What is a DogCow?

"I wish I had a nickel for every time I've heard this question--by now I'd have enough money to buy a "Changing the world, one person at a time" bumper sticker. Dogcows, by their nature, are not all dog, nor are they all cow, but they are a special genetic hybrid. They are rarely seen in the wild. Since dogcows are two dimensional, they will stand facing a viewer "on edge" to avoid being seen.

The dogcow has no natural enemies, but the meager population manages to keep itself in check through its own stupidity. They have a nasty tendency to graze off cliffs (in fact, there are no known "cliff-dwelling dogcows" left in existence) and to get lost in the weeds. You've probably noticed that when you cut very high grass, you tend to get a lot of "paper" in the grass clippings; closer examination would show that much of it is actually dogcow. When a mower approaches, dogcows often actually change their hide to resemble newspaper as a final line of defense--hence the famous expression, "black and white and read all over"."
(quoted from Apple Technote #31, by Mark (Red) Harlan)

Moof /moof/ [Macintosh users]
1. n. The call of a semi-legendary creature, properly called the dogcow. (Some previous versions of this entry claimed, incorrectly, that Moof was the name of the creature.)
2. adj. Used to flag software that's a hack, something untested and on the edge. On one Apple CD-ROM, certain folders such as "Tools & Apps (Moof!)" and "Development Platforms (Moof!)", are so marked to indicate that they contain software not fully tested or sanctioned by the powers that be. When you open these folders you cross the boundary into hackerland.
3. v. On the Microsoft Network, the term `moof' has gained popularity as a verb meaning "to be suddenly disconnected by the system". One might say "I got moofed". (quoted from

Dogcow links: Apple Technote #31,
The Real, Real True Dogcow Story,
Apple's History of the Dogcow, part1 & 2., Dogcow Lore, .

Please keep in mind that Moof and the Dogcow icon are registered trademarks of Apple computer.