smoke and mirrors

Marketing deceptions. The term is mainstream in this general

sense. Among hackers it's strongly associated with bogus

demos and crocked benchmarks (see also MIPS,

machoflops). "They claim their new box cranks 50 MIPS for

under $5000, but didn't specify the instruction mix - sounds

like smoke and mirrors to me." The phrase has been said to

derive from carnie slang for magic acts and "freak show"

displays that depend on "trompe l"oeil' effects, but also

calls to mind the fierce Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (lit. "Smoking

Mirror") for whom the hearts of huge numbers of human

sacrificial victims were regularly cut out. Upon hearing

about a rigged demo or yet another round of fantasy-based

marketing promises, hackers often feel analogously

disheartened.