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ie8 fix

Image that duped McNealy

At the Oracle OpenWorld show, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy made fun of a picture supposedly from the magazine "Popular Mechanics" showing how people in 1954 envisioned the home computer. Unbeknownst to him, it's a doctored photo.

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That's a Reactor Control Panel
Oddly enough, that's not a computer at all. It's an old set of Throttleman, Reactor Operator and Electrical Operator stations.
Posted by (1 comment )
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no, it's a sub maneuvering mock up
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/sub-centen02.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/sub-centen02.html</a>
Posted by (1 comment )
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More than a Reactor Control Panel - Details
It is more than a Reactor Control Panel and it is also a mock-up, not the real thing. The three units are as follows: Left - Main propulsion panel, Center - Nuclear reactor plant control panel, and Right - Electric plant control panel. Altogether, it comprises most of a nuclear submarines maneuvering room. Since the photo is from the National Museum of American Historys "Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War" exhibit of 2000, it is definitely not the real thing  although the throttle wheels appear to be.

The configuration approximates the S5W nuclear power plant: S = Submarine, 5 = 5th version, W = Made by Westinghouse. This design was commissioned in 1959 with the USS Skipjack. The last sub to use it was the SSBN-640 Benjamin Franklin, which was decommissioned in 1963.
Posted by Russ911 (4 comments )
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The image mod isn't even that good...
Notice the focus on the far end of the set of control stations. Pretty fuzzy. Now check the "monitor." Sharp. Same thing with the late 1970s era teleprinter. The photographer apparently tried to use existing light for the photo, and probably a range finder camera-- leading to the shorter than professional depth of field issue. (A range finder wouldn't have made the error evident.)

I won't even get started on why someone with a teleprinter would want a monitor in the first place.

Sheesh. Rule #1 in spotting a hoax: if it's a little too convenient, it probably is.
Posted by (5 comments )
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Rule #0
About 5 seconds of research will show you that this Photoshopped image was an entry in a contest and not even close to being a "hoax".
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1115586" target="_newWindow">http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1115586</a>
Posted by (1 comment )
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Visionary
Since childhood, I always knew that one day, every modern PC would have a cool steering wheel.
Posted by (1 comment )
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What the Wheels Do
The large wheel operates the ahead main engine throttles and the smaller wheel operates the astern main engine throttles on a nuclear submarine.

But, not to spoil the dream, that would look nice with a large computer, say one with a four-foot by six-foot monitor.
Posted by Russ911 (4 comments )
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Re: phony 50's computer photo
If I'm not mistaken, that "keyboard" is actually
a DEC printing termianl from the 70's!
Posted by mwhittlesey (1 comment )
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Terminal Identified
The terminal is DEC LA36 DECwriter II Teletype Terminal that was first sold in 1974. Here are some specifications:

Printing was dot matrix at 30 cps, 132 columns.
The characters were formed from 7 x 7 dots.
The interface was RS-232/V.24 (300 baud)

How times have changed!
Posted by Russ911 (4 comments )
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What was McNealy thinking?
The photo was not even well done. It is an obvious fraud. Perhaps someone in his office was trying to show how easy it is to dupe the boss. And what about checking one's sources? Listen folks, maybe its a good idea to sell your Sun Microsystems stock!
Posted by akhenatonelmarna (3 comments )
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