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I don't really know what the round object is, but it certainly resembles an old-time steering wheel.

This image was used as an example at this page. I don't know what its original source was, it is uncited.

enter image description here

I'm not even entirely certain this is even a computer. The gauges suggest it could perhaps be an industrial control system. On the other hand there is a keyboard "terminal" with some kind of printer output.

So, obviously I don't know much - but I am interested in what this computer is, and what that particular device is for.

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  • 4
    The idea reminds me of the Rice R1’s debugging crank! (This photo is obviously not that.) The R1 is also famous for its RLH Condition Test.
    – Stephen Kitt
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 20:52
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the image is a hoax.
    – wizzwizz4 ♦
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 21:31
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    @wizzwizz4 Questions should only be closed based on the content of the question, not what the answer is. The question is asking to identify something purported to be a computer, and it's not obvious that it's not one.
    – user722
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 22:18
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    @RossRidge You're right. Sorry!
    – wizzwizz4 ♦
    Commented Mar 5, 2019 at 7:09
  • I'm very tempted to vote close, But then again, Identify-This is quite valid on RC.SE, even tough it's obvious pointless. We got stay objective no matter how much it hurts on the inside :))
    – Raffzahn
    Commented Mar 5, 2019 at 17:34

1 Answer 1

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Via TinEye, I found this image on a Snopes FACT CHECK page: Claim: Photograph shows RAND Corporation’s 1954 design for a home computer.

It's a hoax image, a composite of a submarine maneuvering room console used in a FARK.com image modification competition in 2004.

The original and real image:

real image

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    And FWIW, the "teletype" looks like it's actually a DEC LA36 from the mid-1970s.
    – dave
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 23:49
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    @another-dave Exactly! I stared at that for a minute and thought "that sure looks like a DECwriter, when the only thing matching the rest of the equipment would be, at best, a TTY 33.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Oct 12, 2021 at 21:15

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