Our Friend the Computer
A podcast exploring alternative computing histories and their relationship to society. Hosted by Camila Galaz and Ana Meisel.
Episodes
24 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...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 24
•
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...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 23
•
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...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 22
•
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 ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 21
•
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...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 20
•
47:07
ICON Canada (Edu-Computers)
Camila and Ana chat about Canada’s first standardised and purpose-built computer for eduction, the Icon. Prior to launching in 1984, it made promises of a hypertext learning utopia where it simplified lives of both students and teachers. The gi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
56:45
BBC Literacy Project (Edu-Computers)
Camila is super excited about a children’s toy computer and then the girls chat about the BBC Computer Literacy Project from the 70s/80s. They discuss the TV programing which brought the need for it to the eyes of parliamentarians, how it built...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
1:00:07
One Laptop Per Child (Edu-Computers)
Ana introduces the One Laptop Per Child scheme which auspiciously deployed millions of laptops to children in the Global South between 2005 - 2014. The girls discuss the impacts of the campaign, whether the charismatic idea of “fixing the world...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
58:32
Australia's Microbee Computer (Edu-Computers)
After the girls discuss recent tech-art exhibitions they've seen in New York and London, Camila introduces Ana to some stories about the history of computer eduction in Australian schools. This months episode is a two-for-one! Firstly, we learn...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
1:02:22
TamilNet
Virtual Tamil Eelam doesn’t connect itself to a physical label. Instead, it petitions to be recognised as a nation-state by publishing its heritage and cultural histories, diverse news, forums, distinct map designs and symbols, and suggestions ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
49:31
The Coleco Adam
Camila and Ana discover the infamous story of the 1983 failed Coleco Adam home computer and uncover the 1985 home computer crash, Ana learns the difference between Cabbage Patch Kids and Sour Patch Kids, and we all lose a $500 college scholarsh...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
46:29
Unitron and the Brazilian Macintosh clone
Ana and Camila discuss the world’s first macintosh clone, the Mac 512 by Unitron, and how Apple threatened to start a trade war on Brasil due to their clone. Although Unitron was not doing anything wrong with the Brazilian law, Apple tried to g...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
1:02:39
The BBC Domesday Project
Back after a summer break, Camila and Ana delve into a project they discovered at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge when Camila was visiting Ana in London. Called the BBC Domesday Project, this was a mid-80s attempt at an interactiv...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
48:55
Beltel / WorkNet (Pre-Internet Networks)
The girls discuss how South Africa’s videotex network Beltel fell into the hands of an oppressive government during apartheid. Although the police department grew stronger due to data storage accessibility via this videotex network, activists w...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
47:01
NABU (Pre-Internet Networks)
Back from London, Camila tells Ana about Canada's NABU network which operated via cable television services. It also could be considered one of the first examples of a 'streaming' subscription model for entertainment! The girls discuss th...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
41:42
Bildschirmtext (Pre-Internet Networks)
West Germany’s network videotex system, Bildschirmtext, was largely used for payment services by the Deutsche Bank, while its system was supported by hardware from the UK as West Germany continued to liberalise its society and economy. However ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
42:11
Videotexto/'Reabracadabra' (Bonus!)
In this bonus episode Camila and Ana look at the Brazilian Videotex network Videotexto through the lens of the artwork of Eduardo Kac. Camila also recounts her visit to the opening of Eduardo's current exhibition in NYC 'From Minitel to NFT’ at...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
47:09
CAPTAIN (Pre-Internet Networks)
Camila shares her research on the Japanese videotex system CAPTAIN. The girls discuss competing videotex protocols, how to informatize a country, biased reporting, and if a network can be successful in its aims even if the actual system failed....
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
50:33
Park Avenue (Bonus!)
Camila tells Ana about the late 80s Teletext soap opera ‘Park Avenue’ written by Robbie Burns, which has been archived by Park Avenue Archives (TW: @ParkAvenueArk; http://www.newmailbox.co.uk/pa...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
54:19
Prestel (Pre-Internet Networks)
Ana chats to Camila about Prestel, a nationwide information network developed by the UK Post Office. The videotex system was developed during the 1970s and for a brief time, the UK was at the forefront of intending to migrate its society online...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 5
•
31:42
Pink Minitel (Bonus!)
Camila and Ana delve deeper into the online world of Minitel this week with an exploration of the many sides of the “pink minitel” services provided on the network. Beginning with a discussion of Olivier Cheval’s 2019 short film “Rose Minitel” ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 4
•
46:30
Minitel (Pre-Internet Networks)
After some hobby chat, Camila tells Ana about the French videotex network ‘Minitel’. Launched in the early 80s, it was the most successful version of an online service before the World Wide Web. While other similar networks struggled, this epis...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
49:04
OGAS (Pre-Internet Networks)
Ana and Camila chat about the development of a Soviet nationwide information network in the 60s that was meant to run a planned economy for the USSR. Built after Sputnik’s launch, it brought about Soviet cybernetics and promised a new era for S...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 2
•
41:51
Project Cybersyn (Pre-Internet Networks)
Camila and Ana explore Project Cybersyn – an early 70s socialist cybernetics project connecting factories in Allende's Chile. This is the first episode of our first season which will be focusing on pre-internet networks!We're on
•
Season 1
•
Episode 1
•
34:45