MACHINE LANGUAGE:  See also, Object Code.  The programming language which is executed by a computer’s CPU and is, in fact, determined by the specific architecture of that machine’s CPU.  It looks somewhat like this, depending on the particular chip in the computer:

1010001000 RR RR RR

ex: R0 = R1 – R2

1010001000 00 01

Assembly instructions, on the other hand, are just shorthand for machine instructions:

Machine Language = Equivalent Assembly Instruction

1000000100100101 = LOAD R1 5

1000000101000101 =  LOAD R2 5

1010000100000110 = ADD R0 R1 R2

1000001000000110  = SAVE R0 6

1111111111111111  = HALT

ON THE OTHER HAND, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, THE “HEIROGLIPHICS” THAT YOU SOMETIMES SEE ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN OR PRINTOUT ARE NOT MACHINE LANGUAGE.  COMPUTER CODE IS “BINARY” (0’s AND 1’s, NOT PICTURES OR SYMBOLS:

BOARD OR MOTHERBOARD

- - Rather, they are usually either symbols from an ASCII character set, a font reset to type Wingdings, or a corrupt printer driver changing the printed output.

MACRO:  A macro is a keystroke or combination of keystrokes which are an abbreviation (shortcut) for a series of commands that can be recalled when necessary.  For example, in a word processor, you could design a macro that would insert a letterhead at the top of a document, including the current date.

MAIN BOARD OR MOTHERBOARD:  The large, flat printed circuit board on a computer onto which is mounted the processor (chip), RAM, riser cards and cables or connectors for the various drives.  Click HERE for a labeled photo. See also, daughter board, riser card. The size of the motherboard determines the size of the case for the computer. Motherboard form factors (sizes) are shown below [Photo Credit:Wikipedia]:

MAINFRAME:   An extremely large high-end commercial computer used mainly by large organizations for bulk data processing and analysis requiring high input and output, such as financial records, transaction processing, census statistics and the like.  See also Big Iron.

MAN:  Metropolitan Area Network, a wireless LAN that connects all users in a city.

MANAGED:  A term which refers to the ability of hardware to be monitored and even customized from elsewhere.  Managed switches and e-mail appliances are an example.  Hardware that is not managed is often referred to as “dumb” or “simple”.

MANAGED PRINT SERVICE:  A service offered by printer manufacturers like HP and Xerox to assist business end-users by streamlining management and minimizing costs associated with printing and imaging.  Often by providing consultants, these companies will work with the specific business to develop systems and procedures.

MANGA:  Japanese comics, sometimes digitized.  See anime for more.

MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE ATTACK:  Where an intermediate party intercepts and evesdrops on data before passing it on to its intended destination.  See, SPYWARE.

MAP:   Used as a verb, as “to map a network drive”.  This means that your computer shows one or more drives on other computers on a network which you access or store data on, as if they are actually located on your own computer.  If you’re logged on to another machine on a network (at school, a work VPN, etc.), you can “map” the drive by giving it its own drive letter “e.g. ‘Z’”) that will show on your own machine so you can readily access it.  It’s “mapped”.

MAPI:   Messaging Application Program Interface.  A Microsoft Windows program interface that enables one to send an e-mail from within a Windows application and then attach the document to an e-mail note.  When you select <send> from the pull-down <file> menu, for example, in MS Word, the document is sent to the MAPI server for e-mailing.

MAR:  Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher.  This is basically a program that Microsoft has provided to refurbishers to volume license pre-owned PCs.  Purchasers of these PC are assured that they have purchased a refurbished PC with a genuine Microsoft operating system, and can get upgrades and patches without worry.

MASHABLE:  One of the Internet’s largest websites and news blog, primarily covering social media news, founded by Pete Cashmore.

MASHUP:  This is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool.  For example, a mashup might use the Google earth satellite information, along with listing information from Century 21 Realtors and the U.S. Census Bureau to create a distinct web service not previously available.

Mbps:   Million Bits Per Second.  A standard measurement of transmission speed, as in “ethernet transmits across the network at 100Mbps...”

