degauss

the act of pressing the "degauss" button on your computer monitor to be rewarded with a buzzing sound and an exciting dementation of the colors.

A computer that hasn't been degaussed for a fair amount of time is considered "fresh".

The longer the duration between degausses, the "twangier" the degauss will be. If you are patient enough to wait a few weeks without degaussing your monitor, you won't be disappointed with the twangage.

The "Degauss Scale®" is used to measure the amount of "twang" from a degauss. The scale is usually from 1-10.

1: The lowest score on the twang scale. you must have just degaussed your monitor a few seconds ago in order to have a twang rating this low.

2: weak. you must have recently degaussed your monitor.

3: low. a slight twang but not much color distortion.

4: below average. generally low amount of twang/gimpedness

5: average. this is the type of degauss you will usually get if you have gone about 30 mins without degaussing.

6: above average. a decent amount of twang duration and messed up gamma.

7: oooh gettin up there. a 7 is pretty good. this means you have a good amount of twang and your color probably messed up quite a bit.

8: This is a satisfying degauss. enough twang to keep you laughing.

9: an unhealthy amount of twang and buzzing. insane color distortion.

10: these suckers only come by once in a green moon. They are so absol-friggin-twangy that they can knock you out of your seat. 10's usually have about an 8 sec twang duration. pulling one of these off means you are a degauss pr0

To remove magnetism from a device. The term is usually used in reference to color monitors and other display devices that use a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). These devices aim electrons onto the display screen by creating magnetic fields inside the CRT. External magnetic forces -- such as the earth's natural magnetism or a magnet placed close to the monitor -- can magnetize the shadow mask, causing distorted images and colors.
To remove this external magnetic forces, most monitors automatically degauss the CRT whenever you turn on the monitor. In addition, many monitors have a manual degauss button that performs a more thorough degaussing of the CRT. You can also use an external degausser that degausses the monitor from the outside. Since it may be impossible to remove the external magnetic force, degaussing works by re-aligning the magnetic fields inside the CRT to compensate for the external magnetism.

That option in every setting menu of every monitor in the world, the icon is a U with a slash through it. Little kids like to always press it because it makes the screen shake, and old people don't know about the button. Everyone else thinks that it either hurts your computer or cleans it.

Popularized by the recording group Brand New, the term "degausser" refers to a device that degausses, or removes the magnetic field from an item. The term can be broken down for better clarity:

Gauss - a unit of measure of magnetic field intensity

to degauss - to remove magnetism an item

degausser - device that removes magnetism from said item

In the song with the same title, degausser is used in a metaphorical sense to describe a person that steals another's magnetic field, rendering him or her useless.