}.

:beanie key: /n./ [Mac users] See {command key}.

:beep: /n.,v./ Syn. {feep}. This term is techspeak under
MS-DOS and OS/2, and seems to be generally preferred among micro
hobbyists.

:beige toaster: /n./ A Macintosh. See {toaster}; compare
{Macintrash}, {maggotbox}.

:bells and whistles: /n./ [by analogy with the toyboxes on theater
organs] Features added to a program or system to make it more
{flavorful} from a hacker's point of view, without necessarily
adding to its utility for its primary function. Distinguished from
{chrome}, which is intended to attract users. "Now that we've
got the basic program working, let's go back and add some bells and
whistles." No one seems to know what distinguishes a bell from a
whistle.

:bells, whistles, and gongs: /n./ A standard elaborated form of
{bells and whistles}; typically said with a pronounced and
ironic accent on the `gongs'.

:benchmark: [techspeak] /n./ An inaccurate measure of computer
performance. "In the computer industry, there are three kinds of
lies: lies, damn lies, and benchmarks." Well-known ones include
Whetstone, Dhrystone, Rhealstone (see {h}), the Gabriel LISP
benchmarks (see {gabriel}), the SPECmark suite, and LINPACK.
See also {machoflops}, {MIPS}, {smoke and mirrors}.