MBR:  Master Boot Record.  See also, Boot Sector. Sometimes called the partition sector.  The boot sector reserves sectors on a partitioned disk (hard, floppy, USB, etc.) that are used to load the operating system.  On startup, the computer looks for the MBR, which is typically the first (512 byte) sector in the first partition of the disk (LBA Sector 0).  The MBR contains a program that reads the partition table (FAT32, NTFS) which points to the first sector that contains the Operating System and contains another small program that starts the O/S.  The boot sector of a non-partitioned disk is called a Volume Boot Record (“VBR”); there can also (rarely) be a record that acts as both MBR and VBR known as a multi boot record). For more information about hard drives, click HERE.  Apple doesn’t have MBR; see APM.

MCA: Micro Channel Architecture (See, PCI).  Developed by IBM primarily for use in the PS-2 line of desktop computers, this was a proprietary 32-bit bus which transferred data from 20 to 80Mbytes/sec and had a built-in ID that allowed for easier installation than ISA devices.  In late 1996, IBM discontinued its use in favor of PCI.

MCSE:  Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.  One of the more common and the top-ranking computer technology certifications, since its introduction only 14 years ago.  In addition to various training and courses, an applicant must have a minimum of 10 years advanced IT experience and must also appear before an oral board of industry peers.  MCSE has three series: (technology, professional & architect) and four credentials (IT Professional, Professional Developer, Support Technician & Architect).  Other certifications include those from Sun, Linux, Cisco and Novell, each with their own tiers of certification.  In addition, various technology providers and vendors offer their own certifications for use with their product (from Oracle to VMWare).  

MEDIA:  (1) Means of communication (e.g. TV, Radio, SMS, telephone, e-mail).  (2) The device on which data is stored or transmitted (e.g. disks, flash drive, CD/DVD, etc.) (3) The surface on which data is stored (metal disk, plastic disk, electronic circuit card, tape, etc.)

MeeGo:  A software platform created by Nokia as a smartphone platform also used for cars, home phones and computers.  Competes with Apple, Google and Windows smart phone software. Discontinued in 2011 when Nokia also discontinued the Symbian operating system in favor of Windows Phone.

MEG:  Industry slang for megabyte (“Mb”).  See Bits & Bytes.

MELISSA:  A macro virus created in the late 1990s  which was spread on Word and Excel programs and e-mail clients like Outlook, which ran a macro which, among other things, replicated itself through the first 50 entries in the Windows Address Book.  It was not a worm (such as the I Love You worm) because it was not a stand alone program.  It persisted into later versions, i.e. Melissa U, V and AO.  For more info about viruses, see HERE.

MEME:  An Internet meme (pronounced “meeem”) is a concept or idea that is propagated through the World Wide Web.  Memes are an adaptation of a word introduced in 1976 by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene” where he posited that certain genes replicated and passed on by generation.  Similarly, the concept was extended to ideas or elements of social behavior which are passed on by culture or imitation. The word comes from the Greek word “minmema” which means to imitate.

METACOVER:  I’ve only seen this term used once, by Hauppauge, the company which sells TV cards for computers, but they use it with such conviction that I believe it must be used by others.  The metacover is the removable plate on the back of the case which covers the back of the empty slot (e.g. PCI) into which the card is inserted.

METADATA:  Actually “data about data”.   Metadata provides a description about how, when and by whom a particular (raw) data set was collected and how it is formatted, for example, so that computers on the WWW can use the XML and HTML tags to turn it into useful information. 

METRICS:  Relating to computers, this means the “measurement”  of performance, usually web site statistics.  Terms like number of hits, eyeballs, links and the like are metrics for a website.  This is different from “analytics,”  which is the science which uses those measurements to solve business problems ( i.e., how do these numbers increase our business?).  For more discussion, see Internet Marketing.

METRO:  The “interface” between the user and the device introduced by Microsoft in its phone (2010) and Xbox (2011) software and in Windows 8 (2012), which signals Microsoft’s move toward pad computing.  The squares (called “tiles”) with symbols of phones, envelopes, shopping carts, Facebook,  Internet Explorer and the like were actually influenced by airport and road signs, which are easy to decipher on the fly.  See NEWS for photos.

MFP:  Stands for Multi-Function Printer.  This is a device that not only prints (wired or wirelessly) but can also perform other features such as copying, scanning and faxing as well.

MICKEY:  A unit of measurement for the speed and movement direction of a computer mouse.  The speed of the mouse is the ratio between how many pixels the cursor moves on the screen and how many centimeters the mouse is moved on the mouse pad.  The directional movement is the “horizontal mickey” and the “vertical mickey” count. One “mickey” is approximately 1/200 of an inch.

