<humour> The activity said to occur when yet another {big iron} merger or buy-out occurs reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=mainframe">mainframe industry. Also described as "elephants mating": lots of noise and action at a high level, with an eventual outcome in the somewhat distant future. In its glory days of the 1960s, it was "href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=IBM">IBM and the Seven Dwarves": href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Burroughs">Burroughs, href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Control Data">Control Data, href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=General Electric">General Electric, href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=honeywell">honeywell, href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=NCR">NCR, href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=RCA">RCA, and href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Univac">Univac. Early on, RCA sold out to Univac and GE also sold out, and it was "IBM and the BUNCh" (an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and honeywell) for a while. honeywell was bought out by Bull. Univac in turn merged with href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Sperry">Sperry to form Sperry/Univac, which was later merged (although the employees of Sperry called it a hostile takeover) with Burroughs to form href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Unisys">Unisys in 1986 (this was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined). In 1991 href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=AT&T">AT&T absorbed NCR, only to spit it out again in 1996. Unisys bought href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Convergent Technologies">Convergent Technologies in 1988 and later others. More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable. [More dates?] [href="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Jargon File">Jargon File] (1998-07-10)

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[ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=134">= ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=232">acronym ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=396">ag ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=411">ai ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=433">al ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=531">alt ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=544">am ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=592">an ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=740">ar ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=743">arc ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=759">arg ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=800">as ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=893">AT ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=894">at ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=925">AT&T ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=935">au ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1025">B ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1026">b ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1181">be ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1269">bi ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1286">big iron ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1444">bo ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1606">bs ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1654">Bull ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1695">by ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1708">C ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1723">CA ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1724">ca ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1896">cc ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2001">ch ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2136">ck ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2247">co ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2330">com ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2673">Convergent Technologies ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2790">CR ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2791">cr ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2827">cron ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2900">cu ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2976">D ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3096">date ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3151">de ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3441">dinosaur ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3565">do ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3752">du ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3834">E ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3865">ec ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3896">ed ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3929">ee ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4009">elephant ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4148">er ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4150">era ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4171">es ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4199">et ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4250">event ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4497">fi ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4520">file ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4700">fo ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4727">for ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4828">fr ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4837">frame ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4983">G ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=4989">ga ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5056">GE ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5057">ge ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5070">gen ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5075">General Electric ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5134">gh ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5141">gi ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5171">gl ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5205">gn ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5434">h ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5438">hack ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5443">hacker ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5540">hat ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5681">hn ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5725">host ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5768">hr ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5769">hs ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5779">ht ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5791">hu ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5810">humour ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5868">IBM ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5931">id ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5956">ie ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6013">il ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6064">in ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6413">io ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6449">ir ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6468">iron ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6482">is ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6558">it ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6589">J ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6620">Jargon File ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6789">ke ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6822">ki ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6918">la ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7023">ld ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7091">Lex ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7399">ls ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7410">lt ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7441">ly ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7457">M ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7463">ma ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7560">mainframe ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8032">mo ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8040">mod ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8079">module ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8167">mp ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8384">N ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8386">na ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8459">NC ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8472">ne ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8622">nf ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8627">ng ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8630">ni ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8660">nl ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8675">no ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8681">noise ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8760">ns ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8813">nym ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8964">om ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=9457">pe ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=9550">ph ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=9651">pl ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10144">pt ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10253">query ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10364">rc ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10385">re ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10754">rl ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10767">ro ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10918">S ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=10922">sa ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11010">sc ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11150">se ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11314">sh ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11376">si ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11389">sig ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11396">signal ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11525">sl ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11651">so ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=11934">st ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12133">su ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12246">sy ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12359">T ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12369">table ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12380">tag ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12440">tc ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12588">th ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12721">to ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12787">tr ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12986">ua ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13008">ug ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13030">um ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13038">UNC ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13076">union ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13092">Univac ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13175">us ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13227">uy ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13252">va ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13310">ve ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13366">vi ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13694">while ] [ href="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=14042">ye ]