Marketing deceptions. The term is mainstream in this general sense.
Among hackers it's strongly associated with bogus demos and crocked
{benchmark}s (see also {MIPS}, {machoflops}). "They claim their new
box cranks 50 MIPS for under $5000, but didn't specify the
instruction mix -- sounds like smoke and mirrors to me." The phrase,
popularized by newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin c.1975, has been
said to derive from carnie slang for magic acts and `freak show'
displays that depend on trompe l'oeil effects, but also calls to mind
the fierce Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (lit. "Smoking Mirror") for whom
the hearts of huge numbers of human sacrificial victims were
regularly cut out. Upon hearing about a rigged demo or yet another
round of fantasy-based marketing promises, hackers often feel
analogously disheartened. See also {stealth manager}.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {benchmark}{stealth manager}]