MICR:  Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.  A technology used to verify the legitimacy or originality of paper documents, especially bank checks, using special magnetic inks, which are computer-scanned for veracity.  This older technology has been somewhat reduced or at least supplemented by the use of ATM (Automated Teller Machines or other “cashpoints”) and EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale, i.e. debit card) technologies.

MICROARCHITECTURE:  See, ISA. 

MICROBLOGGING:  See, Blogging.  A form of brief blogging (usually no more than 140 characters in length), such as Twittering, MMS and SMS.

MICROCODE/MICROPROGRAMS:  Generally, microprogramming is a method of operating the control unit of a computer by breaking down the control instructions into a sequence of tiny steps.  Programmers develop microprograms by creating microcode which controls different parts of a computers CPU, storing the program in an area of memory called a “control store.”

MICROFLUIDICS:  The science of building microminiaturized devices with chambers and tunnels for the containment and flow of fluids. With devices measured at the micrometer level and fluids measured in nanoliters and picoliters, microfluidics devices are widely used in inkjet printer heads (see Printers) and so-called “labs on a chip” which are used to analyze body fluids for medical purposes.   Nanofluidics measure fluids at the nanometer, rather than the micrometer, level.

MICROPROCESSOR:  Generally, the basic arithmetic, logic and control elements required for processing, generally contained on only one integrated circuit chip.  Used not just on computers, but also household appliances video games, etc. See, CPU, Processor.

MICROCELL: A device used to extend the range of cell phones so that the signal can be received in geographically or structurally difficult locations, redirecting the cell signal over the Internet.

MICROSOFT BOB: A Microsoft product, released in March, 1995 and designed for Windows 3.1x and Windows 95, to simplify the navigational experience for novice computer users.  The main interface was portrayed as the inside of a house inside which Bob lives, the different rooms of which represent different computer applications (calendar, word processor, etc.), each of which had cartoon characters called “Assistants” to help the user use the applications.  Bob was one of Microsoft’s biggest failures, and was withdrawn prior to the introduction of Windows 98, although some of the characters still remain as part of Microsoft Office’s assistants.  Luckily, Bill Gates didn’t hold a grudge against Bob’s project managers, one of whom was Melinda French, who was his then girlfriend and who later became his wife.

MICROSOFT DOCUMENT IMAGE WRITER:  You may notice in your printer folder a reference to the Microsoft Document Image Writer.  It is not a physical printer, but rather a “virtual” printer.  This is a program, installed by Microsoft Office, that allows you to save any Office document as an image that can be viewed but not changed by other computers, and which can also be printed by any available physical printers. Office 2007 added the .xps image writer.

MICROSOFT OFFICE:  See, OFFICE.

MID:  Mobile Internet Device.  See also, UMPCs, below.

MIDDLEWARE:  Software that links applications and data, so that the data can be useful.  Includes programs such as Microsoft Biz Talk Server and Jitterbit. Used primarily in business applications, commonly used to match two separate and often already existing programs, such as a database written in one language not on the system to be readable by another program, on the computer already, to read it.  See also, EAI.

MIDI:  “Musical Digital Instrument Interface”.  This means all the hardware and software that a computer uses to play music.

MIFI:  (Pronounced <my fy>).  Wireless computer technology introduced by Verizon in 2009 that lets computer users connect to a 3G high-speed wireless cellular data network anywhere and anytime, using the Novatell MiFi 2200 credit card device and, in 2010, the Pre Plus smart phone.  No seeking a WiFi “hot spot”; instead you carry a wireless ”umbrella” over you and your devices wherever you go.

MIME:  See ASCII.  Short for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (as defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force), this is a messaging standard that allows internet users to exchange e-mail messages enhanced with graphics, video and voice.  Early e-mail programs did not allow for this.  A newer version, called S/MIME, supports encrypted (protected) messages.  Some computers may require a “MIME Decoder” to read the messages.

