[HN Gopher] The Secret Life of Machines
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The Secret Life of Machines
Author : Breadmaker
Score : 152 points
Date : 2021-07-05 18:56 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.timhunkin.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.timhunkin.com)
| sixothree wrote:
| I have been looking for a documentary I saw maybe 10 years ago. I
| think it was called the History of the VTR.
|
| It focused on the VTR as part of broadcast television. And I
| vaguely remember a section talking about the kind of errors and
| how they would present themselves in the broadcast.
|
| If anyone know about / remembers / knows where to find this
| documentary, I would be thankful!
| calpaterson wrote:
| I watched the boiler episode to learn how central heating worked
| and got drawn in, they're all excellent and explain a lot.
| mcguire wrote:
| Watch the sewing machine episode! It has the best demonstration
| of the magic in one of those beasts.
| fanf2 wrote:
| The Secret Life of Machines is a brilliant classic, and it's
| great to hear Tim Hunkin's behind-the-scenes memories.
|
| Also great is Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of Components which he
| released on YouTube earlier this year
| https://www.timhunkin.com/a241_component-videos.htm
| AndrewStephens wrote:
| A show so brilliant that I used to skip school in order to watch
| it when it aired on Friday mornings in New Zealand.
|
| My favorite episode is the one on VCR machines - probably the
| most mechanically complex device to have been mass marketed.
| fanf2 wrote:
| The VCR episode has the marvellous "THIS IS RECORDED ON
| STICKYTAPE AND RUST" experiment.
| AndrewStephens wrote:
| Precisely the sequence I had in mind. I wowed a
| news.ycombinator commenter with this a couple of weeks ago in
| a thread about how spinning drives store data.
|
| Here is a direct link to the scene:
| https://youtu.be/g1JlUcFKm5o?t=537
| open-source-ux wrote:
| I was struck by this passage on Tim Hunkin's website:
|
| " _...making things had made me realise just how much clever
| human activity in the world can not be explained in words or suit
| the format of a book, let alone fit with the publishing fashion
| of the day._ "
|
| I think this is one of the reasons why posters here have fond
| memories of this series - it's full of inventive ways to explain
| technology (with a dash of humour).
|
| The Word Processor episode (1991) is excellent for anyone looking
| for something computer-related. It's broader than just looking at
| word processors but also explains how computers developed.
|
| _The Secret Life of the Word Processor_ (1991):
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNcP7KgWaXg
|
| This is a nice description of Word Processing from the TV
| programme:
|
| " _It 's an extraordinary elaborate way to write something with a
| separate keyboard, monitor, computer and printer. But the ease of
| trying sentences out and moving them about does give writing a
| whole new freedom._"
| nieksand wrote:
| Mr. Hunkin has been publishing a new Secret Life of Components
| series to youtube:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JAgXz6xO0s&list=PLtaR0lZhSy...
|
| It is really great stuff if you enjoy building things.
| john-tells-all wrote:
| even better: they're now remastered and upscaled, with an extra
| "behind the scenes" segment at the end!
|
| Lovely, wonderful, inspiring stuff.
| adds68 wrote:
| Fantastic!
| raaxe wrote:
| If you live in London, Tim Hunkin operates an arcade filled with
| machines he's built. It's well worth a visit:
|
| https://www.novelty-automation.com/
| Breadmaker wrote:
| remastered and upscaled
| sigio wrote:
| Been watching the episodes on youtube over the past weeks, some
| of them I remember from TV, but they are still great to see
| restored on youtube.
| rjmunro wrote:
| As a kid this was one of my favourite programs ever, but I could
| never figure out when it was on and only ever seemed to catch
| bits of it here and there.
|
| There is also a "Secret Life of the Home" interactive exhibit in
| the London Science Museum, also made by Tim Hunkin:
| https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/learning/secret-life-home-s...
| fanf2 wrote:
| He has two amusement arcades filled with his own interactive
| machines, "The Under the Pier Show" in Southwold
| https://www.underthepier.com/ and "Novelty Automation" in
| central London https://www.novelty-automation.com/
|
| He talks about making some of the machines in his "Secret Life
| of Components" series on YouTube.
| simonw wrote:
| Novelty Automation is one of London's best hidden gems: if
| you ever have the chance to go and visit I cannot recommend
| it enough.
| pinewurst wrote:
| That was one of my favorite exhibits at the London Science
| Museum - a place full of great stuff.
| marshray wrote:
| In the vacuum cleaner episode @ 20:34
|
| "This is a pig, built for _The Pink Floyd_ , by a local firm."
| space_ghost wrote:
| "The Secret Life Of Machines" was a very bright spot in my
| childhood. My mother recorded the episodes on VHS cassettes and I
| wore those things out playing them. I've been rewatching them as
| Tim posts them on YT and I'm delighted to find that they're as
| brilliant and hilarious now as they were 30 years ago.
| angry_octet wrote:
| I wish I was a Tim, but I think I'm Rex in search of a Tim.
| tim333 wrote:
| Tim is the way.
| frosted-flakes wrote:
| Tim Hunkin's website is an absolute gem. Poke around, he's
| written about almost everything he's done or made.
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(page generated 2021-07-06 23:01 UTC)