sunspots

1. Notional cause of an odd error. "Why did the program suddenly turn the screen blue?" "Sunspots, I guess."

2. Also the cause of bit rot - from the myth that sunspots will increase cosmic rays, which can flip single bits in memory. See also phase of the moon.

[Jargon File]

Nearby terms:
sun lounge « Sun Microsystems, Inc. « SunOS « sunspots » sun-stools » SunView » SUNY