[SIGCIS-Members] Visit to System Source Computer Museum

[Ceruzzi, Paul]

OK, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't resist posting this famous hoax. (Raise your hand if you were fooled by it).

"Scientists from RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use."

That's Harry Huskey in the photo. It was taken at the Smithsonian, during the museum's acquisition of a G-15.  Snopes.com has an explanation of the hoax.

[https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Q8kI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F378ada3d-c22a-4cd9-947d-d27bc3085447_1200x771.jpeg]
________________________________
From: Dag Spicer <dspicer at computerhistory.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 3:31 PM
To: Brian E Carpenter <brian.e.carpenter at gmail.com>
Cc: David Grier <grier at email.gwu.edu>; Ceruzzi, Paul <CeruzziP at si.edu>; sigcis <members at sigcis.org>
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Visit to System Source Computer Museum

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