wetware /wet'weir/ [prob. from the novels of Rudy Rucker] n.
- The human nervous system, as
opposed to computer hardware or software. "Wetware has 7 plus or minus 2
temporary
registers."
- Human beings (programmers, operators, administrators)
attached to a computer
system, as opposed to the system's hardware or software. See liveware,
meatware.
(from The Jargon File)
(the bit about "7 plus or minus 2 temporary registers" is an allusion to
a famous article by George Miller, more than 35 years old now, called
"The Magical Number 7 Plus or Minus 2", which suggests that we humans
have an effective limit of between 5 and 9 somethings --numbers, letters,
etc.-- that we can hold in memory at once without some kind of chunking.
Typical computer nerd humor...)
Andy Rundquist has used the concept to name his company. Here's his explanation,
along with a nice quote from Rudy Rucker's original.