[TUHS] Tech Sq elevator (Was: screen editors)

[TUHS] Tech Sq elevator (Was: screen editors)

[Noel Chiappa]

    > From: Clem Cole

    > when she found out the elevators were hacked and controlled by the
    > student's different computers, she stopped using them and would take
    > the stairs 

It wasn't quite as major as this makes it sound! A couple of inconspicuous
wires were run from the 'TV 11' on the MIT-AI KA10 machine (the -11 that ran
the Knight displays) into the elevator controller, and run onto the terminals
where the wires from the 'down' call buttons on the 8th and 9th floors went.

So it wasn't anything major, and there was really no need for her to take the
stair (especially 8 flights up :-).

The code is still extant, in 'SYSTEM; TV >'. It only worked (I think) from
Knight TV keyboards; typing 'ESC E' called the elevator to the floor
that keyboard was on (there's a table, 'ELETAB', which gives the physical
floor for each keyboard).

The machine could also open the locked 9th floor door to the machine room
(with an 'ESC D'), and there some other less major things, e.g. print screen
hardcopy. I'm not sure what the hardware in the TV-11 was (this was all run
out of the 'keyboard multiplexor'); it may have been something the AI Lab
built from scratch.

      Noel

Re: [TUHS] Tech Sq elevator

[Lars Brinkhoff]

Noel Chiappa writes:
> The code is still extant, in 'SYSTEM; TV >'. It only worked (I think)
> from Knight TV keyboards

(This isn't TUHS material, but I can't resist.  CC to COFF.)

There is also a Chaosnet service to call for the elevator or open the
door, so it can be used remotely.  The ITS program ESCE uses this
service.  I suppose there must have been something for the Lisp machines
too, maybe even a Super-Hyper-Cokebottle keyboard command.

Re: [TUHS] Tech Sq elevator (Was: screen editors)

[Angelo Papenhoff]

On 10/01/20, Noel Chiappa wrote:
>     > From: Clem Cole
> 
>     > when she found out the elevators were hacked and controlled by the
>     > student's different computers, she stopped using them and would take
>     > the stairs 
> 
> It wasn't quite as major as this makes it sound! A couple of inconspicuous
> wires were run from the 'TV 11' on the MIT-AI KA10 machine (the -11 that ran
> the Knight displays) into the elevator controller, and run onto the terminals
> where the wires from the 'down' call buttons on the 8th and 9th floors went.
> 
> So it wasn't anything major, and there was really no need for her to take the
> stair (especially 8 flights up :-).
> 
> The code is still extant, in 'SYSTEM; TV >'. It only worked (I think) from
> Knight TV keyboards; typing 'ESC E' called the elevator to the floor
> that keyboard was on (there's a table, 'ELETAB', which gives the physical
> floor for each keyboard).
> 
> The machine could also open the locked 9th floor door to the machine room
> (with an 'ESC D'), and there some other less major things, e.g. print screen
> hardcopy. I'm not sure what the hardware in the TV-11 was (this was all run
> out of the 'keyboard multiplexor'); it may have been something the AI Lab
> built from scratch.

For those not aware: we have the TV-11 running again under emulation and
it is once again the preferred way to use ITS.
Unfortunately I'm not quite sure how to emulate all the elevator
behaviour...any ideas? :D


aap