Technology Connections

Last updated
Technology Connections
Technology Connections logo.svg
YouTube information
Created byAlec Watson
Years active2015–present
GenreDocumentary
Subscribers2.58 million [1]
Total views334 million [1]
Contents are inEnglish
Last updated: December 2024

Technology Connections is an American YouTube channel covering the history and mechanics of consumer electronics, home appliances, and other pieces of technology, created by Alec Watson of Chicago, Illinois. Subjects of focus include transportation, [2] HVAC, refrigeration, photography, and home audio and video, among others. The channel, which has received praise for Watson's humor and the depth and insight of his research, has amassed a large following on YouTube. [3] [4]

Contents

Channel

Watson registered the Technology Connections channel on YouTube in November 2014, [1] with his first video, exploring Alexander Graham Bell's role in the history of sound reproduction, uploaded in September 2015. [5] In the years since, Watson has released videos on Technology Connections covering other aspects of consumer audiovisual technology—home audio and video in particular—releasing a five-part documentary miniseries on the Compact Disc audio format by Sony and Philips in 2018; and the Capacitance Electronic Disc home video format by RCA between 2019 and 2020. [6] As well as these subjects, Watson has also explored the mechanics and history of various telephony products, aspects of television broadcasting, videocassette recorders, home appliances, electrical wiring, and more. Watson often interjects his explanations with humorous and satirical asides, as well as critiques of some of the technologies he discusses. [7]

In February 2020, Watson's Technology Connections channel was briefly and erroneously demonetized for supposed violations of YouTube's Partner Program policies. The monetization was restored after the demonetization caused an uproar on social media. Reclaim the Net attributed it to a fault in Google's internal artificial intelligence. [8]

In March 2024, Watson collaborated with Gavin Free of The Slow Mo Guys to film an episode of Technology Connections detailing the mechanics of Kodak and Sylvania's jointly developed Magicube, a multiple-use, disposable consumer flash bulb. Watson employed Free's Phantom high-speed camera to capture and study detailed close-ups of the Magicube igniting its explosive contents to create the flash. Because of the way the Phantom camera works, Free was forced to film several shots at an extreme aspect ratio to capture images at 200,000 frames per second. [9] [10]

Recognition

Technology Connections has received praise from various publications for the depth and insight of Watson's research, as well as the wittiness of his scripts and breadth of his subject matter. [7] [11] Mark Frauenfelder, the co-owner of Boing Boing , called Watson's channel "a fantastic resource for learning about the inner workings of everyday items ... break[ing] down complex concepts into easy-to-understand explanations, providing viewers with a greater appreciation for the technology that surrounds them". [3] Lifehacker 's Michelle Ehrhardt wrote that Watson's "documentary style approach is comprehensive yet approachable, and while topics often have some bearing on what you have in your house right now, the channel has also done LGR Oddware-style breakdowns on odd trends or gadgets that aren't really around anymore". [11] Ehrhardt called Watson "a sort of guru for home appliances", "explain[ing] the history and methodology behind common devices like air conditioners, dishwashers, and power outlets in a genuinely fun way that might also teach you a few tricks and tips that will make your life better". [11] Adam Juniper, writing in Digital Camera World, called Watson and Free's video on the Magicube "a brilliant job of placing the different single-use flash technologies in context—historically and economically—showing how they work and then going above and beyond in explaining exactly how they work". [10] Watson's video on the automatic Sunbeam Radiant toaster went viral in 2019, with Sean Hollister of The Verge praising it as "[possibly] the smartest thing you watch today". [12] Hollister similarly praised Watson's video detailing the mechanics of the popcorn button present on most consumer microwaves. [13]

The channel has also received praise from academics. The media studies scholar Marek Jancovic called Watson's video on the famous ringer of the Western Electric Model 500 telephone—in which Watson deduces that modern feature films still use a sample of the ring derived from a sound effect LP record pressed off-center and severely warped—an example of what Jancovic calls media epigraphy . Jancovic wrote that Watson's findings represent "impressive deductions [w]orthy of a detective novel". [14] Dan MacIsaac, a professor of physics at SUNY Buffalo State, has praised Watson's explainers on home wiring, calling some of the concepts discussed illuminating, particularly on the details of plug design, electrical outlet orientation, North American home wiring, and the dangers of certain extension cords. MacIsaac recommended some Technology Connections videos as supplementary material for his introduction electromagnetism course. [7]

In 2023, Watson published a video on the lack of use of brake lights in some electric vehicles during regenerative braking. He demonstrated that his 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 could decelerate sharply to a complete stop without actuating the brake lights. The video went viral, amassing over two million views in a week, prompting a detailed report of these flaws in Consumer Reports , which in turn prompted a response from Hyundai Motor Group promising to address the issue. [15]

