Thought I'd start a new topic for this since a few of us are getting one.
Poking around their website, it appears http://noritake-vfd.com/gu512x32h-3900b.aspx supersedes the units being given away, which is GU512x32h-3900. That display is what's on the Christmas tree at http://noritake-vfd.com landing page and these kits: http://noritake-vfd.com/networkdisplaykit.aspx and http://noritake-vfd.com/messageselectorkit.aspx.
Reading through datasheets and sites the unit has RS232 and parallel interfaces, 4 bit input and 8 bit GPIO that can respond to or activate external components. It re