I have several Genuine and several fake FTDI on Arduino derivative boards.
The fakes have laser etched labels that are quite well done. BUT the “Pin 1” dot in the plastic is just a little different.
Genuine is large dot, not very shiny
Fake is slightly smaller dot and quite shiny
You can see this clearly on this photo: http://s.zeptobars.ru/ftdi-FT2...

Handheld diamond engraver for Laptops, cameras, phones. Sometimes wipe in white or black marker to make obvious.
Sharpie WHITE paint marker on larger items like Kayaks, dark microphones etc.
Email Address. If you see terry@terryking.us it's MINE :-)

The Photo of the machine: http://yourduino.com/docs/Meg-Barry-computer-800.jpg

I worked as a Broadcast Engineer and Journalist in the late 60's. I taught electronics part-time at SUNY. Around 1969 They had a Teletype with dialup 110 baud modem to Dartmouth College. Learned BASIC and some FORTRAN from the HELP on Dartmouth, no help from the SUNY Faculty.

Then they got a grant and a Data General NOVA and 6 Model 33's and students (and I started learning more BASIC).

I was motivated to really use the thing for electronics design and eventually wrote BASIC that designed various Active Filters that I used in Broadcast applications. At one time the WMCA Good Guys were heard through one of my "Secret" 5-pole Chebyshev filters.

I was motivated to have a computer at home. So I designed a 110 baud modem, with an ASCII test generator. After I proved I could send FSK data and receive it myself, I scrounged my own Model 33 Teletype by trading an Ampex recording system to the AP Teletype repairman. One day I got it all hooked up, dialed up Dartmouth (fortunately a special local number set up by SUNY) and !!! The Dartmouth prompt.

Soon my kids were playing Hangman on the model 33 in the living room. And I was designing more electronics stuff.

But we wanted our OWN computer. The Altair had just come out. Too expensive.

I called up Intel about the 8008 and the New 8080. I wanted to automate Broadcast Stations. Did they have a version of BASIC for 8080?? They explained to me that these were MicroControllers for equipment, written in assembler and there would never be a high level language on them.

Later I called up Microsoft when they announced they DID have BASIC for the 8080. $250 for 8080 BASIC. Too expensive.

Fortunately Tom Pittman wrote TINY BASIC for the 8080 and the new 6502.

So I called up MOS Technology (remember the TelePhone?/) and talked to Chuck Peddle. He said that the 6502 would cost $25 in a year and I could buy one at that price. It came in a week and I started building right away. Scrounged memory cards from my IBM friends (sshhh!) and made a front panel that could examine and deposit into memory. Got the 6502 on the bus. Everything wirewrapped. Put 16 LEDs on two registers in high memory. Hand-wrote assembler and got BLINK197? running. Got a "TIM" chip from MOS Technology, built a card with the interface and teletype monitor ROM on it (like Steve Wozniak had pitched at the Amateur Computer Club of New Jersey the year before).. and added a 20ma current loop. Wow! the Good Old Model 33 came to life and we could TYPE in programs in Hex. So we wouldn't wear out the thumbwheel switches after all.

Sent $25 to Tom Pittman and a folded paper tape arrived in the mail. But my scrounged Model 33 came out of a Newsroom at NBC and had no reader or punch.

Went back to SUNY, printed out the tape. About 4 pages of Motorola Hex Dump. My kid and I typed it into the Model 33. Double checked. Pointed the Reset Vector to it. !!!! BASIC Prompt.

We finally had a machine with a high level language at home.

The 110 baud modem I built had audio in and out, so we backed up the BASIC code on a Cassette Recorder. Hey we had our own Tape Storage system. We could now power down the 6502 system and reload BASIC. And save BASIC programs. The kids started writing Space War.

I wanted to control HARDWARE with computers, and started hooking up relays and stuff. Woweee. Got a job interview at IBM. They were surprised I had built a computer from scratch AND had a clue about "Sensor Based I-O". Got the job and a couple weeks later was writing assembler for the IBM 1800 (Until our new System/7's came in). Started working on automated Chip Fab. Etc. and lots of Etc.

Now I'm an Arduino weenie. I write the http://ArduinoInfo.Info WIKI and do workshops with kids.

Good Old Model33 went off to someone who wanted it. Sometimes I wish it was still around.. Sigh...

Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont