Etymologies...

PG Manney wrote: Probably from "dangle", as a couple of those damned things on a parallel cord caused the cable to do so dangerously and with frequent disconnects unless extra bits and pieces were bought to tie them together. Byte came first. A nybble (originally spelled nibble even in the computer trade) was half a byte -- a byte isn't derived from two nybbles, ask Marv Albert. Big iron had to be racked in frames that were left in one place, even an industrial forklift couldn't move an assembled system in one piece. Smaller peripherals could stand in standalone racks (the old relay rack being the component of the frames), so the central system was the "main frame". Can't help there, funny code terms happen with connectors. The "D" definitely refers to the shape, however. It's got a tail and it's small. And any cat with access to your desk will inform you that it's a very appropriately named cat toy. As I learned when I got my first 3B1. -- Ward Griffiths Dylan: How many years must some people exist, before they're allowed to be free? WDG3rd: If they "must" exist until they're "allowed", they'll never be free.