hardwired

2 definitions found

hardwired - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  hard-wired \hard"-wired"\, hard wired \hard"
  wired"\(h[aum]rd"w[imac]rd"), a.
     1. (Computers) Contained within the circuitry of a computer
        or computer peripheral device, and not changeable by
        programming; -- of functions; as, error correction is
        hard-wired into the circuit of the disk drive, so it
        proceeds very rapidly.
        [PJC]
  
     2. Connected by a continuous electrical wire, rather than
        through a switch; as, the air-conditioner was hard-wired
        into the wall circuit, so moving it would require an
        electrician.
        [PJC]
  
     3. (Metaph.) Performed by an inborn pattern of neural
        circuits; instinctive; not learned; as, many bird songs
        are hard-wired, but some are learned.
        [PJC]
  
              People, as the cybernetic metaphor now has it, are
              "hard wired" to do good in order to enhance their
              own happiness. --Andrew Delbanco (New York Times
        Magazine, May 7, 2000; p. 46).
        [PJC]

hardwired - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  hardwired
   adj.
  
     1. In software, syn. for hardcoded.
  
     2. By extension, anything that is not modifiable, especially in the
     sense of customizable to one's particular needs or tastes.