OS-tan theories and disscusion

[Bella]

I think I may have had an idea for a great character! I can't believe I never thought of this before...

ITS-tan!

I first heard of this OS yesterday while reading an interesting article:

http://crackmonkey.org/unix.html

It's about Linux (or I should say the history leading up to it,) but they gave a brief mention of ITS. Apparently, it was "optimized to within an inch of it's life" and virtually "inseparables from the PDP-10" which it ran on. After reading about it on wikipedia, I also discovered (among many other interesting facts), that

-All users could talk with instant messaging on another's terminal, or they could use a command (SHOUT) to ask all active users for help.
-To deal with a rash of incidents where users sought out flaws in the system in order to crash it, a novel approach was taken. A command was implemented which anyone could run which caused the system to crash, which took away all the fun and challenge of doing so. It did, however, broadcast a message to say who was doing it.
-Initially there were no passwords, and a user could work on ITS without even logging on. Logging on was considered polite, though, so people knew when you were connected.

Personality-wise, I see her as active and youthful, a bit naive and trusting, and having a pretty good sense of humor. After being made to "crash" against her will, she decides to invite users to crash her, thus removing the novelty of it. She is quite the opposite of the much more formal Multics-sama. I see her biggest enemies as being RSX 11 and VMS-san, because their hardware systems (PDP-11 and VAX) ushered in the discontinuation of her much needed hardware and her ultimate demise(?)

Physically, I see her as being quite small, thin and "flat", young-looking, with short hair (again, the opposite of Multics-sama), not very intimidating at all. Between the fact that it was woefully tied to the PDP-10 and that it was created at an AI lab, I want to say that ITS-tan would have some sort of mech-suit she enjoyed using, or her outfit would incorporate a lot of hardware inspired cues. I've never been one for mech wings,



but if I ever thought they'd work with one -tan, ITS might be it.

As for clothing, however, I'm at a complete and utter loss; I want to make it a bold cross between Victorian styles (In the way I believe Multics-sama and other 60's OSs would dress) with a definite modern twist. And somewhat less cumbersome, too.

I don't know if she's still alive; the last place running ITS (in Sweden) shut it down in 95, but it's still used as a hobby system in emulators...

And all this has gotten me interested in a potential CTSS-tan.

*checks list*

-NeXTSTEP-san in goth ball gown
-ITS-tan
-CTSS-tan
-Unix System V-tan (if need be)
And...
-NT/3.1-sama comic

: |

[C-Chan]

Fufufu... of course you'd be interested in ITS-san,... she's on the original Annex roster for the Binteji Renmei members.  ^___^

ITS (aka "Incompatible Timesharing System")

Never gave her even a moment's thought like you did, though, although i was sure she was going to be very easygoing, or intimidating in some way as only a Vintage-tan can be.  ^___^;

Please accept a raincheck on all the other stuff you wrote, as I'm currently juggling between two projects and am about to lose my head.  ^^;

*loses head*

Awwwp!  Too late.....  X___X

*expires*

[Bella]

Fufufu... of course you'd be interested in ITS-san,... she's on the original Annex roster for the Binteji Renmei members. ^___^

Never gave her even a moment's thought like you did, though, although i was sure she was going to be very easygoing, or intimidating in some way as only a Vintage-tan can be. ^___^;

Oh, so she is still around, to a certain extent...

And here I always assumed the Binteji Renmei was made of mostly home computer OS-tans that were annihilated by Windows and Macintosh...

[C-Chan]

*pops in*

Nope,... just a place for old gals who don't mind being called old.  ^____^

Of course there'd be more home computer types since they're the meekest of all.  But occasionally you'll have a celebrity that's way past her prime and okay with retiring to a gentle[r] life.

