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Comment by rezonant | Hacker News Reader

Alec's (Technology Connections) videos on that pinball machine are fantastically detailed, and his ability to map it all out and present it visually is amazing.

I've been a supporter of TC for many years, he has a fantastic backlog of videos on many topics. The series that hooked me (especially since I do a lot of work around broadcast software) was the one about the technology of television.

Give yourself a gift in the new year of watching through his backlog, you will not be disappointed!

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Of all things I think I liked his two on dishwashers the most. Did not expect that, but it just utterly demystified something, and it was refreshing to see someone go through a process, come to a conclusion, _admit error_, and go into thorough detail explaining it.

Yeah, the ones on dishwashers doubled as a PSA.

That video literally changed how I use (and clean) my dishwasher!

me three! it was the first video of his I watched, so good and one of the YouTube classics that make YouTube so extremely special to me

I follow his videos for years. I enjoy is quibbles with being in the US and constantly getting comments what is supposedly saner in Europe ;) (I’m from Europe). I started when his content was mainly about video/audio tech etc. But I also very much enjoy his videos from the last two years which show everyday or old time Technology.

He recently uploaded a video titled: "What's the deal with the popcorn button?" Almost an hour of him talking about a button that pretty much only exists on microwaves sold in the US, and a warning only printed on bags of microwave popcorn sold in the US. The guy has great skills in explaining technology, but it could reach a lot more people if he didn't target always target an American audience at the expense of broader appeal.

Who should make videos about the popcorn button?

The popcorn button is his most popular video of this year @ 3.7 million views. His one pedal brake video is next @ 3.5 M. If his most popular video only has an audience of the US market that seems okay if it resonates with the YT community and places it is shared.

But that’s the thing. He is American and I guess his target audience is the US. And from his comments I think he likes where he lives and comes from. So what? I also follow a builder from New Zealand who started his channel showing the projects he gets contracted with and now shifted to a home renovation channel. But his content is from NZ and he only sometimes explains compares with other countries building houses with wood and only if he gets comments about it and reads up the differences. Because: why should he care how timber is treated compared to the country he lives in. All in all I have no issue with the content. I even watched the hour long ramble about EV charging status and the switch to the Tesla connector in the US. As an European nothing could interest me more. But I still find it interesting and entertaining. His rant about US turn signals or why LED traffic lights are bad for areas with real winter are exactly my kind of relax content.

He’s just talking about what he finds interesting, isn’t he?

Honestly how many people are the pinball videos useful to? Almost no one. Who cares. It’s really interesting.

I don’t know what the European/Australian/Chilean/Zimbabwean equivalent of a “popcorn button video” would be but I can almost guarantee I would want to watch it.

He seems to take inspiration from the things he experiences in everyday life or that he finds enjoyable (like his obsession with Christmas lights). It is understandable that being an American, and living in America, that he will tend to stick to topics relevant in that context. I’m sure there are lots of technological oddities in Bulgaria or Brazil for some upstart Bulgarian or Brazilian YouTuber to make content about.

He is getting millions of views on those videos, so I think he doing just fine and isn’t concerned with a “broader appeal”.

So I’m not allowed to watch content specific to my country just because a person in another country says so?

If you’re into the electromechanical stuff, his jukebox dissection videos are also great.

I found the recent one(s?) about the little red fridge fascinating too.

That one is especially fun in light of the complains of US centric content.

While I absolutely love his videos, with this one he lost me. It’s very technical, doesn’t serve a bigger purpose apart from maybe “look at how much you can do with so little” (it’s literally just about the pinball machine), and it’s very long.

My favourite videos are about washing machines, electrical plugs, turning lights and such, where technology intersects with culture. I’m looking forward to his next project, because this one wasn’t for me.

Agree. Think I peaked watching whole video on car indicators, filled with nostalgia and finally solving childhood mystery. There is something in his videos which teleports me to old times plus vids are packed with knowledge. Nerdiness is through the roof. HNY HN.

I discovered him only a couple of months ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed what he's got.

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