Old-style 14-inch hard disks in floor-standing cabinets. So called because of the size of the cabinet and the "top-loading" access to the media packs - and, of course, they were always set on "spin cycle". The thick channel cables connecting these were called "bit hoses". The washing-machine idiom transcends language barriers; it is even used in Russian hacker jargon.
See also walking drives.
(15 Feb 1995)