Personal life

Watson is a resident of the Chicago metropolitan area [7] and originally graduated in hotel management. [16] He is an enthusiast of electric cars, a topic covered repeatedly on his channel, with his first electric vehicle being a Chevrolet Volt purchased in 2015 to commute to his first day job. In 2022, he upgraded to a Hyundai Ioniq 5. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash (photography)</span> Device producing a burst of artificial light

A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. The main purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light. Flash refers either to the flash of light itself or to the electronic flash unit discharging the light. Most current flash units are electronic, having evolved from single-use flashbulbs and flammable powders. Modern cameras often activate flash units automatically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instamatic</span> Film camera brand from Kodak

The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning in 1963. The Instamatic was immensely successful, introducing a generation to low-cost photography and spawning numerous imitators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intelligent Parking Assist System</span> Automatic parking system by Toyota

Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS), also known as Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) for Toyota models in the United States, is the first production automatic parking system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999 initially for the Japanese market hybrid Prius models and Lexus models. The technology assists drivers in parking their vehicle. On vehicles equipped with the IPAS, via an in-dash screen and button controls, the car can steer itself into a parking space with little input from the user. The first version of the system was deployed on the Prius Hybrid sold in Japan in 2003. In 2006, an upgraded version debuted for the first time outside Japan on the Lexus LS luxury sedan, which featured the automatic parking technology among other brand new inventions from Toyota. In 2009, the system appeared on the third generation Prius sold in the U.S. In Asia and Europe, the parking technology is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist System for both Lexus and Toyota models, while in the U.S. the Advanced Parking Guidance System name is only used for the Lexus system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube</span> Video-sharing and social media platform

YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States, it is the second-most visited website in the world, after Google Search. In January 2024, YouTube had more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, who collectively watched more than one billion hours of videos every day. As of May 2019, videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute, and as of 2023, there were approximately 14 billion videos in total.

Internet video is digital video that is distributed over the internet. Internet video exists in several formats, the most notable being MPEG-4i AVC, AVCHD, FLV, and MP4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smosh</span> American YouTube comedy channel

Smosh is an American YouTube sketch comedy-improv collective, independent production company, and former social networking site founded by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. In 2002, Padilla created a website named "smosh.com" for making Flash animations, and he was later joined by Hecox. They began posting videos on Smosh's YouTube channel in 2005 and quickly became one of the most popular channels on the site. As of 2024, the channel has over 10 billion views and over 26 million subscribers.

jacksfilms American YouTuber (born 1988)

John Patrick Douglass, better known as jacksfilms, is an American YouTuber, videographer, musician, and sketch comedian. He is best known for his series Yesterday I Asked You (YIAY) and Your Grammar Sucks (YGS), in which he commentates on content sent by fans. Douglass' career on YouTube spans over 18 years.

<i>Dys4ia</i> 2012 video game

Dys4ia is an abstract, autobiographical Adobe Flash video game that Anna Anthropy, then known as Auntie Pixelante, developed to recount her experiences of gender dysphoria and hormone replacement therapy. The game was originally published on Newgrounds but was later removed by Anthropy. In 2023, she republished it on itch.io.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Crowder</span> American-Canadian political commentator (born 1987)

Steven Blake Crowder is an American-Canadian conservative political commentator.

An online video platform (OVP) enables users to upload, convert, store, and play back video content on the Internet, often via a private server structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally upload video content via the hosting service's website, mobile or desktop application, or other interfaces (API), and typically provides embed codes or links that allow others to view the video content.

Matthew "Mat" Taylor, better known by his YouTube handle Techmoan, is a British YouTuber and blogger, specializing in consumer tech reviews and retrotech documentaries about technology of historical interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Stevens (YouTuber)</span> American YouTuber (born 1986)

Michael David Stevens is an American educator, public speaker, entertainer, and editor best known for creating and hosting the education YouTube channel Vsauce. His channel initially released video game-related content until the popularity of his educational series DOT saw discussions of general interest become the focus of Vsauce, encompassing explanations of science, philosophy, culture, and illusion.

Forgotten Weapons is a website and channel appearing on YouTube, Utreon, Full30 and Floatplane, created and presented by Ian McCollum. Forgotten Weapons covers the history of antique, obscure, and historically important firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YouTube copyright strike</span> Website policy action

YouTube copyright strike is a copyright policing practice used by YouTube for the purpose of managing copyright infringement and complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA is the basis for the design of the YouTube copyright strike system. For YouTube to retain DMCA safe harbor protection, it must respond to copyright infringement claims with a notice and take down process. YouTube's own practice is to issue a "YouTube copyright strike" on the user accused of copyright infringement. When a YouTube user gets hit with a copyright strike, they are required to watch a warning video about the rules of copyright and take trivia questions about the danger of copyright. A copyright strike will expire after 90 days. However, if a YouTube user accumulates three copyright strikes within those 90 days, YouTube terminates that user's YouTube channel, including any associated channels that the user have, removes all of their videos from that user's YouTube channel, and prohibits that user from creating another YouTube channel.

