(From the Star Trek Classic episode "The City on the Edge of Forever") A term traditionally used to describe (and deprecate) computing environments that are grotesquely primitive in light of what is known about good ways to design things. As in "Don' t get too used to the facilities here. Once you leave SAIL it' s stone knives and bearskins as far as the eye can see". Compare steam-powered. [Jargon File] (1995-01-24)