MIMO:  Multiple-In, Multiple-Out.  (Pronounced <mee-mow>).  A “smart antenna” technology used in some (but not all) of the N Series wireless routers that takes advantage of multiplexing in order to increase wireless bandwith and range.  The MiMo (“multiple input, multiple output”) algorithms send information out over two or more antennas and receive it over multiple antennas as well.  This, in turn, eliminate the Cliff Effect, caused when the late arrival of part of a broadcast signal causes fading or cut-out of the signal, and also “picket fencing” or intermittent reception.  See also, MISO (“multiple input, single output”) and SIMO (“single input, multiple output”) which are also smart antenna technologies.

MIPS:  Million Instructions Per Second (a measure of processor speed).

MLS:  Multi-Level Security.  The application of a computer system to process data having different sensitivities, so that users can be prevented access to information for which they lack authorization, and allowing simultaneous access to users with differing security clearances and levels of clearance.  There are a number of “models” of MLS, including Biba, Take-Grant, Clark-Wilson and Graham-Denning models.  In addition to MLS, there are other more complex and less common security access control models, such as Role Based Access Control (“RBAC”), Mandatory Access Control (“MAC”) and Discretionary Access Control (“DAC”).

MMOG:  Massively Multi-player Online Game.  On line RPGs, usually with hundreds, if not thousands, of players, such as World of Warcraft or Everquest.

MMS:  Multimedia Message Service.  A method of transmitting graphics, video clips, sound files and short text messages over wireless networks, commonly between cellular phones.  Unline e-mail, which supports attachments, MMS codes all content into the message itself.

MMX:  Multimedia Extensions.  An enhancement in computer microprocessors that processes miultiple data elements in parallel, speeding up 3Dgraphics, speech recognition, motion video and the like.

MNEMONIC:  A memory aid, such as an abbreviation, rhyme or mental image that helps you remember something.  Acronyms (e.g. RADCAB) can use mnemonics.

MobileMe:  (Formerly .iDisk, .Mac and iTools  Soon to be iCloud in June, 2011).  This is Apple’s subscription-based (paid) collection of online services and software, originally launched on 1/5/2000 as a free service.  It is now a paid online service for synchronizing personal information, such as your calendars, address books, e-mail and photos across multiple devices such as iPads, iPhones, iMacs, etc.  These services, particularly MobileMe, were not widely accepted, primarily due to product flaws and limited functionality. See also CLOUD.

MOBILE WALLET/MOBILE PAYMENTS:  A mobile wallet is an online payment system that allows transactions to be initiated by mobile phones. It uses NFC (“near field communications”) on Android cell phones, a radio system that enables communication between two or more devices so that they can send and receive data at a very close range.  There are other devices which are currently being developed to transmit payments over mobile phones:  Target, WalMart and other retailers are developing their own systems, Square is using an app named “Card Case,” as is a company called “Tabbed-out”.  Not all smart phones run all mobile payment apps or support all credit cards, and some demand specialized POS hardware at retailers’ locations, so it will remain to see which major providers survive the competition.  On the other hand, many of the providers (e.g. Starbucks) use the method to communicate with loyalty programs, to the customer’s advantage.

MOBO:  Abbreviation for “motherboard,” the main computer circuit board.

MODEM:  Stands for MODulator-DEModulator.  This is a device that converts (“modulates”) the digital signal on the sending computer into an analog signal to transmit over the telephone and then, at the receiving end, converts (“demodulates”) the signal back into digital format so it can be viewed by the receiving computer. Modems can be used for telephone, cable, fibre optic or satellite transmissions.  The earliest modems were used over telephone lines, the most common design of which was the U.S. Robotics modem, which used the popular Hayes Smartmodem AT command set with S registers.  Click HERE for the AT commands, and HERE for the S-Register summary.  Now that more people use broadband modems, the telephone modem command strings are pretty much relegated to history.

MOLEX:  Refers to the 4-Pin connectors used to attach DC power to the drives inside a PC chassis (case); named after the original large manufacturer of electronics plugs and sockets, dating back to the 1940s.  Click HERE for a photo.

MONITOR:  See Screen.

