資料來源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
dread high bit disease
A condition endemic to {PRIME} (also known as
"PR1ME") {minicomputers} that results in all the characters
having their high bit (0x80, see {meta bit}) ON rather than
OFF. This complicates transporting files to other systems and
talking to true 8-bit devices. Folklore had it that PRIME
adopted the convention in order to save 25 cents per {serial
line} per machine; PRIME old-timers, on the other hand, claim
they inherited the disease from {Honeywell} via customer
NASA's compatibility requirements and struggled heroically to
cure it. Whoever was responsible, this probably qualifies as
one of the most cretinous design tradeoffs ever made. A few
other machines have exhibited similar brain damage.
[{Jargon File}]
(2002-04-09)