*pops back out*

*busy busy busy*

[Bella]

Gees, I was just about to continue C-Chan

Please accept a raincheck on all the other stuff you wrote, as I'm currently juggling between two projects and am about to lose my head. ^^;

Yeah, what's this I hear about an EeePCLOS?! Dang, customization for me is like, uninstalling a program or putting a new theme on XD

Of course there'd be more home computer types since they're the meekest of all. But occasionally you'll have a celebrity that's way past her prime and okay with retiring to a gentle[r] life.

I dunno if I'd even call ITS a celebrity...it seems when the PDP-10 went out of production, that was about the end of it...

[C-Chan]

I can imagine a lot of Hollywood actresses from the 70's and 80's could relate to that.  ^.^;

(I guess it's an extra incentive to live at the Binteji Renmei, given most of the occupants are old enough to remember those good ol' days)  ^____^;

Added after 3 minutes:

Oh, and btw...

This wallpaper is graced with the Peerless Presence of the Pandemonious Pu-chan.  Someone please upload it to the Gallery.  @v@

*drools*

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Bella]

A few days back I was reading the Multics site. For someone who enjoys sap so much, the Multicians are a veritable forrest of maple trees XD

I came upon an 1961 OS called Compatible Time-Sharing System; I had never heard of it, and even the Annex page had no mention of it (for shame!). But this wouldn't be isolated, as very few seem to remember CTSS.

It turns out CTSS is more or less an ancestor of Multics. I immediately thought up a CTSS-tan...



Here she is with her other "daughter", ITS-tan. I should note the pocket watch is a reference to her time-sharing, and the stripes on her waistcoat a reference to the "Candy Stripe Book", a manual on CTSS.

I have few ideas for her early life; But I do imagine she would have been somewhat selfless, caring, and quiet, the caretaker of Multics-sama and ITS-tan. I don't know if I want her to be related to the children...more like a teacher; something akin to Minix-sensei and Linux-chan.

I think she would have been quite close to Multics-chan, and I think she would have looked up to her, especially during the difficult first few years of her life (though made in 1964/65 Multics wasn't really a self-supporting OS until the late 60s, not to mention the developers came quite close to doing away with the Multics project on several occasions); ITS-tan, born a few years after Multics-chan, would have been somewhat more rebellious to the rest of her "family" and been quite disdainful of their stuffy old-fashioned ways.

CTSS-tan would continue to slip into obscurity as Multics-sama and other mainframe systems started overtaking her work. I suppose around this time Multics-tan was starting to have problems of her own (aka Unix-sama), but she would have been one of the few people who remembered CTSS-tan, and CTSS-tan would have given her one of her prized possessions, the pocket watch she's pictured with. It future pix I'll show Multics-sama with this watch (as a nod to Multic's time-sharing, which is usually depicted in comics and stuff as a pocket watch or grandfather clock)

Less and less of CTSS-tan's crew tried to learn about her or work with her, but at least a few managed to; although a group of students fought to keep her working, the higher-ups thought this impractical. She finally passed along to the proverbial "big mainframe in the sky" some time in 1973.

And onto a hopefully cheerier note...



Center and right: Plan9-tan! I've often had trouble designing outfits for her; so I kinda took elements from some characters from Plan 9 from Outer Space (including space-people and Vampira XD) and incorporated it into her dress The would be casual wear in the center, and a gown on the right. On the left is Inferno-chan, and the right bottom is a young Plan9-tan.

EDITED ON 12/25:

Oh yeah, and I've discovered a few more ancient OSs that may make for good -tans,
DTSS (whom would be a native NH-ite, BTW!):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Time_Sharing_System

And GECOS (aka GCOS):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Comprehensive_Operating_System
A GCOS-tan would be lot more difficult, as GCOS was a whole family of OSs. The only thing I know about her is she was around when Unix-sama was born, and probably worked with her afterward (I read GCOS was used to write some of the programs for Unix before it could support itself, and did other things alongside early Unix as well)

[C-Chan]

Same here, Bella-dono.  Spent a little too much time tying up loose ends, and not nearly enough time swooning at your latest and greatest.  ^_____^

But don't worry,... tomorrow I'm gonna FAWN over your masterpieces with so much vigor, you'd think I turn into a deer.  ^___^

*drum roll*

*laughs at own stupid joke*  ^V^

......

