burn-in period
burn-in period: n. 1. A factory test designed to catch systems
with marginal components before they get out the door; the theory
is that burn-in will protect customers by outwaiting the steepest
part of the bathtub curve (see infant mortality). 2. A period
of indeterminate length in which a person using a computer is so
intensely involved in his project that he forgets basic needs such
as food, drink, sleep, etc. Warning: Excessive burn-in can lead to
burn-out. See hack mode, larval stage.
Historical note: the origin of "burn-in" (sense 1) is apparently
the practice of setting a new-model airplane's brakes on fire, then
extinguishing the fire, in order to make them hold better. This was
done on the first version of the U.S. spy-plane, the U-2.
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