Categories › Computing History & Culture
History of computing Videos Recommended on Hacker News (231)
History of computing is one of the 150 topics Hacker News readers organize their video recommendations around. These 231 videos each earned real recommendations in real HN threads between 2007 and 2026 — 537 recommendations in total — and they're ranked by how many separate months the community kept coming back to them, not by view count.
Computing history: early computers, mainframes, Bletchley Park, ENIAC, Xerox PARC, Unix history, minicomputers, personal computer revolution, historical lectures and museum restorations.
Why HN keeps sending people here — on AT&T Archives: Similiarities of Wave Behavior (Bonus Edition): “By far the best introduction to the subject of waves of any sort.” — an HN commenter, 2019.
Features
Evergreen only
3 mo on HNSeymour Papert
Seth Morabito
3 HN recommender · 2014–2017
2 mo on HN3dfx Oral History Panel with Ross Smith, Scott Sellers, Gary Tarolli, and Gordon Campbell
Computer History Museum
3 HN recommender · 2017–2023
2 mo on HNPart 1 - Training Video for Bell Labs' Holmdel Computing Center - AT&T Archives
AT&T Tech Channel
2 HN recommender · 2018–2024
2 mo on HNThe Computer-free Automation of a Jukebox (Electromechanics)
Technology Connections
2 HN recommender · 2020–2021
2 mo on HNSelf: The Movie;
Jecel Assumpção Jr
2 HN recommender · 2013–2024
2 mo on HNDEF CON 18 - Jason Scott - You're Stealing It Wrong! 30 Years of Inter-Pirate Battles
DEFCONConference
2 HN recommender · 2014–2025
2 mo on HNAlan Kay Demos GRaIL
Vincent Gable
2 HN recommender · 2016–2025
2 mo on HNOral History of Donald Knuth Part 1
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2019–2022
2 mo on HNBBS The.Documentary Part 4 - Fidonet
bbsers
2 HN recommender · 2014–2019
2 mo on HN"How to Think about Parallel Programming: Not!" - Guy L. Steele Jr. (Strange Loop 2010)
Strange Loop Conference
2 HN recommender · 2022–2024
2 mo on HNApollo Core Rope Memory (Apollo Guidance Computer Part 30)
CuriousMarc
2 HN recommender · 2023–2026
2 mo on HNHere I Stand, at Age 80
TheTedNelson
2 HN recommender · 2017–2019
2 mo on HNGENERAL MAGIC - Official Trailer
General Magic and the Soul of Tech
2 HN recommender · 2021–2025
2 mo on HNThe Charming Genius of the Apollo Guidance Computer - Brian Troutwine
Erlang Solutions
2 HN recommender · 2015–2019
2 mo on HNSusan Kare explains Macintosh UI ergonomics on the Computer Chronicles (1984)
erg0steur
2 HN recommender · 2020–2022
2 mo on HNLyle Bickley explains the PDP-1 (and we play the original Spacewar!)
CuriousMarc
2 HN recommender · 2018–2020
2 mo on HNOral History of Dave Cutler Part 1
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2020–2024
2 mo on HNLisp Editing in the 80s - Interlisp SEdit
thoughtupquick
2 HN recommender · 2019–2021
2 mo on HNHere's What Happens When an 18 Year Old Buys a Mainframe
SHARE Association
2 HN recommender · 2018–2025
2 mo on HNNeWS: A Networked and Extensible Window System, lecture by James Gosling
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2020–2024
2 mo on HNThe Origins of APL - 1974
Catherine Lathwell
2 HN recommender · 2012–2026
2 mo on HNThis 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny world
Tom Scott
2 HN recommender · 2024–2025
2 mo on HNBeOS DEMO VIDEO
koyhoge
2 HN recommender · 2012–2022
2 mo on HNThe Great 202 Jailbreak - Computerphile
Computerphile
2 HN recommender · 2015–2024
2 mo on HNThe KGB, the Computer, and Me (Complete)
GBPPR2
2 HN recommender · 2016–2019
2 mo on HNThe Computer Chronicles - Hypercard (1987)
The Computer Chronicles
1 HN recommend · 2020–2025
2 mo on HNWhy Sony's Beta Videotape System Failed--and failed hard (Part 1)
Technology Connections
2 HN recommender · 2022–2026
2 mo on HNGeneral Magic (1080p) FULL DOCUMENTARY - History, Technology, Business
Gravitas Documentaries
3 HN recommender · 2023–2026
2 mo on HNMaking of Second Reality / Future Crew
Mika Tuomi
2 HN recommender · 2011–2024
2 mo on HNThe Secret Life of the Radio - Remastered
tim hunkin
2 HN recommender · 2021–2024
2 mo on HNThe IBM 1401 mainframe runs "Edith"
CuriousMarc
2 HN recommender · 2020–2023
2 mo on HNOral History of Gary Davidian, part 2 of 2
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2022–2025
2 mo on HNCommodore 64—25th Anniversary Celebration
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2012–2016
2 mo on HNSeminar with Alan Kay on Object Oriented Programming (VPRI 0246)
Yoshiki Ohshima (大島芳樹)
2 HN recommender · 2017–2025
2 mo on HNMENACE: the pile of matchboxes which can learn
Stand-up Maths
2 HN recommender · 2018–2026
2 mo on HNRay Kurzweil on "I've Got a Secret"
Sidewinder77
2 HN recommender · 2012–2016