Possibly the most treasured item in my collection of computer items, the
machine that started me on the path, is my beloved GENIAC computer kit, 
made in 1955. I still have it, well used in my youth and complete with
all original documentation. The price in 1955 was $15.95.
        The GENIAC was, I think, far ahead of it's time. It basicly was a
collection of configurable ("hard-wire programmable") N-pole by N-throw
rotary switches which could be set up and cascaded to perform logical
functions. The reason I say "N-pole" is that the switches were made of
drilled masonite disks that you might wire as a many-pole two-throw, or
single-pole multi-throw, depending on what logical function you were
implementing. The kit came with a pretty good tutorial, which, as I look
at it, is still useful today. The projects started with basic logic
circuits and progressed to such things as a NIM machine and TIC-TAC-TOE
machine. To a young boy, the idea of making a machine that could play even
the simple game of tic-tac-toe was just amazing. My friends couldn't
understand how this mass of switches and wires could beat them at the
game. 
        The "output" device was a set of lamps that would light in
response to the "input data" (switch positions) and "program" (how they
were wired).  After the tic-tac-toe machine, which was about the most
advanced project in the book, I started making up my own designs, and when
my logic started to exceed the capabilities of the multiple rotary
switches, I built a different "input device": a "card reader" which
allowed me to input data via 3x5 cards punched with holes that would allow
contacts to "make" on different circuits, depending on where the holes
were.  Thus, instead of inputing data by rotating various switches, you
would just punch it into a card, with a hand hole punch (the positions
were marked on the cards with the same spirit-duplicator we used to
publish our "newspaper"). 
        Strangly enough, the machine that generated the most interest,
although it wasn't really much of a logical exercise, was my "Monopoly" 
machine. Monopoly is a game mostly ruled by chance, but you do make some
basic decisions as to buying properties, and placing houses on them, based
on factors like how much money you have, whether you have other properties
in the set, whether someone *else* has all the other properties and you
want to block them, etc.  Since these decisions were always contingent on
which property it was, I used the card reader to input the particular
property, having "PROGRAMMED" a card for each one. The rotary switches
were used to input data like how much money it had (in ranges)  and used
to input the questions (one position was "do you want to buy?")  as well
as other factors ("does someone else have all other props in this set?")
The output would be a lamp lit to give the answer ("Buy House", etc) 
There were some lamps for Yes/No, and some specific to buy decisions. 
Because I basicly "programmed" it to play something of a "hard ass"  game,
i.e. it would ALWAYS buy a property, no matter how little money it had, IF
someone else had all the other properties in that set, thus, denying them
a set, it actually was pretty successful, sometimes winning. I don't hold
this as any great programming achievement, but it impressed the hell out
of my friends, and we *are* talking about a time when Eisenhower was still
president..... 
        Anyhow, I still have it, and I can honestly say I wouldn't
trade it for a Pentium 166.

-- Tom Boyko, Jan 30 1997