Our Friend the Computer
A podcast exploring alternative computing histories and their relationship to society. Hosted by Camila Galaz and Ana Meisel.
Podcasting since 2022 • 24 episodes
Our Friend the Computer
Latest Episodes
i-mode and Japanese mobile internet (Mobile Phones)
Ana tells Camila about the flashing success of early Japanese smartphone tech. The girls discuss how the Japanese tech giants of the '90s and early '00s created exceedingly advanced and snazzy smartphone features and how such phones warranted t...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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40:59
Fashion Phones and L'Amour (Mobile Phones)
We’re back chatting about the early 2000s Nokia “Fashion Phones”! These phones preferenced a positioning of mobile phones as a fashion accessory, or fashion statement, over technological functionality. Following from the first two episodes of t...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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49:40
The Real Housewives of Bell Telephone (Mobile Phones)
Although telephones were instated into the home as a business communication tool, the women of the house soon appropriated the technology for “sociability” - checking in with family and friends, gossiping, chatting and connecting with the commu...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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42:41
Nokia and the Mobira Cityman (Mobile Phones)
We’re back for season 3! Cell phones! Camila and Ana chat about the history of Nokia (the town and the company), the connection between car phones and mobile phones, and 80s naming conventions. They also discuss Gorbachev's famous phonecall on ...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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48:10
Poly-1 New Zealand (Edu-Computers)
The girls talk cricket before launching into the final episode of this Education Computers season! We're heading over to New Zealand and talking about the Poly-1. It's another homegrown micro computer destined for schools and funded by a govern...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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47:07