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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.

StayOnTarget
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    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 Mar 04 '19 at 20:52
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the image is a hoax. – wizzwizz4 Mar 04 '19 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. –  Mar 04 '19 at 22:18
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    @RossRidge You're right. Sorry! – wizzwizz4 Mar 05 '19 at 07:09
  • 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 Mar 05 '19 at 17:34
  • This joke keeps coming back again and again. If Retro.SE needs to have a Snopes-style entry to handle it, so be it. But the image has all the verisimilitude of vintage sci-fi TV show computer... I mean, a wide-format teletype, analog gauges, and a CRT and a submarine trim wheel? Trying too hard. –  Mar 05 '19 at 18:31
  • Especially a raster CRT at a type where glass TTYs were not invented yet. – rackandboneman Nov 18 '22 at 00:42

1 Answers1

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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

no ai please
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scruss
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