19 lines
1.1 KiB
Plaintext
19 lines
1.1 KiB
Plaintext
connector conspiracy
|
|
|
|
n. [probably came into prominence with the appearance of the KL-10 (one
|
|
model of the PDP-10 ), none of whose connectors matched anything else] The
|
|
tendency of manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of
|
|
anything) to come up with new products that don't fit together with the old
|
|
stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff or expensive interface
|
|
devices. (A closely related phenomenon, with a slightly different intent, is
|
|
the habit manufacturers have of inventing new screw heads so that only
|
|
Designated Persons, possessing the magic screwdrivers, can remove covers and
|
|
make repairs or install options. A good 1990s example is the use of Torx
|
|
screws for cable-TV set-top boxes. Older Apple Macintoshes took this one
|
|
step further, requiring not only a long Torx screwdriver but a specialized
|
|
case-cracking tool to open the box.) In these latter days of open-systems
|
|
computing this term has fallen somewhat into disuse, to be replaced by the
|
|
observation that Standards are great! There are so many of them to choose
|
|
from! Compare backward combatability.
|
|
|