Another ~1960 computer kit - Philips?

On Thu, 17 Dec 1998, D. Peschel wrote: A mechanical von Neumann machine? I'm not sure I know of any machine, toy or not, that can claim that (and that's mostly due to my ignorance of the early relay-based machines, probably). But there are certainly electronic von Neumann toys, such as the Science Fair Microprocessor Trainer I mentioned earlier. No cahoots on this one, but we both have the same sense of juvenile delight in "scoops" I guess. OK, I'll spill the beans somewhat. Normally, the only reason I don't spill beans is because I hope to find an instance of the machine myself before it becomes well-known and "valuable," but I have little hope of finding this one. Who do you consider the father of personal computing? It sure as hell ain't Ed Roberts. Some people consider it to be Alan Kay. But Alan Kay was heavily influenced by the work of Ivan Sutherland. And who influenced Ivan Sutherland? When Sutherland was a kid, somebody lent him a "personal computer." The year was somewhere between 1950 and 1956, and the person with a personal computer to lend was Edmund Berkeley. Berkeley designed the machine in 1950, shortly after publishing his famous "Giant Brains" book. He formed a company called Berkeley Enterprises, and the charter was to popularize the computer and to create personal computers (and robots) individuals could build or buy as part of that goal. The first kit was called SIMON (in honor of Simple Simon). I don't have all the details yet, but I believe it was relay based, and could be programmed via paper tape! I have a picture of it which I'll scan and publish someday soon. Sutherland wrote a division routine for it on paper tape, and also created a storage unit for it called MAGDUM (for Magnetic Drum). I have a copy of the MAGDUM plans which I'll also be web-publishing. I also have an early Berkeley Enterprises catalog, including info about SIMON, MAGDUM, GENIAC, and the early robots. I dunno know about you, but when I learned of this, I was dumbfounded. A personal computer made in 1950 created by one of the early pioneers and which heavily influenced one of the most influential computer scientists of our time! -- Doug