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)