MOORE’S LAW:  A statement made by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore in a 1965 paper - that the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling every 2 years.  The law has subsequently been applied to virtually every progression in technology.  Think the move from 78rpm records to LPs, then to 8 track tapes, to casette tapes, iPods, then CDs, DVDs, hi-density DVDs, Blue-Ray and, soon, holographic disks.  It’s a standard progression, albeit 10 years in between.  But the point is the increase in the speed of the technology, not just the product:  About 10 years ago, AOL was king, dial-up at 56K was the standard internet connection.  If you double connection speeds every 18mos - 2 yrs. or so, you get to a connection speed of 14Mbps, which is right about where cable and DSL are now at.  Looking ahead another 10 years, to 2021, the typical American home should have gigabit connectivity.  And we’re right on track:  Google is already rolling out that speed with their Google Access project, starting in Kansas.    Memristors may be the next example of the march in technology, making it possible to build superdense computing memories which will be able to make use of the increasing data and devices coming to market.  First, in 1975, Steve Jobs came upon the idea to use a microprocessor chip to build computers; then in the 1980s, Xerox scientists came up with the idea of “ubiquitous computing,” bringing computers to the desktop and making mainframes obsolete. Now comes the memristor, a switch which will hold so much information that it will increase computing by an order of magnitude once again, and continue to allow us to embed computers into virtually every device we will be able to think of, off of the desktop and into our phones, toasters, books and the like. [See also Douglas Englebart, with whom he allegedly developed this theory and who also invented the mouse, described below.  Click HERE for a graphic representation of the law.]

MORPHEUS:  A popular music file sharing software, discontinued 4/22/08.

MOSAIC:  The first popular GUI web browser (the actual first was Cello, written by Thomas R. Bruce  for Unix), certainly the browser that popularized the World Wide Web.  Developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (“NCSA”), more particularly by Marc Andresson (who later co-founded Netscape with Jim Clark, formerly of Silicon Graphics, Inc.) and introduced in 1993, its ease of use, Windows compatibility and the ability to implement images embedded in the text window, as opposed to displayed in a separate window, combined the developing technologies of the time (including FTP, http, URL, HTML, gopher, IP, etc.) into a GUI and interaction experience that became the standard for web browsers.  Although Mosaic was officially discontinued on 1/7/97, Netscape and later Firefox were directly descended from the Mosaic code and concept.

MOTHER BOARD: SEE MAIN BOARD, above.

MOUNT:  This is a verb, as in “mounting” a drive.  Mounting applies to both hardware and software.  It means to make a device physically accessible to user(s) (e.g. attaching a backup tape drive), or to make a group of files accessible to the user(s).  So, when you “mount” a drive, it shows up in your directory listing (In Windows: Windows Explorer, My Computer) and is recognized by the system.  In a Mac, mounting refers to merely inserting a disk into the computer. Mounts can be either local or remote.  In Windows, files or hardware are recognized by their name (e.g. C://), and Unix/Linux recognizes the mounts as subdirectories of the host computer file system, naming the location where the device or file is attached as a “mount point”.

MOUSE:  A handheld device with one or more buttons and/or wheels, used to perform various operating system dependent operations (selecting, highlighting, cutting & pasting) using a graphic user interface (“GUI”).  Contrary to popular belief, the mouse was not invented by Steve Jobs, Apple or Bill Gates, but instead was invented by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute/DARPA in 1963, after extensive prototypes and usability testing.  Englebart’s mouse ran on wheels, was made of wood and had a single button; later, in 1972, Bill English of Xerox PARC invented a mouse that ran on a “ball”; In 1984, Logitech, in partnership with Agilent, introduced the optical laser (scroll) mouse, which is now standard on most computers.  See also, mickey, above.

MOZILLA:  Mozilla Foundation, developer of the Firefox browser and other open-source software. Derived from Mosaic and Netscape Navigator (see both). But what, if anything, does Mozilla mean?  It’s told that the name Mozilla was already in use as the codename for Netscape Navigator 1.0, and that the term came from a combination of “Mosaic Killer” and Godzilla,” because Netscape was trying to displace Mosaic as the world’s number one web browser at that time.  The logo was originally a green and purple cartoon lizard designed by Dave Titus in 1994.  The name came from programmer Jamie Zawinski. It’s gone through several incarnations, but you can still see the lizard wrapping itself around the earth in the latest logo (above, left).

MPOE:  See, DMARC.

MPP:  See, Parallel Computing.

MP3:  Stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3, which is a standard technology and format for compressing sound sequences into very small files (perhaps one-twelfth of the original), while preserving the original level of sound quality.  MPEG is a working group of the ISO (the ”International Organization for Standardization”), designated the Moving Picture Experts Group, which created the format. MP3  refers to the file extension of the music files when they are created or downloaded.  Commonly used in mobile music players such as the IPOD from Apple.

