bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (09/15/89)
Could someone please answer a few important technical questions for me:
First of all, what exactly is a cowdog, and why do they say "Moof!"?
Secondly:
In the Macintosh Technical Notes Stack, there is a secret way you can access
the hidden Technical Note #31: The Dogcow. It is *very* difficult to get to,
and it is a real test of your skills as a HyperCard programmer to see it.
I almost saw it. I got to the point where it should have brought up the
TN, but due to what looks like a bug in the stack, it didn't. Can someone from
Apple please clarify that this indeed should work?
(BTW, I got to see the TN anyway, using another trick.)
<< Brian >>
--
| Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig |
| Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU |
| Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET |
| Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/15/89)
In article <10433@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes: >Could someone please answer a few important technical questions for me: > >First of all, what exactly is a cowdog, and why do they say "Moof!"? > First of all, its a dogcow, and they say Moof. (Apple legal would like them to say Moof (TM), but for brevity, we'll just say Moof!) >Secondly: >In the Macintosh Technical Notes Stack, there is a secret way you can access >the hidden Technical Note #31: The Dogcow. It is *very* difficult to get to, >and it is a real test of your skills as a HyperCard programmer to see it. > >I almost saw it. I got to the point where it should have brought up the >TN, but due to what looks like a bug in the stack, it didn't. Can someone from >Apple please clarify that this indeed should work? > The complete story behind the dogcow is in Technical Note #31, which no longer exists unless you have one of the original copies...or unless you can read it in the Technical Notes Stack V3.1. To read it, it is NOT that difficult, but it requires the proper attitude and execution of a particular set of actions. Any mistake in this execution (or a sterile attitude) will result the Clarus (the name of the dogcow) refusing to appear at that time. You need no skill as a HyperCard programmer to find the Note, as that takes all the fun out of it. If you are going to look for it that way, you might as well peek with ResEdit. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
mr2t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Tod Rose) (09/15/89)
Someone out there doesn't know what the dogcow is. This message is for him or her. Ever choose "Page Setup..." with a LaserWriter selected and click on the "Options" button? The strange looking animal you see on the page is known as the dogcow, because one can't tell if it's a dog or a cow. Were it to make a sound, the sound it would make would be "Moof." (Note #1: A friend of mine sampled someone saying "Foom," reversed it and made it a beep sound. Try it; it brings the whole thing a new perspective.) (Note #2: According to Greg Decoteu [spelling may be off], an engineer w/ Apple Printing Group [and he should know], the beast is actually *called* a Moof, somewhat the way a young child refers to a cat as a "meow-meow.") I hope this forestalls this line of questioning right quickly. -mike "when i use the internet, i miss applelink, and vice versa" rose mr2t+@andrew.cmu.edu
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/15/89)
In article <UZ48h3C00WB84UNXpx@andrew.cmu.edu> mr2t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Tod Rose) writes: > >(Note #1: A friend of mine sampled someone saying "Foom," reversed it and >made it a beep sound. Try it; it brings the whole thing a new perspective.) Actually, if you can find TN #31 in the Technical Notes Stack 3.1, you will have had to run into an actual dogcow (Clarus) saying !fooM. Gee, wonder where that might be? > >(Note #2: According to Greg Decoteu [spelling may be off], an engineer w/ Apple >Printing Group [and he should know], the beast is actually *called* a Moof, >somewhat the way a young child refers to a cat as a "meow-meow.") Sorry to disappoint you here, but dogcows are NOT called Moof. Moof! is the sound a dogcow makes. Make no mistake about it. Dogcows are called dogcows, unless you happen to know them, like Clarus in DTS. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) (09/15/89)
In article <34749@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) writes: ... >Actually, if you can find TN #31 in the Technical Notes Stack 3.1, you will >have had to run into an actual dogcow (Clarus) saying !fooM. Gee, wonder >where that might be? Yours truly found it, and it was not that hard. I must say that the choice of encryption algorithm was extremely clever, however. You will never get it from the script unless you are fluent in ebg13, so you might as well try to solve it the right way! Earle R. Horton
kent@sunfs3.camex.uucp (Kent Borg) (09/18/89)
In article <15589@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> earleh@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Earle R. Horton) writes: >In article <34749@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) writes: >... >>Actually, if you can find TN #31 in the Technical Notes Stack 3.1, you will >>have had to run into an actual dogcow (Clarus) saying !fooM. Gee, wonder >>where that might be? > >Yours truly found it, and it was not that hard. I must say that the >choice of encryption algorithm was extremely clever, however. You will >never get it from the script unless you are fluent in ebg13, so you >might as well try to solve it the right way! > >Earle R. Horton I found tech note 31, and even managed to talk a friend through to it on the phone, but I hadn't appreciated the great value in hearing the !fooM. I only thought it cute. When tried to reproduce it again, it didn't work. !fooM is *very* important. I even sent Mac The Knife a fax on how to find Clarus, but I left out the !fooM, he didn't find it himself--or wasn't interested--and I didn't get a mug. Would have been fun to have my boss wonder how I got a MacWeek mug... As for the encryption algolrythm, I didn't figure it out, I just got it itself to tell me what I needed to know. Everybody out there go on a Dog Cow hunt, right away, before they all disappear from grazing off cliffs! -- Kent Borg "You know me, bright ideas kent@lloyd.uucp just pop into my head!" or -Mrs Lovett ...!husc6!lloyd!kent (from Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeny Todd")
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/19/89)
In article <504@sunfs3.camex.uucp> kent@lloyd.UUCP (Kent Borg) writes: > >I found tech note 31, and even managed to talk a friend through to it >on the phone, but I hadn't appreciated the great value in hearing the >!fooM. I only thought it cute. When tried to reproduce it again, it >didn't work. !fooM is *very* important. > >I even sent Mac The Knife a fax on how to find Clarus, but I left out >the !fooM, he didn't find it himself--or wasn't interested--and I >didn't get a mug. Would have been fun to have my boss wonder how I >got a MacWeek mug... Oh but this is heresy. Although we appreciate the GOOD press from MacLeak on "Phil & Dave's Excellent CD," etc., they should NOT get any special treatment on helping to find the dogcow. If one of the Mac the Knife reporters cares enough to look, he or she can spend the time like you or I. Never know what one might find... -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET (Allen Edmiston) (09/19/89)
now wait a min... if they go "moof!" then shouldn't they be called Cowdogs?
:)ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) (09/20/89)
Is the Tech Note 31 in the stack any different from the one that was mailed in one of the developer mailings? Is that soon to be a collectors item? Should I find my copy and place it in a mylar bag backed with acid free cardboard? Tim Smith
werner@utastro.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) (09/20/89)
In <89262.031723ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET>, ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET (Allen Edmiston) :
> now wait a min... if they go "moof!" then shouldn't they be called Cowdogs?
AMDA, the Austin Macintosh DogCattlemen Association certainly
thinks so ... (this really chaffs my Developer hide .. :-)
--
-----------> PREFERED RETURN-ADDRESS FOLLOWS <--------------
(ARPA) werner@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (Internet: 128.83.144.1)
(UUCP) ..!utastro!werner or ..!uunet!rascal.ics.utexas.edu!wernerlim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim) (09/20/89)
I must have missed something somewhere in the stack and I'm curious to find
out what it is. I gave up with playing around so I went into the scripts to
see what to do. I just do an option-shift-click on the dogcow to get it to
Moof! and !fooM. Then I enter the grazing stuff into the goto tech note dialog
to get #31. This has worked for me every time I've tried it. The "encryption"
scheme is really the simple rot13. I figure it's safe to tell you all this
since you've already seen it.
What I'm curious about is how you got the stack to tell you the key phrase.
Would you mind telling me how you stumbled across this unique phrase?
+++
Lloyd Lim Internet: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (128.120.57.20)
Compuserve: 72647,660
US Mail: 146 Lysle Leach Hall, U.C. Davis, Davis, CA 95616mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/20/89)
In article <22301@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes: >Is the Tech Note 31 in the stack any different from the one that was >mailed in one of the developer mailings? Is that soon to be a collectors >item? Should I find my copy and place it in a mylar bag backed with >acid free cardboard? > If you've got one of the "original" paper copies, hang on to it. The Note in the stack is there to share the story with a wider audience; however, these people cannot reproduce the same printed copy you have. Collector's item? Only you can make that decision. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/20/89)
In article <5371@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim) writes: > >What I'm curious about is how you got the stack to tell you the key phrase. >Would you mind telling me how you stumbled across this unique phrase? > You did NOT miss anything. You cannot figure out the important stuff from the stack without sniffing around with a little advance knowledge. If, however, you already know a great deal about dogcows, it should have been a fairly trivial exercise. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (09/21/89)
In article <89262.031723ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET> ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET (Allen Edmiston) writes: >now wait a min... if they go "moof!" then shouldn't they be called Cowdogs? No, because they also go "!fooM". It's perfectly logical, you see. << Brian >> -- | Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig | | Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | | Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET | | Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |
bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (09/21/89)
In article <5371@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim) writes: :: nuked the secret about showing dogcows :: >What I'm curious about is how you got the stack to tell you the key phrase. >Would you mind telling me how you stumbled across this unique phrase? Of course I don't mind! I was just curious how some minor feat was accomplished in the stack. I forget exactly what caught my interest, but it had absolutely nothing to do with dogcows whatsoever, I assure you. Of course, being a good programmer, I immediately began grokking the stack script. I thought that the repeated references to some strange code were a touch unusual until I recognized them as rot13 crypt. I would have thought nothing more about it until I realized that: - the main() XCMD was being used on the rot13, and I was really curious as to what main() did; - there were a few more convolutions in the code than I thought necessary (I later decided that these were probably to throw hackers of the track. Obviously, it didn't work); and - MacDTS wrote it. Them, serious? 'Nuff said. I worked my way backwards through the code until I figured out what was going on. I hit a dead-end when my machine refused to show the Dogcow note (it just beeped, because it ran out of memory on my 1M SE); that's why I originally complained about a 'bug' in the code. More questions, though: I think the pass for showing the Dogcow is either "Grazing off a cliff" or "Lost in the weeds" (my memory fails me as to which it really was...), but there is reference made in the stack scripts to both of these phrases, as well as "loso in the weeds" (lower-case 'l', 't' swapped for second 'o'). Are these in there for some obscure reason? And while I think of it, how often does that stack get revised, and when will the Tech Notes since this spring be added? << Brian >> -- | Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig | | Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | | Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET | | Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |
rewing@Apple.COM (Richard Ewing) (09/21/89)
First of all, the name of the beast is the dogcow. Not the cowdog. Not the weird little doggie-in-the-window [sic]. Just the dogcow. No more, no less. Second of all, the dogcow goes Moof!, and occasionally goes !fooM. It hasn't been known to say much else. Thirdly, if we're going to use this expression, it should be "Moofin' Dogcows!", not "Moofing Dogcows!". A little respect to Lil' Orphan Annie must be considered. -- __________________________________________________________________________ |Disclaimer: Segmentation Fault: Core Dumped. | | | |Internet: REWING@APPLE.COM-----------------------Rick Ewing | |ApplelinkPE & MacNet Soon!------------------Apple Computer, Inc. | |Applelink: EWING--------------------100 Ashford Center North, Suite 100 | |Compu$erve: [76474,1732]--------------------Atlanta, GA 30338 | |GENIE: R.EWING1--------------------------TalkNet: (404) 393-9358 | |USENET: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!rewing | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/21/89)
In article <34905@apple.Apple.COM> rewing@Apple.COM (Richard Ewing) writes: > >Thirdly, if we're going to use this expression, it should be >"Moofin' Dogcows!", not "Moofing Dogcows!". A little respect >to Lil' Orphan Annie must be considered. Correction here please. As a representative from DTS, it must be pointed out that one should NOT use phrases like "Moofing Dogcows!" and especially NOT like "Moofin' Dogcows!". A dogcow goes Moof! Any other use of the terms is disrespectful...didn't you read Miss Manners? I must also point out that for the sake of Apple Legal, it really is proper to say Moof (TM) as we did (really, look it up) trademark it. We're serious about our dogcows. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/21/89)
In article <10542@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes: > >And while I think of it, how often does that stack get revised, and when will >the Tech Notes since this spring be added? > I was supposed to have a revision out by MacWorld Boston, but as you can see there isn't one. We are tracking down a few obscure bugs and will have a special release in November on the second volume of "Phil & Dave's Excellent CD" I will try to get an interim update out before then, but I won't make any promises. Just trust me that the wait will be worth it. After the November release on CD, look for updates to come every other month like the Notes themselves (really). Also look for a new version of the Q & A Stack in November. Thanks to everyone who has sent in bug reports and corrections to the Notes during the past few months. DTS really appreciates it. As for the August batch of Macintosh Notes with all the errors, we apologize. Corrections are being reviewed at this moment and will be in your hands shortly after the first of October. We'll try to do better in our reviews in the future. We are all guilty of letting the errors through and we appreciate you folks keeping us honest. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
prince@maui.cs.ucla.edu (Larry Prince) (09/21/89)
In article <10536@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes: >>now wait a min... if they go "moof!" then shouldn't they be called Cowdogs? > >No, because they also go "!fooM". > >It's perfectly logical, you see. > Not really...they should obviously be called godwocs. UCLA Computer Science Department -- Larry 3413 Boelter Hall Los Angeles 90024 (213) 825-2145 Prince UUCP: {uunet,rutgers,ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!prince Internet: prince@CS.UCLA.EDU
ralph@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Ralph Brandi) (09/22/89)
In article <34909@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) writes: >I must also point out that for the sake of Apple Legal, it really is proper >to say Moof (TM) as we did (really, look it up) trademark it. We're serious >about our dogcows. You guys are sick pupcalves.... Did you trademark it with the exclamation point, or without? (In other words, is it Moof! (TM), or Moof(TM)!?) -- Ralph Brandi ralph@lzfme.att.com att!lzfme!ralph Work flows toward the competent until they are submerged.
