(
Just
Enough
Operating
System) A small operating system that is used in a consumer product, hardware appliance, virtual appliance or handheld device, but not in a general-purpose computer. Pronounced "juice" and typically a compact version of Linux, a JeOS contains only the absolutely necessary software components to manage the device. In contrast, a full-blown, general-purpose OS such as Windows and Mac includes routines for handling all possible hardware and software scenarios. See
hardware appliance and
virtual appliance.