MRU:  Stands for Most Recently Used.  Usually a list.  Kind of like a “history” list for a program.  Take Word for example:  The list of recent documents at the end of the <File> menu is an MRU list.  Some people mistakenly think it’s some sort of spyware - nope, it’s just a list.  See also, NKU (autocomplete) file.

MSCONFIG:  A command that will allow you to edit, among other things, the startup files on your computer, usually to troubleshoot programs that are causing boot problems or draining RAM.  This isn’t intended to be a permanent fix, however; the culprit must be repaired and written to the registry to become permanent; quite often installation of a new program will restore all start-up entries.

MSDOS:  See DOS, Operating System.  MS-DOS is the Disk Operating System pioneered by Microsoft, as opposed to the DOS  (“PC-DOS”) sold by IBM, also developed by Bill Gates.

MSE:  Microsoft Security Essentials. (Formerly Microsoft OneCare.) This is Microsoft’s anti-virus and anti-malware protection application.  It’s free.  Combined with the Windows Firewall, it provides very good protection against threats.  MSE protects against the threats that used to be covered by Microsoft Windows Defender, but more, since Defender didn’t specifically target viruses, and MSE does.  Early reports show quite a successful record (except for zero-day exploits).  You should allow a fair amount of time for the initial full disk scan, depending on the size of your hard drive.  Click HERE for more.

MSFT:  Short and stock name for Microsoft, the software corporation initially co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen back in 1978.

MSN:  The MicroSoft Network, Microsoft’s initial attempt to provide on-line services to browse the Internet, receive e-mail and more.  Established in 1995 to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 O/S, it evolved into an Internet portal providing numerous web-based services, until it became largely superceded by Windows Live in 2005.   For more, see Windows Live.

MSN2:  See, WebTV.  The name given by Microsoft to the second generation of WebTV boxes, using the Microsoft Network (“MSN”) to browse the Internet.

MTA:  See, E-MTA.

MTBF:  Mean Time Between Failures.  A measure used by engineers to determine how reliable hardware (or software) is.  The period of time between each and every failure that takes the system off line.  Corollary: MTTR: Mean Time To Repair. (Don’t confuse “mean” with “average”; the mean is the most common or frequent figure to the time to repair, not a divided average).

MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION:  An encryption technology, typically based on an  electronic token carried by a user that repeatedly generates a  time-based number that must be appended to a password when a user logs  in to a computer system.

MULTIMEDIA:  Combining static media (text, pictures) with dynamic media (sound, video, animation).

MULTIPLEXING:  Sending multiple signals or streams of information on a carrier at the same time in the form of a single, complex signal and then recovering them at the receiving end.  Signals are commonly multiplexed using time-division multiplexing (“TDM”), in which the multiple signals are carried over the same channel in alternating time slots; also through dense wavelength division multiplexing (“DWDM”), used in some optical fiber networks, where the multiple signals are carried together as separate wavelengths of light.

MULTITOUCH:  An enhanced type of touch screen monitor that allows you additional features, allowing you to move and resize screen objects with your fingers.  The Apple iPhone has begun this process, using the pinch-and-stretch to resize windows, but we’re still a long way from the huge hand-controlled screens you see in movies like Minority Report, or even on CSI.  But this will be the next big advancement in monitors and operating systems to excite the public, since the invention of GUI and the mouse back in the 1970s.

MURPHY’S LAWS:  As a comic aside to these rather technical pages, I’ve inserted some of the Murphy’s laws I’ve found relating to computers.  But who is “Murphy” and where did his “laws” come from?  Apparently, the original law “If anything can go wrong, it will” was born at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949.  It was named after Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981, which was testing a design to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash.  One day, after finding that a transducer was wired wrong, he cursed the technician responsible, saying “If there’s any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”  The project manager kept a list of “laws” and added this one, which he called “Murphy’s law.”  This explanation, which probably is but may not be true, came from this LINK, which has more explanation, more laws, a book and the attached photo of the test.

MXRECORD:  Part of the zone file that is used to designate which mail server machine should process email for a specific domain.

MYSPACE:  See, social networking.

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