..........

Okay, I'll just shut up and swoon.  ^___________^;

*swoons*

[Bella]

*Whistles and taps foot impatiently*

Well, I've dug up a bit more info on GCOS, and had a few thoughts for a -tan. Apparently a myth is that GCOS is a "watered-down clone of DOS/360", but in reality they're very different. If anything, GCOS is more advanced, and it's development was parallel with Multics.  
I dunno if GCOS-tan would qualify as a mainframe goddess, as there seems to be a bit of a (self-made) trend toward a lot of old mainframe OSs being normal sized. I see her as a little more plainly dressed than many other 60's OS-tans, with short hair and, yep, glasses.

[C-Chan]

*Whistles and taps foot impatiently*

BWAAAAAH!!!!  Are you by any chance a travel agent?  Cause you're sending me on a real Guilt Trip!  TvT

*laughs at own stupid [stolen] joke*

Okay, okay, I'll give.  ^^;

*starts typing*

Added after 1 hours 16 minutes:

A few days back I was reading the Multics site. For someone who enjoys sap so much, the Multicians are a veritable forrest of maple trees XD

I'm gonna venture to guess that you've found your lot in life.  ^__^

I'm also gonna venture to guess that you'll be first in line when they start handing out LiveCDs of Lultics.  ^____^;

Speaking of which, I noticed (not surprisingly) that there's been a helluva lot more activity at their site after it's been open-sourced.  Now you definitely understand why I claim that Open Source is the key to "immortality" for an OS, hence the reason why I sympathize with OS/2ers for wanting to do the same for their beloved system.

I came upon an 1961 OS called Compatible Time-Sharing System; I had never heard of it, and even the Annex page had no mention of it (for shame!).

Oh suuuuuuuuure, rub it in why dontcha?  `v'

*sniffles*

And after all I've done for you.  ^~^
Goodbye cruel world!  ^0^

*jumps into sausage vat*

But this wouldn't be isolated, as very few seem to remember CTSS.

To add to what VonDaab earlier mentioned in that NetBSD thread, I think much older OS-tans have the least risk of being overly symbolic,... if only because there are so few people that remember or have used such systems to begin with.  ^___^

So someone like GMOS-tan has to be conceived entirely from scratch like I did for Siya, even if the OS-tan ends up being not even remotely like the original system.  ^___________^;

Others, like EXEC-tan who's defining characteristic is 15 meter-long hair, only has fabricated symbolism that may or may not be true to the original system (or in her case, systems) either.  ^^;

It turns out CTSS is more or less an ancestor of Multics. I immediately thought up a CTSS-tan...

Here she is with her other "daughter", ITS-tan. I should note the pocket watch is a reference to her time-sharing, and the stripes on her waistcoat a reference to the "Candy Stripe Book", a manual on CTSS.

Well I think if I say the word "cute" and swoon one more time, you'll punt me out of your thread like an untreated football for lack of originality.  ^^;

So let me come up with a new and exciting word,... and then swoon.  ^_____^

*pulls random word out of his behind*

How about,.... they are "enchanting"?  *v*
*swoons*

The fact that these two OS-tans are so ancient just blows me away!  @o@
It's very funny how very quickly and very effectively we made UNIX-sama seem like a young pup.  ^^;

But our tragic old matriarch certainly has a very refined beauty -- not Cleopatric like Multics-sama, or primal like UNIX-sama, but pleasant,... in an old-timey kinda way.  ^^

"Daughter" ITS-tan is quite pretty too (and sassy to boot), and certainly does point out the inevitable fact that all OS-tans are descended from only a mere handful of common ancestors.  ^v^

I have few ideas for her early life; But I do imagine she would have been somewhat selfless, caring, and quiet, the caretaker of Multics-sama and ITS-tan.

