The classic
Amiga computer equivalent of a
BSOD. It was
rendered to the
unlucky user as a
rectangular red box which
flashes on and off,
surrounding the text which gave the less than
intuitive error
information (typically a 32-bit
error code and a 32-bit
memory address).
The name came from an old joystick-compatible peripherial for a game system which was large enough for you to sit upon. The goal was for you to sit upon it in a guru-like manner, and remain perfectly still. The peripherial would detect if you moved, and upon such event would warn you of this fact.
Newer Amiga operating systems changed "Guru Meditation Error" to "Software Failure", to sound more professional and make the suits happy.
You'll find a better description at guru meditation.
I originally
misspelled this as "Guru Mediation Error" (no
t), but thanks to
dem bones my
stupidity has been
corrected.
However a Guru Mediation Error would probably be much more interesting to see happen than a Guru Meditation Error. I can imagine a bunch of (supposedly) wise old guys with long white beards gathering together around a table to solve their differences, only to have something go horribly wrong and an all-out fight ensues.