prince@maui.cs.ucla.edu (Larry Prince) (09/22/89)
In article <766@cbnewsj.ATT.COM> ralph@lzfme.ATT.COM (Ralph Brandi) writes: > >You guys are sick pupcalves.... > Hey folks...let's stop hounding them...we've milked this subject long enough :=> UCLA Computer Science Department -- Larry 3413 Boelter Hall Los Angeles 90024 (213) 825-2145 Prince UUCP: {uunet,rutgers,ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!prince Internet: prince@CS.UCLA.EDU
ted@hpwrce.HP.COM ( Ted Johnson) (09/22/89)
What is the origin of all this Dogcow stuff? -Ted
chaffee@reed.UUCP (Alex Chaffee) (09/22/89)
In article <34886@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) writes: > You cannot figure out the important stuff from >the stack without sniffing around with a little advance knowledge. If, >however, you already know a great deal about dogcows, it should have been >a fairly trivial exercise. But... but I wanted to LEARN about dogcows from the tech note... Maybe it should have been numbered (catch) 22... "Nor is it a consequence of my bed's being covered with leaves that I am not hallucinating that it is." - Barry Stroud ____________________ -- Alex Chaffee chaffee@reed.UUCP ____________________
roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (09/22/89)
I've been following this thread for a while (or at least trying to)
but I still havn't been able to figure out what you guys are talking about.
Just what *is* a Moof(TM)ing! dogcow?
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
{att,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy -or- roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu
"The connector is the network"mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/22/89)
In article <4006@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > > I've been following this thread for a while (or at least trying to) >but I still havn't been able to figure out what you guys are talking about. >Just what *is* a Moof(TM)ing! dogcow? There is NO such beast as a "Moofing! dogcow." However, for details and living history of the dogcow (which goes Moof!), refer to Macintosh Technical Note #31. (And please don't ask how you can find a copy.) -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/22/89)
In article <7380032@hpwrce.HP.COM> ted@hpwrce.HP.COM ( Ted Johnson) writes: > >What is the origin of all this Dogcow stuff? > The origin is quite graphically documented in Technical Note #31. Prior to this documentation, there was nothing explaining the appearance of this animal in the Page Setup Options dialog box. -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_
harry@ngc.UUCP (Harry Saal) (09/24/89)
I figured out all the clues, but I think a revised edition is in order. I am using the CD Tech Stack version, and on my Radius TPD, page 1 of TN #31 has the right hand edge cut off. pp 2 and 3 are better visually. But all three don't print correctly on my LW NTX; they are split into multiple pages. Do dogcows try so hard to hide their very presence I can't get a decent printout?
c3ar@daisy.uchicago.edu (Walter C3arlip) (09/25/89)
For those of you having trouble finding the doccow in the Technote stack, make sure you have at least Version 3.1. I spent quite a while tryng to find it in Version 3.0--in which none of the posted clues made any sense. Also, be forwarned that even if you do find TechNote 31 that it does contain errors. In particular, it says ``The dogcow's name is Clarus for the same reason you cale a table a `table'.'' This is obviously not true. The dogcow is *obviously* called Clarus for the same reason that the dogstar is called Sirius. I hope that this oversight is corrected in the next version of the stack. --Walter _____________________________________________________________________________ Walter C3arlip c3ar@zaphod.uchicago.edu (the "3" is silent) c3ar%zaphod@UCHIMVS1.bitnet _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Walter C3arlip c3ar@zaphod.uchicago.edu (the "3" is silent) c3ar%zaphod@UCHIMVS1.bitnet _____________________________________________________________________________
omh@brunix (Owen M. Hartnett) (09/25/89)
Also, another problem may occur if you're using ApplicationMenu. Certain portions of the Observe Dogcow Sequence require the use of Option and shift held together, which the default ApplicationMenu will override to display a popup menu of applications. I mention this only because there may be some people out there whose very sanity only hinges on being able to see the Dogcow in the technotes stack. Since our asylums are full to overflowing now, this information may somewhat ease that congestion. -Owen
mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) (09/26/89)
In article <482@ngc.UUCP> harry@ngc.UUCP (Harry Saal) writes: > >I figured out all the clues, but I think a revised edition is in order. >I am using the CD Tech Stack version, and on my Radius TPD, page 1 of >TN #31 has the right hand edge cut off. pp 2 and 3 are better visually. >But all three don't print correctly on my LW NTX; they are split into >multiple pages. Do dogcows try so hard to hide their very presence I >can't get a decent printout? If somebody wants to send me a Radius TPD I would be more than happy to fix page 1. As for printing, you will not get a decent printed copy unless you got an original or photocopy--this was, and remains, the intent. The files are PICTs, so you can manipulate them if you really want a printed copy... -- Mark B. Johnson AppleLink: mjohnson Developer Technical Support domain: mjohnson@Apple.com Apple Computer, Inc. UUCP: {amdahl,decwrl,sun,unisoft}!apple!mjohnson "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?" - Richard Bach, _One_