People often ask where the names Plan 9, Inferno and Vita Nuova originated.
Many of the names — Inferno, Limbo, Styx and Dis — are obviously of classical origin.
One of the authors happened to be reading Dante's Divine Comedy when designing the system.
The company name Vita Nuova continues the association with Dante: his
first work, a book of poetry about his childhood sweetheart Beatrice,
was called La Vita Nuova. The literal translation of Vita Nuova is
``New Life'' which in the circumstances is surprisingly prophetic.
Plan 9 is named after the famous Ed Wood movie Plan 9 from Outer
Space. There are no other connections except that the striking
artwork for the products is a retro, 60's Sci-Fi image modelled on the
Plan 9 movie poster.
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