I hadn't realized that Heath actually came up with tube-based analog computer kits. Those are interesting sites -- I've bookmarked for future browsing.
You've touched on another important topic: the sad and ongoing decline in the aesthetics of electrical and electronic equipment.
I find the aesthetics and practical design of most modern equipment sadly lacking. Look at the typical consumer TV, VCR, or similar device these days -- The cheapest plastic components possible, weird-shaped buttons which are often hard to press properly, awkward layout and positioning (no doubt due to the "expert opinion" of some design consultant who was paid a fortune to come up with a supposedly "modern" design).
I find the operational design of much of this stuff terribly awkward as well. I've just been playing around with a monitor for a computer I'm setting up for one of my contracts, and it took me five minutes just to figure out which buttons on the front panel selected and then stepped through the menus to adjust size, position, geometry, etc. In the old days with individual potentiometers for brightness, contrast, height, etc. it was so simple. Is this progress? I don't think so.
And for one design problem which I know Albert will have seen in the telecom forums before, look at the horrible keypads on many of the cheap throw-away modern phones. I saw one in a store the other day which had awkward funny shaped buttons, arranged (if one can call it that) in the most peculiar fashion so that there weren't any proper rows and columns.
Give me the 40+ year old design of the W.E. #2500 keypad any day.
[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-31-2006).]