Old machines you can watch working

Simone Giertz: a computer you can give instructions

The Computer History Museum describes the Apple II, introduced in 1977, as a self-contained computer with a keyboard and BASIC in permanent memory; a television could serve as its display. It was designed as a more complete personal computer than its predecessor.

References: Computer History Museum

Simone sits at a working Apple II connected to a screen and types a short BASIC program: one numbered line prints a greeting and another sends the program back to that line. When she runs it, the greeting fills the display. She stops it, changes the greeting and runs it again. The small change makes the point clear: the machine is carrying out instructions she typed, in an order she can see and alter.

The keyboard, the text appearing on the screen and the repeated output show what a home computer could be used to do beyond looking like a historical object. Simone lets the machine run long enough for the result to fill the screen, then shows the edit that changes it.

Pulenaz: two days with a cassette player

Sony dates its first Walkman, the TPS-L2, to 1979 and identifies it as a portable stereo cassette player made for listening through headphones. It played tapes but did not record them.

References: Sony

Pulenaz puts a prerecorded cassette into a working TPS-L2 and listens while tidying the room. On the first day she wants to hear one song again, so she stops the tape and rewinds, then plays a few seconds to see where she has landed. She overshoots and has to wind forward a little. Later, when one side finishes, she opens the player and turns the cassette over before continuing.

On the second day she brings the player along for a short walk, then returns to it at home. She likes having an album play in sequence, but misses being able to jump straight to a particular track and has to remember to carry the tape and headphones. She keeps it for an album she wants to hear all the way through and uses her usual device when she wants a specific song quickly. The experiment shows both the physical routine and the parts she finds inconvenient.

Where to start

Choose Simone for a working computer and the direct link between a typed instruction and what appears on screen. Choose Pulenaz for a longer look at an everyday listening device: putting it to use, finding a song and deciding when the extra steps are worth it.

Sources and attribution

1. Computer History Museum

   The Apple IIPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

2. Sony

   Product & Technology Milestones: Personal AudioPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026