Content ID is a digital fingerprinting system developed by Google which is used to easily identify and manage copyrighted content on YouTube. Videos uploaded to YouTube are compared against audio and video files registered with Content ID by content owners, looking for any matches. Content owners have the choice to have matching content blocked or to monetize it. The system began to be implemented around 2007. By 2016, it had cost $60 million to develop and led to around $2 billion in payments to copyright holders. By 2018, Google had invested at least $100 million into the system.

videogamedunkey American YouTuber (born 1991)

Jason Gastrow, known online as videogamedunkey or simply dunkey, is an American YouTuber known for his YouTube skits and video essays that blend humor with video game criticism. As of October 2024, his YouTube channel has seven million subscribers and he has accumulated over four billion views.

YouTube may suspend accounts, temporarily or permanently, from their social networking service. Suspensions of high-profile individuals from YouTube are unusual and when they occur, often attract attention in the media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Backrooms</span> Fictional location

The Backrooms are a fictional location originating from a 2019 4chan thread. One of the best known examples of the liminal space aesthetic, the Backrooms are usually portrayed as an impossibly large extradimensional expanse of empty rooms, accessed by exiting reality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Watson (YouTuber)</span> American YouTuber, comedian, musician, podcast (born 1996)

Matt Watson is an American YouTuber, comedian, musician, podcast host and music video director. He is best known as a co-host of the comedy-variety channel SuperMega and a former editor for and member of the Let's Play-oriented web series Game Grumps. Watson has collaborated with other entertainers, such as Finn Wolfhard, Markiplier, bbno$ and OneyNG. As of 21 July 2024, SuperMega has 976 thousand subscribers and over 427 million total video views.

<i>Channel 5</i> (web series) American media company & web channel

Channel 5 is an American digital media company and web channel, billed as a "digital journalism experience." The show is a spinoff of the group's previous project, All Gas No Brakes, which was itself based on the book of the same name. The channel is hosted by Andrew Callaghan and has amassed 2.71 million subscribers as of August 2024. Similar to the format of All Gas No Brakes, the show features man on the street interviews as well as longer-form documentary film. The show is first broadcast via Patreon with content later added to their YouTube channel. An affiliate channel, Channel 5 Clips, showcases humorous cuts from the longer content.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Watson, Alec (n.d.). "Technology Connections – About". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023.
  2. ↑ Limer, Eric (May 15, 2018). "The Huge Advantages (and One Problem) of LED Traffic Lights". Popular Mechanics . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Frauenfelder, Mark (March 24, 2023). "Watch this excellent explainer video on how vinyl records produce stereo sound". Boing Boing . Archived from the original on March 3, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Ringer, John; Meghna Chakrabarti (August 9, 2022). "Behind the government-backed effort to create a national EV charging network". WBUR.org . National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
  5. ↑ Watson, Alec (September 23, 2015). "Bell & The Invention of Artificial Sound". Technology Connections. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Marshall, Colin (November 16, 2022). "When the World Got Introduced to the Amazing Compact Disc (CD) in 1982". Open Culture. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 MacIsaac, Dan (March 2024). "Technology Connections". The Physics Teacher . 62 (3). AIP Publishing: 239. doi:10.1119/10.0024989.
  8. ↑ Rankovic, Didi (February 13, 2020). "YouTube demonetizes and then remonetizes Technology Connections without saying why". Reclaim the Net. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ Segarra, Lisa Marie (March 12, 2024). "Watch Old-School Single-Use Flash Bulbs Explode in Slow-Mo". PetaPixel . Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Adam, Juniper (February 25, 2024). "Did you know camera flashes used to use explosives? Not Xenon or LED. Explosives!". Digital Camera World. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 Ehrhardt, Michelle (July 12, 2024). "Eight of My Favorite Tech Influencers You Should Follow". Lifehacker . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024.
  12. ↑ Hollister, Sean (November 25, 2021). "Why a toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024.
  13. ↑ Hollister, Sean (November 30, 2023). "The forbidden popcorn button". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ Jancovic, Marek Jancovic (2023). A Media Epigraphy of Video Compression: Reading Traces of Decay. Springer International Publishing. pp. 51–52. ISBN   9783031332159 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ Monticello, Mike (June 9, 2023). "Brake Lights Can Fail to Provide Fair Warning on Some Electric Vehicles". Consumer Reports . Archived from the original on July 30, 2024.
  16. ↑ Open Sauce Conference 2023, panel with Nile Red et al., 2023-11-07 (see YouTube)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.