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The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (foldoc)

1. Incompatible {time-sharing} System

An influential but highly idiosyncratic {operating system}
written for the {PDP-6} and {PDP-10} at {MIT} and long used at
the {MIT AI Lab}. Much AI-hacker jargon derives from ITS
folklore, and to have been "an ITS hacker" qualifies one
instantly as an old-timer of the most venerable sort. ITS
pioneered many important innovations, including transparent
file sharing between machines and terminal-independent I/O.
After about 1982, most actual work was shifted to newer
machines, with the remaining ITS boxes run essentially as a
hobby and service to the hacker community. The shutdown of
the lab's last ITS machine in May 1990 marked the end of an
era and sent old-time hackers into mourning nationwide (see
{high moby}). The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden is
maintaining one "live" ITS site at its computer museum (right
next to the only {TOPS-10} system still on the {Internet}), so
ITS is still alleged to hold the record for OS in longest
continuous use (however, {WAITS} is a credible rival for this
palm).

2. A mythical image of {operating system} perfection worshiped
by a bizarre, fervent retro-cult of old-time hackers and
ex-users (see {troglodyte}). ITS worshipers manage somehow to
continue believing that an OS maintained by {assembly
language} hand-hacking that supported only monocase
6-character filenames in one directory per account remains
superior to today's state of commercial art (their venom
against {Unix} is particularly intense).

See also {holy wars}, {Weenix}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1994-12-15)