[1] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

vannevar /van'-var/ n. a bogus technological prediction or a
   foredoomed engineering concept, esp. one that fails by implicitly
   assuming that technologies develop linearly, incrementally, and in
   isolation from one another when in fact the learning curve tends to be
   highly nonlinear, revolutions are common, and competition is the rule.
   the prototype was vannevar bush's prediction of `electronic brains' the
   size of the empire state building with a niagara-falls-equivalent
   cooling system for their tubes and relays, a prediction made at a time
   when the semiconductor effect had already been demonstrated. other
   famous vannevars have included magnetic-bubble memory, lisp machines,
   videotex, and a paper from the late 1970s that computed a purported
   ultimate limit on areal density for ics that was in fact less than the
   routine densities of 5 years later.


see also:
videotex 

[2] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

vannevar
     
         /van'-var/ a bogus technological prediction or a
        foredoomed engineering concept, especially one that fails by
        implicitly assuming that technologies develop linearly,
        incrementally, and in isolation from one another when in fact
        the learning curve tends to be highly nonlinear, revolutions
        are common, and competition is the rule.  the prototype was
        vannevar bush's prediction of "electronic brains" the size of
        the empire state building with a niagara-falls-equivalent
        cooling system for their tubes and relays, a prediction made
        at a time when the semiconductor effect had already been
        demonstrated.  other famous vannevars have included
        magnetic-bubble memory, lisp machines, videotex, and a
        paper from the late 1970s that computed a purported ultimate
        limit on areal density for integrated circuits that was in
        fact less than the routine densities of 5 years later.
     
        jargon file
     
        2000-02-29
     
     
see also:
magnetic-bubble memory lisp machines videotex integrated circuits jargon file 

Vannevar >> V Words
Vannevar, definition of term: Vannevar
vannevar_pag1.html