FUD
<jargon> /fuhd/ An acronym invented by Gene Amdahl after he left IBM to
found his own company: "FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales
people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be considering
[Amdahl] products." The idea, of course, was to persuade them to go with safe
IBM gear rather than with competitors' equipment. This implicit coercion was
traditionally accomplished by promising that Good Things would happen to people
who stuck with IBM, but Dark Shadows loomed over the future of competitors'
equipment or software.
[Jargon File]
(1995-05-23)
Nearby terms:
FTTP « FTX « FUBAR « FUD » fudge » fudge
factor » Fudgets
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