![port-a-punch](http://www.torontomike.com/images/blog/wireless.gif)
Today I learned about the Port-A-Punch from IBM.
IBM's Supplies Division introduced the Port-A-Punch in 1958 as a fast, accurate means of manually punching holes in specially scored IBM punched cards. Designed to fit in the pocket, Port-A-Punch made it possible to create punched card documents anywhere. The product was intended for "on-the-spot" recording operations -- such as physical inventories, job tickets and statistical surveys -- because it eliminated the need for preliminary writing or typing of source documents.
The Port-A-Punch reminds me of those Scantron multiple choice tests we took back in high school.
![port-a-punch](https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/6097218569_7514bcf972.jpg)
1958... decades before the Tablet Talent Show!
By the way, here are the four tablets I'm playing with this week. The PlayBook is the smallest one, and the TouchPad and iPad 2 are tied as the biggest. The Xoom, as you can see in this pic, is somewhere in the middle.
![Tablets](https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/6091190408_05b20ef9a3.jpg)