Lesson plan
Green lightning (computing)
Green lightning originally referred to random flashing streaks across the screen of IBM 3278-9 computer terminals, which were produced by a hardware bug when a new symbol set was being downloaded. Instead of fixing the fault, IBM suggested that it was useful because it let the user know during the download that something was in progress. Later IBM colour graphics terminals were microprocessor driven and would not have produced flashing streaks. IBM decided to program them to re-create the "green lightning", since the bug had become a feature a phenomenon known as a misbug. This is one of many terms from the Jargon File that are widely quoted but have little or no everyday usage.
Article summary
Green lightning originally referred to random flashing streaks across the screen of IBM 3278-9 computer terminals, which were produced by a hardware bug when a new symbol set was being downloaded. Instead of fixing the fault, IBM suggested that it was useful because it let the user know during the download that something was in progress. Later IBM colour graphics terminals were microprocessor driven and would not have produced flashing streaks. IBM decided to program them to re-create the "green lightning", since the bug had become a feature a phenomenon known as a misbug. This is one of many terms from the Jargon File that are widely quoted but have little or no everyday usage.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.