The Secret Life of Machines

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.

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

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...

"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.

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.

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."

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!

Tim Hunkin's website is an absolute gem. Poke around, he's written about almost everything he's done or made.

I wish I was a Tim, but I think I'm Rex in search of a Tim.

I watched the boiler episode to learn how central heating worked and got drawn in, they're all excellent and explain a lot.

In the vacuum cleaner episode @ 20:34

"This is a pig, built for The Pink Floyd, by a local firm."

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/

I was a bit surprised to see he is still active, but it turns out he was only 38 when the series started!

This and “Computer Chronicles” are on repeat for my background noise.

remastered and upscaled