EBCDIC

EBCDIC: /eb's*-dik/, /eb'see`dik/, or /eb'k*-dik/ n. 
   [abbreviation, Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code] An
   alleged character set used on IBM {dinosaur}s.  It exists in at
   least six mutually incompatible versions, all featuring such
   delights as non-contiguous letter sequences and the absence of
   several ASCII punctuation characters fairly important for modern
   computer languages (exactly which characters are absent varies
   according to which version of EBCDIC you're looking at).  IBM
   adapted EBCDIC from {{punched card}} code in the early 1960s and
   promulgated it as a customer-control tactic (see {connector
   conspiracy}), spurning the already established ASCII standard.
   Today, IBM claims to be an open-systems company, but IBM's own
   description of the EBCDIC variants and how to convert between them
   is still internally classified top-secret, burn-before-reading.
   Hackers blanch at the very *name* of EBCDIC and consider it a
   manifestation of purest {evil}.  See also {fear and
   loathing}.