hamster

1. <programming> (From Fairchild) A particularly slick little piece of code that does one thing well; a small, self-contained hack. The image is of a hamster happily spinning its exercise wheel.

2. <hardware> A tailless mouse; that is, one with an infrared link to a receiver on the machine, as opposed to the conventional cable.

3. <product> (UK) Any item of hardware made by Amstrad, a company famous for its cheap plastic PC-almost-compatibles.