1. Notional `information-space' loaded with visual cues and navigable
with brain-computer interfaces called cyberspace decks; a
characteristic prop of {cyberpunk} SF. Serious efforts to construct
{virtual reality} interfaces modeled explicitly on Gibsonian
cyberspace are under way, using more conventional devices such as
glove sensors and binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to
deny outright the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out of
the network (see {the network}).
2. The Internet or {Matrix} (sense #2) as a whole, considered as a
crude cyberspace (sense 1). Although this usage became widely popular
in the mainstream press during 1994 when the Internet exploded into
public awareness, it is strongly deprecated among hackers because the
Internet does not meet the high, SF-inspired standards they have for
true cyberspace technology. Thus, this use of the term usually tags a
{wannabee} or outsider. Oppose {meatspace}.
3. Occasionally, the metaphoric location of the mind of a person in
{hack mode}. Some hackers report experiencing strong synesthetic
imagery when in hack mode; interestingly, independent reports from
multiple sources suggest that there are common features to the
experience. In particular, the dominant colors of this subjective
cyberspace are often gray and silver, and the imagery often involves
constellations of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines
and angles, or moire patterns.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {avatar}{cyberpunk}{hack mode}{Matrix}{meatspace}{science-fiction fandom}{virtual reality}]