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KIDS REACT TO OLD COMPUTERS

REACT · 28.1M views · 2014-05-25 · 7:42

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Overview

An episode of REACT in which children try to figure out 1970s-1980s computers, including an Apple II and floppy disks. It was made to promote the AMC show Halt and Catch Fire.

On Hacker News

Cited in discussions of intuitive design and how younger people relate to old technology.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2014–2022

Topics

History of computingDemoscene & retrocomputingInternet culture & memes
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old computersfloppy disksapple iiusabilityreaction video

What people said

shagie · 2022-05 · Reference

> The machines didn't do anything when you powered them on, just waited for you to enter code or commands. I am reminded of the old Kids React videos (which themselves are now nearly a decade old)... Kids React to Technology (an old Apple ][+) [VIDEO]

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frabcus · 2016-07 · Reference

Yeah, so in this video of at 4 mins 25 seconds they show floppy disks to the kids [VIDEO] The younger ones don't seem to know what one is, but the older ones do.

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UVB-76 · 2014-06 · Reference

Alas, this is a fool's errand. The keyboard is a broken interface, but this isn't an improvement. Suppose I am the user identified in the video. I have a tablet—maybe not a Microsoft Surface, but a tablet nonetheless—and I currently use a slimline keyboard to type. You hand me these. First thoughts: what are they? What do I do with them? Great products are those that someone can be presented with for the first time, and in a matter of seconds figure out what it does, how to use it, etc. Think kids reacting to technology [1] So for argument's sake I read the manual, or you give me a walkthrough. Great, how do I start using them? Oh, they have to 'learn' my writing style? Is my first impression going to be a string of largely inaccurate input? How am I going to 'teach' this system? Through some proprietary software, which I may have problems downloading, and which may not even work on my device? How are people going to demonstrate these in stores; how am I going to proselytize to my coworkers? "Just try these out; wait, no. Yeah, don't worry about that, they have to learn your typing style. Yep, they'll do that for a while... no, but they're really great. Honestly... honestly." This is already sounding like a lot of effort, but you've assured me there's gold at the end of this rainbow. Surely the cost-benefit analysis will check out. So I've got them working. Are they accurate enough? Let's assume they are. This isn't too bad actually. I'm going to hop on Twitter and tell peopl

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Sources

Video by REACT, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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