An old-style 14-inch hard disk in a floor-standing cabinet. So called because of the size of the cabinet and the "top-loading" access to the media packs - and, of course, they were always set on "spin cycle". The thick channel cables connecting these were called "bit hoses". The washing-machine idiom transcends language barriers it is even used in Russian hacker jargon. See also walking drives. (1995-02-15)
