sneakernet

Definition

A method of transferring a computer file from one computer to another by copying it to a floppy disk, thumb drive, or some other external storage device, carrying the device to the other computer, and saving the file there, in contrast to electronic methods used by networked computers to transfer data.

Etymology

From sneaker (“running shoe”) + net (“network”), a reference to a person wearing sneakers walking from one computer to another.

Example Sentences

• "Significant advances are occurring to race past sneakernet. But the ideal computer interconnect solution will always be just around the next bend."
• "Before complicated networks and E-mail and special-interest bulletin boards, there was Sneakernet. Sneakernet required no special protocol, no special cables and terminal software. To communicate on Sneakernet, all you needed to do was take a disk from your computer to someone else's, stick the disk in that remote drive, and copy some files—instant data transfer. Well, almost instant."
• "Before computer networks came into existence, sneakernet was the only method of file sharing available. Sneakernet is the generally accepted term for the act of loading files that you want to share on removable media (tape, CD, or floppy disk) at one computer, carrying the media to a second computer, and reading the files from that media onto that second computer. [...] Sneakernet is the lowest-tech form of file sharing that has ever been available, and it is still practiced at some sites today."