Fufu... envisioning CTSS-sama and Multics-sama, I keep getting the image of Xenix-sama and SCO-bouzu in my head.  ^.^

It's such a shame that UNIX-sama likely never knew her -- otherwise, CTSS-sama probably wouldn't have been as dismissive of her from the sound of it, and might have compensated for the lack of an immediate mother figure.  But alas, there's no use crying over a spilt milk factory.  -.-

I don't know if I want her to be related to the children...more like a teacher; something akin to Minix-sensei and Linux-chan.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think that would be the best course to take since I want to make sure that the "Classical" OS-tan era is as stuffy and bourgeouis as possible, and hence has little tolerance for mother-child bonds that last more than a few days.  ^^;

If anything, UNIX-sama would be one of the major trend-setters for extended family-run operations, to the point that now in modern times its a completely RARITY to see individualistic OS-tans.  

I think she would have been quite close to Multics-chan, and I think she would have looked up to her, especially during the difficult first few years of her life (though made in 1964/65 Multics wasn't really a self-supporting OS until the late 60s, not to mention the developers came quite close to doing away with the Multics project on several occasions); ITS-tan, born a few years after Multics-chan, would have been somewhat more rebellious to the rest of her "family" and been quite disdainful of their stuffy old-fashioned ways.

Fufufu... ITS-sama agrees with me, I see. ^.^
Very well,... make her yet another early trend-setter.  ^^

CTSS-tan would continue to slip into obscurity as Multics-sama and other mainframe systems started overtaking her work. I suppose around this time Multics-tan was starting to have problems of her own (aka Unix-sama), but she would have been one of the few people who remembered CTSS-tan, and CTSS-tan would have given her one of her prized possessions, the pocket watch she's pictured with. It future pix I'll show Multics-sama with this watch (as a nod to Multic's time-sharing, which is usually depicted in comics and stuff as a pocket watch or grandfather clock)

Less and less of CTSS-tan's crew tried to learn about her or work with her, but at least a few managed to; although a group of students fought to keep her working, the higher-ups thought this impractical. She finally passed along to the proverbial "big mainframe in the sky" some time in 1973.

That is indeed a very sweet yet sad premise, not unlike similar situations in RL.  

You do realize that, aside from the plethora of stories that could be created during this "Classical Era", one could also devise DaVinci Code-style searches for these past truths that a curious, modern OS-tan might like to undertake (say,... upon coming across a certain pocketwatch).

Center and right: Plan9-tan! I've often had trouble designing outfits for her; so I kinda took elements from some characters from Plan 9 from Outer Space (including space-people and Vampira XD) and incorporated it into her dress The would be casual wear in the center, and a gown on the right. On the left is Inferno-chan, and the right bottom is a young Plan9-tan.

GYAAAAAAH!!!!  Is there no end to this unrelenting barrage of gorgeous work?  @o@

She looks lovely as the Elmira-type, but for sure that new space suit you drew for her fits her like a very sexy suade glove.  ^v^

My eyes have locked and loaded on it as her de facto flagship design!!  ^V^

And is that cascading off her hair, or the most beautiful drooping bunny ears I've seen in a character to date?  ^____^

Inferno-chan I'm actually still not feeling, though,... perhaps a little more hair?

Oh yeah, and I've discovered a few more ancient OSs that may make for good -tans,
DTSS (whom would be a native NH-ite, BTW!):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Time_Sharing_System

And GECOS (aka GCOS):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Comprehensive_Operating_System
A GCOS-tan would be lot more difficult, as GCOS was a whole family of OSs. The only thing I know about her is she was around when Unix-sama was born, and probably worked with her afterward (I read GCOS was used to write some of the programs for Unix before it could support itself, and did other things alongside early Unix as well)

Fufu,... I think you're gonna notice that there is no shortage of time-sharing systems.  I will say this, though,... at least you are helping me populate the Mainframe Guild (a previously neglected faction, much to my personal shame).  ^.^

I dunno if GCOS-tan would qualify as a mainframe goddess, as there seems to be a bit of a (self-made) trend toward a lot of old mainframe OSs being normal sized. I see her as a little more plainly dressed than many other 60's OS-tans, with short hair and, yep, glasses.

