connector conspiracy

[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. The KL-10 Massbus connector was actually

*patented* by DEC, which reputedly refused to licence the

design and thus effectively locked third parties out of

competition for the lucrative Massbus peripherals market.

This policy is a source of never-ending frustration for the

diehards who maintain older PDP-10 or VAX systems. Their

CPUs work fine, but they are stuck with dying, obsolescent

disk and tape drives with low capacity and high power

requirements.

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. Older Apple Macintoshes took this one step

further, requiring not only a hex wrench but a specialised

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.

[Jargon File]