washing machine

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for washing machine - Next: washing software, Prev: wart
:washing machine: /n./ 1. Old-style 14-inch hard disks in floor-standing cabinets. So called because of the size of the cabinet and the top-loading access to the media packs -- and, of course, they were always set on spin cycle. The washing-machine idiom transcends language barriers; it is even used in Russian hacker jargon. See also walking drives. The thick channel cables connecting these were called bit hoses (see hose, sense 3). 2. [CMU] A machine used exclusively for washing software. CMU has clusters of these.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996* - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)*