Or not.  ^^'
I should admit that being a member of the Guild is not necessarily a lifetime responsibility -- no OS-tan is actually born a Mainframe Goddess, and a Mainframe Goddess has the right to retire back to a normal[-sized] life (naturally, stripped of much of her power as well as any memory of sensitive information).  Sure the prospect of being a powerful goddess sounds enticing to the young, naive and powermongering, but unless you're a "special" individual like z/OS-sama, you'd quickly find out how painfully unstimulating, unrewarding and unsociable it is to live in this self-styled Mount Olympus.  

Given that the Mainframe Guild is composed of rotating members -- with only a few permanent members who feel they can't do anything better with their lives -- it shouldn't come as a surprisee that a lot of old-school OS-tans (including UNIX-sama herself!) are honorary Mainframe-tans.  I guess in their day it was considered a right of passage.  ^.^

Of course, times change and the Mainframe Guild isn't as prestigious (or even much talked about) as it once was when "bigger" was not only considered better, but was essentially the only way of doing things.  That hasn't stopped a few Linux-tans from trying to get into the Guild, though -- whether they were successful or not,... is classified.  ^__~

[Bella]

I'm gonna venture to guess that you've found your lot in life. ^__^

I'm also gonna venture to guess that you'll be first in line when they start handing out LiveCDs of Lultics. ^____^;

Either that or hope I'll get a mainframe for my birthday XD

It's odd, at first the Multicians really come off as self-righteous and fanatical. Now I think they have every right to be how they are...I mean, just about everyone on the development team gave up on Multics before it was even finished...Considering it was an inspiration for Unix and therefore, like, every advanced OS afterward, that probably would have changed the course of computing history for the worse...

Speaking of which, I noticed (not surprisingly) that there's been a helluva lot more activity at their site after it's been open-sourced. Now you definitely understand why I claim that Open Source is the key to "immortality" for an OS, hence the reason why I sympathize with OS/2ers for wanting to do the same for their beloved system.

Speaking of immortality...

http://www.multicians.org/corby-letter.html

ZOMG! They compared Multics to Linux! Kinda...O__O

To add to what VonDaab earlier mentioned in that NetBSD thread, I think much older OS-tans have the least risk of being overly symbolic,... if only because there are so few people that remember or have used such systems to begin with. ^___^

Hmmm...yes, but I think I managed to work in a bit of symbolism into CTSS-san. Still don't know the details of her, though... (though I should add her outfit's going to include a lot of red and blue, cause they ran CTSS on a "red machine and blue machine" at MIT)

So someone like GMOS-tan has to be conceived entirely from scratch like I did for Siya, even if the OS-tan ends up being not even remotely like the original system. ^___________^;

Others, like EXEC-tan who's defining characteristic is 15 meter-long hair, only has fabricated symbolism that may or may not be true to the original system (or in her case, systems) either. ^^;

EXEC-tan really needs to go to a barber shop! XD
Yes, older characters are more difficult to conceptualize...but I think they're well worth the extra work...

The fact that these two OS-tans are so ancient just blows me away! @o@
It's very funny how very quickly and very effectively we made UNIX-sama seem like a young pup. ^^;

I know...I used to think OS-tan civilization started with Unix-sama >/////< Heh...after what I've read, I'm a bit inclined to think OS-tan civilization ended with Unix-sama XD

*The Goddess empties bookshelf on my head*

*gets knocked out*

But our tragic old matriarch certainly has a very refined beauty -- not Cleopatric like Multics-sama, or primal like UNIX-sama, but pleasant,... in an old-timey kinda way. ^^

"Daughter" ITS-tan is quite pretty too (and sassy to boot), and certainly does point out the inevitable fact that all OS-tans are descended from only a mere handful of common ancestors. ^v^

*comes to*

Yes, I think CTSS-tan is just sort of a good-natured, quiet person, with a rather unfortunate later life that ended in complete abandonment and obscurity. I suppose the only living OS-tans that remember her are ITS and Multics-sama.

