| 1. | any chiefly terrestrial, herbivorous or carnivorous reptile of the extinct orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, from the Mesozoic Era, certain species of which are the largest known land animals. |
| 2. | something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change: The old steel mill was a dinosaur that cost the company millions to operate. |
dinosaur
1. Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power. Used especially of old minicomputers and mainframes, in contrast with newer microprocessor-based machines.
In a famous quote from the 1988 Unix EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in the massive IBM display with a grazing dinosaur "with a truck outside pumping its bodily fluids through it". IBM was not amused.
Compare big iron; see also dinosaurs mating.
2. [IBM] A very conservative user; a zipperhead.
[The Jargon File]