Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!umd5!brl-adm!brl-smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.terminals
Subject: Re: Looking for a full-featured terminal
Message-ID: <8181@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: 28 Jun 88 21:07:31 GMT
References: <758@lakesys.UUCP> <3249@encore.UUCP> <783@lakesys.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) )
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 10

In article <783@lakesys.UUCP> craig@lakesys.UUCP (Craig Stodolenak) writes:
>Just what is this "magic cookie" several of you speak of?

"Magic cookie" in this context refers to the usurping of a character cell
in the display memory to store an "attribute shift" instruction, as opposed
to storing attributes in a parallel set of bits.  Magic cookies introduce
gratuitous "glitches" into the display and make it considerably more
difficult to program display operations, as well as constraining possible
display layouts.  There is really no excuse for such crude technology in
modern times, and some of us think you should refuse to support vendors
who design such junk.