"Daughter" ITS-tan is quite pretty too (and sassy to boot), and certainly does point out the inevitable fact that all OS-tans are descended from only a mere handful of common ancestors. ^v^

*Start singing "We are Family"*

Fufu... envisioning CTSS-sama and Multics-sama, I keep getting the image of Xenix-sama and SCO-bouzu in my head. ^.^

It's such a shame that UNIX-sama likely never knew her -- otherwise, CTSS-sama probably wouldn't have been as dismissive of her from the sound of it, and might have compensated for the lack of an immediate mother figure. But alas, there's no use crying over a spilt milk factory. -.-

Hmmmm....Yeah, I think Unix-sama would have been sequestered in her youth, probably the only other OS-tan she knew was GECOS-tan, and she'd be far from the motherly type : \

As much as I hate to admit it, I think that would be the best course to take since I want to make sure that the "Classical" OS-tan era is as stuffy and bourgeouis as possible, and hence has little tolerance for mother-child bonds that last more than a few days. ^^;

If anything, UNIX-sama would be one of the major trend-setters for extended family-run operations, to the point that now in modern times its a completely RARITY to see individualistic OS-tans.

Well, back in the day, it seems a lot more OSs were individually created "from scratch". Now a lot of OSs run in groups, like NT or OSX.

Heeheee...so Unix-sama started the trend! Probably to compensate for her upbringing

*imagines stereotypically motherly, clingy Unix-sama*

*shutters*

*has another book flung at head*

Fufufu... ITS-sama agrees with me, I see. ^.^
Very well,... make her yet another early trend-setter. ^^

For a somewhat obscure OS, ITS had a lot of innovations...

That is indeed a very sweet yet sad premise, not unlike similar situations in RL.

You do realize that, aside from the plethora of stories that could be created during this "Classical Era", one could also devise DaVinci Code-style searches for these past truths that a curious, modern OS-tan might like to undertake (say,... upon coming across a certain pocketwatch).

Oh yeah, I bet a curious OS-tan could dig up some dirt...

GYAAAAAAH!!!! Is there no end to this unrelenting barrage of gorgeous work? @o@

She looks lovely as the Elmira-type, but for sure that new space suit you drew for her fits her like a very sexy suade glove. ^v^

My eyes have locked and loaded on it as her de facto flagship design!! ^V^

And is that cascading off her hair, or the most beautiful drooping bunny ears I've seen in a character to date? ^____^

Inferno-chan I'm actually still not feeling, though,... perhaps a little more hair?

You really like that outfit? I just sorta cobbled it together

Yes, those are bunny ears!

As for Inferno-chan, I think she's quite cute...and I mean, in color her hair will be bright reddish (more like a natural red, not fire-engine red), and eyes...maybe yellow or orange?

Or not. ^^'
I should admit that being a member of the Guild is not necessarily a lifetime responsibility -- no OS-tan is actually born a Mainframe Goddess, and a Mainframe Goddess has the right to retire back to a normal[-sized] life (naturally, stripped of much of her power as well as any memory of sensitive information). Sure the prospect of being a powerful goddess sounds enticing to the young, naive and powermongering, but unless you're a "special" individual like z/OS-sama, you'd quickly find out how painfully unstimulating, unrewarding and unsociable it is to live in this self-styled Mount Olympus.

Oh, so all mainframes aren't necessarily goddesses?

I dunno, I think some of the modern mainframes (like Z/OS, as you noted) would be goddesses...but back in the day, weren't mainframes somewhat more commonplace, and therefore more common themselves?

