schlockware

English

Etymology

From schlock (“shoddy or inferior commodity”) +‎ -ware, from Yiddish שלאַק (shlak).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

schlockware (uncountable)

1. (computing, derogatory, slang) Software that is of shoddy or inferior quality.
   • 1997, Vincent M. Hanchon, “The best GUI that ever was”, in comp.sys.mac.advocacy‎ (Usenet):

     As someone else wrote, "interesting thread you have here." Having worked in a group that has implemented 70,000 seats of M$ schlockware for a single customer, I can testify that having that many seats in your environment, barely draws any attention from the boyz in Redmond.

   • 1998, Larry Wall, quoted in "Open source gurus convene", C-Net E-Magazine, April 8, 1998.

     You'll do us all a big favor if you disassociate freeware from schlockware.