Honeywell/Bull DPS-6 deskside info?

jwsmobile jws at jwsss.com
Thu Sep 24 17:05:11 CDT 2015



On 9/24/2015 9:54 AM, Sean Caron wrote:
> I think this anecdote is also referenced in the AFDC installation site
> story on multicians.org? Sounds familiar...
>
> Best,
>
> Sean
Cookie monster originated on Multics, and was taken to the GCOS 
environment if it got there in the same incarnation.

We had graduated to far better toys when Cookie monster showed up at the 
USL (Lafayette, La) Multics installation.  We had a modified version of 
the timeshare send message command that was modified to be "send 
command"  Once you had it so that it was stealth installed on a users 
account whenever they were on you could make their terminals do things 
spontaneously.

Very entertaining.   Cookie Monster was objectionable to me in that the 
joke cause you to have to log out and destroyed your session, which I 
didn't find as amusing as if it did the cookie trick and something more 
clever.

I also had remote execution and logging in a startrek basic program that 
took over the installation, but took it back out since the above send 
command had run its course.  But it did provide an education to a couple 
of SysAdmin types who thought they were clever and had never heard of 
trojans.  Done to them by the local Honeywell Site SA.

thanks
Jim

>
> On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 10:42 PM, steve shumaker <shumaker at att.net> wrote:
>
>> On 9/23/2015 2:44 PM, Josh Dersch wrote:
>>
>>> Along with the 11/44 I also picked up a Honeywell/Bull DPS-6 deskside
>>> workstation; I can't seem to dig up much information specific to this
>>> model
>>> (a badge on the rear labels it as "Model/Index No. B01732").  I can take
>>> some detailed pictures later this week after I've had time to clean it up
>>> (it's very, very dirty), but it looks very similar to the DPS-6 unit
>>> pictured on this site:
>>> http://www.feb-patrimoine.com/projet/gcos6/gcos6.htm
>>>
>>> Anyone have any docs on this thing?  Or fun anecdotes to share?  What have
>>> I gotten myself into with this thing?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Josh
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> browse here and elsewhere for WWMMCCS history and beginnings of
>> GCOS/DPS-6/Honeywell 6000
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwide_Military_Command_and_Control_System
>>
>>
>> One legend that gets trotted out whenever you speak of WWMMCCS is the
>> cookie monster that was on  terminals in the Pentagon installation of
>> WWMMCCS.  As the legend goes, at random intervals, the console would go
>> blank, operators would loose control and a message would display something
>> to the effect  "cookie monster hungry - feed me".  Supposedly once you
>> typed in one of several cookie names, the routine would release the system
>> back to the operator.   I personally know a retired AF IT manager who
>> worked WWMMCCS and swears its a true story...
>>
>> Suspect you will find very little material other than what Al has - it
>> wasn't a particularly common installed setup.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>



More information about the cctalk mailing list