BTW, I did a quick sketch of GECOS-tan:

Given that the Mainframe Guild is composed of rotating members -- with only a few permanent members who feel they can't do anything better with their lives -- it shouldn't come as a surprisee that a lot of old-school OS-tans (including UNIX-sama herself!) are honorary Mainframe-tans. I guess in their day it was considered a right of passage. ^.^

Of course, times change and the Mainframe Guild isn't as prestigious (or even much talked about) as it once was when "bigger" was not only considered better, but was essentially the only way of doing things. That hasn't stopped a few Linux-tans from trying to get into the Guild, though -- whether they were successful or not,... is classified. ^__~

I see...thanks for informing me about their group

I wonder what Linux-tans you're talking about...*ponders*

Added after 6 minutes:

Oh, I nearly forgot; I was reading about Minix 3 yesterday. What a uniquely designed OS, certainly one of the few I've heard of that can "self-heal"!

But they say it's about as related to Minix (1 or whatever) as, I quote "Windows 3.1 and Windows XP are: in name only"

So would Minix and Minix 3 be the same -tan? Cause for all the OS differences, I almost want them to be the same character.

[Kami-Tux]

Probably it's like the Linux-tans and the Mac-tans who have one generic character and many (in the case of Linux I'd guess one hundred or more) specific forms...

But them... MS-DOS 6.22 had very few in common with MS DOS 1.0 and they are the same MS-DOS-tan, so I guess one character would suffice.

[Bella]

Probably it's like the Linux-tans and the Mac-tans who have one generic character and many (in the case of Linux I'd guess one hundred or more) specific forms...

But them... MS-DOS 6.22 had very few in common with MS DOS 1.0 and they are the same MS-DOS-tan, so I guess one character would suffice.

Now that I read more about Minix 1/Minix 3, I can support that. Although, it seems in recent years Minix-tan has gotten in better graces with the Unixes (IE, Minix 3 has more Unix apps). Her powers of self-healing have probably gotten stronger over the years, too...

[Bella]

Okay, super-quick question...

What's an somewhat young, playful member of the Vintage-tans? I'm working on a pic, it'll probably end up being Oric Atmos-tan, but I happened to wonder if there's perhaps a better conceptualized vintage-tan I can use

[C-Chan]

I mean, just about everyone on the development team gave up on Multics before it was even finished...Considering it was an inspiration for Unix and therefore, like, every advanced OS afterward, that probably would have changed the course of computing history for the worse...

Fufu... kinda reminds me a little of the story of OSC, no? ^^;

Speaking of immortality...

http://www.multicians.org/corby-letter.html

ZOMG! They compared Multics to Linux! Kinda...O__O

That is so amazing.  ^_____^

EXEC-tan really needs to go to a barber shop! XD
Yes, older characters are more difficult to conceptualize...but I think they're well worth the extra work...

Sorry, impossible.  She gets hurt everytime her hair is cut, and shaving it off completely is akin to a death sentence.  The HUGE Rapunzelian hair references the high complexity of the old UNIVAC computers she ran on (you know, vacuum tubes, punch cards, all that cool 1950's stuff).  ^^
Aside from keeping it long, the vintage-tans also have to help comb and groom her hair almost daily, which has become something of a daily chore.  And the fact that she can contribute little more than just interesting stories and the 'voice of experience", the more hotblooded and impatient among the vintage-tans consider this to be a less-than-desirable chore.

I know...I used to think OS-tan civilization started with Unix-sama >/////< Heh...after what I've read, I'm a bit inclined to think OS-tan civilization ended with Unix-sama XD

*The Goddess empties bookshelf on my head*

*gets knocked out*

Fufu... serves you right.  ^___^
In my preconcepts, I always had Exec-tan in mind and even a hypothetical ancestral Colossus-sama, not to mention DOS/360 and other permament Mainframe-tans.  Which is why I was always careful to call the Goddess the "Mother of all Modern OSes", since she only changed history but didn't quite start it.  ^.^

Yes, I think CTSS-tan is just sort of a good-natured, quiet person, with a rather unfortunate later life that ended in complete abandonment and obscurity. I suppose the only living OS-tans that remember her are ITS and Multics-sama.

