proprietary
adj. 1. In marketroid-speak, superior; implies a
product imbued with exclusive magic by the unmatched brilliance of
the company's own hardware or software designers. 2. In the
language of hackers and users, inferior; implies a product not
conforming to open-systems standards, and thus one that puts the
customer at the mercy of a vendor able to gouge freely on service
and upgrade charges after the initial sale has locked the customer
in.
