Comparison between a TOS user (Tosser) and FruitOS user (Fruit) on the Electron Zone teaser site for GTA LCS.
The Technical Operating System (TOS) is an operating system appearing in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Episodes from Liberty City.
Description
The Technical Operating System is a computer operating system manufactured by an unknown technology company.[1] The product is known to rival the operating system produced by Fruit Computers. It appears in both the 3D and HD Universe continuities.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
The latest version of TOS mentioned is TOS 3.0. It may also be "Windchime"; both operating systems released in 1998. Users of the TOS are usually referred to as "TOSsers", which is slang for a person who masturbates.
TOSsers are depicted as "boring", with the TOS interface showing only green text on a black background (parodying the DOS color-scheme which is black and white), while Fruits (Fruit OS users) are depicted as exciting and/or interesting people, frequently using emoticons in forums.
Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty City
On the in-game internet, TOS is also referred to as "To$$", which is seemingly a jab at their profit-driven motives. Even though TOS is commonly mentioned online, it does not have its own website like Eunux or Fruit do.
Influence
The Technical Operating System is seemingly inspired by the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). The "To$$" nickname from in-game internet users in Grand Theft Auto IV references the real-world term "Micro$oft" or its shorthand form "M$ST" on computing websites and message boards, which criticizes Microsoft for its focus on profit.
In real life, there was an operating system released by Atari for their 16-bit ST line called TOS, which stands for "The Operating System".