A lot of the really really REALLY ancient OS-tans (EXEC included) I figured are quiet and good-natured.  Conservative-minded and superstitious maybe, but not stuffy or bellicose like the ensuing generation.  

Hmmmm....Yeah, I think Unix-sama would have been sequestered in her youth, probably the only other OS-tan she knew was GECOS-tan, and she'd be far from the motherly type : \

*has image of medieval-style apprenticeship and stares at UNIX-sama with pity*  ^^;

*imagines stereotypically motherly, clingy Unix-sama*

*shutters*

*has another book flung at head*

You can see now why I envision pre-UNIX war UNIX-sama as having a certain GodFather-like quality to her.  ^______^;

You really like that outfit? I just sorta cobbled it together

Hah!  If that's what you call "cobbling" it together, then serve me up some peach cobbler!  ^^

*laughs at own stupid joke*

As for Inferno-chan, I think she's quite cute...and I mean, in color her hair will be bright reddish (more like a natural red, not fire-engine red), and eyes...maybe yellow or orange?

A light Red-Orange approximates natural red, no?  '__'
I definitely would go for orange eyes at least.  ^^

Oh, so all mainframes aren't necessarily goddesses?

Well that's not quite what I meant.  Power-wise, they all become "goddesses" when they become members of the Guild.  However, unless (like z/OS) they're bred and raised for the position, no one is born with that power automatically (or at least this has never been broadly publicized).

Size-wise, Mainframe-tans can be any size they want, but due to the size of the Guild facility it's more convenient to stay as giants.  In the rare event they need to venture out into the "Desktop" world (aka the "mortal" world), they can reduce themselves to a more portable size (or at least use an avatar).

I dunno, I think some of the modern mainframes (like Z/OS, as you noted) would be goddesses...but back in the day, weren't mainframes somewhat more commonplace, and therefore more common themselves?

Fufufu... the same can be said about Greek/Norse/Egyptian/Chinese/Indian/Mayan/etc mythology, and precisely that's what I base the whole Mainframe-tan principle on.  As in our RL past, the world was filled to the brim with Gods and Goddesses of every kind, from Goddesses of War and Harvest, to Gods of Insomnia and Ear Wax.  True, the majority of OS-tans would have been Goddesses; but don't forget in our world the OS-tans are more the celebrities, leaders and figures of legend, whereas users, programs and hardware are more the general population.  

Also like in RL, as the role of "Goddesses" became obsolete, their number has reduced to the point where there's literally only a skeleton crew managing the Guild and carrying on the tradition.

BTW, I did a quick sketch of GECOS-tan:

Can I borrow your Humina Humina quote?  ^________^

I see...thanks for informing me about their group

I wonder what Linux-tans you're talking about...*ponders*

^____________________________________^

*hides hats away*

So would Minix and Minix 3 be the same -tan? Cause for all the OS differences, I almost want them to be the same character.

Fufufu... if you did that, I couldn't get away with just having a single Amiga-tan.  ^^;

Although, it seems in recent years Minix-tan has gotten in better graces with the Unixes (IE, Minix 3 has more Unix apps). Her powers of self-healing have probably gotten stronger over the years, too...

Fufu... wouldn't want the Great Sensei to lag TOO far behind her student, no?  ^____^

What's an somewhat young, playful member of the Vintage-tans? I'm working on a pic, it'll probably end up being Oric Atmos-tan, but I happened to wonder if there's perhaps a better conceptualized vintage-tan I can use

*sadness*

Sorry,... AtariDOS-tan would've fit the role P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y, but I've yet to draw her beyond the sketching phase.  She will cameo in the Zerosanity Christmas special, though, so if you're willing to wait a little while longer.  ^^

Otherwise, ORIC-chan isn't a bad choice either.  If I recall, she doesn't have a color drawing does she?  ^.^