Orphanware is software that was purchased and installed, but no person in the company was assigned to or has taken responsibility for its operation and maintenance.
The end result is software which may be running on critical production systems, but no one in the organization exists to provide critical updates, reconfigure features or options, resolve outages, or guide users who need assistance with issues. Orphanware, or software which has been orphaned, is at risk of an unrecoverable catastrophic failure.
Since Orphanware has been purchased and installed, but isn't actively managed or kept up-to-date, it is differentiated from Shelfware, which was purchased but never installed; and Vaporware, which was never released in the first place.
The end result is software which may be running on critical production systems, but no one in the organization exists to provide critical updates, reconfigure features or options, resolve outages, or guide users who need assistance with issues. Orphanware, or software which has been orphaned, is at risk of an unrecoverable catastrophic failure.
Since Orphanware has been purchased and installed, but isn't actively managed or kept up-to-date, it is differentiated from Shelfware, which was purchased but never installed; and Vaporware, which was never released in the first place.
All of our production software runs on Ubuntu and JBoss; after Bob, our only Windows/.NET expert left the company, all of our production Microsoft systems are Orphanware.
by doctorgroove July 15, 2011
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The humanitarian alternative to killing baby Hitler and other evil babies throughout time and space. Instead of erasing these evil figures such as Stalin, Attila the Hun, and Ranavalona the First, the Evil Baby Orphanage takes these babies and raises them to become awesome Nerdfighters.
Average guy: Dude, if we could time travel, we should totally kill baby Hitler.
Nerdfighter: No! We should put him in the Evil Baby Orphanage!
Nerdfighter: No! We should put him in the Evil Baby Orphanage!
by epic nerdfighter June 18, 2011
Get the Evil Baby Orphanage mug.The container or receptacle used to store all the socks that become orphaned when their mates mysteriously disappear during the laundry cycle.
Jerry was able to "adopt" 21 pairs of socks during his year-end clean up of his sock orphanage. The remaining orphaned socks were euthanized.
by Sock Man December 27, 2009
Get the sock orphanage mug.AKA foo-foo sock. Distiguished by its crinkled stuck-together fabric texture and usually found under the beds of adolescent males, it is the sock, or other fabric used by men to deposit the fruits of their masturbating escapades.
Johnny was horrified to walk in his room and find his knuckle children orphanage perched neatly on his pillow by his mother's cleaning efforts earlier that day. Unfortunately this was also the day that Sallie finally agreed to come home to his room after school.
by Frank C Sanchez Hungwell September 17, 2006
Get the knuckle children orphanage mug.he lived in an orphanage
by dark_god_joyboy July 30, 2023
Get the Orphanage mug.When you walk into a restroom and all the toilets have chipotle childs in them, you have just stumbled upon a chipotle orphanage.
Dude, I went to take a crap and all the toilets had unflushed chipotle childs in them, this place must be a chipotle orphanage as no one is claiming them.
by Goatoghillgary December 2, 2016
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