🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1990Sep27.010224.4589@qiclab.uucp> al@qiclab.uucp (Al Peterman) writes:
>In article <18...@anaxagoras.ils.nwu.edu> bar...@ils.nwu.edu (Jorn Barger) writes:
>>Does anybody but me remember the Minivac 601 from ca. 1964???  I'll bet 
>>this was the first home digital computer by a fer piece...  I got it as a 
>>pre-teen for $135 ordered out of the old Science Newsletter (which became 
>>Science News).

>Actually this was the second "personal" computer I came across.  The first
>was a device made of pegboard (or something similar) with 4 rotary "switchs"
>also of "pegboard" that were programmed by inserting brass jumpers to make
>the switches run stepped switching..  It also could play tic-tac-toe and
>nim.  Anyone else remember what this thing was called. 

There were six switches, and a row of light bulbs. It was the GENIAC
(or BRAINIAC -- the founders split and offered competing products). It
cost between $15 and $20, was introduced in 1955 and was available at least
into the early 60's. I got mine about 1960. The thing didn't work well, it
was a major disappointment, but nothing else was available at the time.
Real computers were viewed through glass walls -- you couldn't even touch
them.

Oh yes, the company was "Oliver Garfield". He wrote a book about 1950
entitled "Electronic Brains and How to Make Them" and sold courses on
robotics as well as a telescoping slide rule. The GENIAC was all I could
afford.

Tom Almy
to...@tekgvs.labs.tek.com
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