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Hardware (other): videos Hacker News recommends
Other hardware and electronics topics: miscellaneous devices, data storage hardware, hard drives, memory technology, peripherals. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (12 demos, 3 explainers, 2 talks), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- 12 HN recommenders 9 months 2022–2025HN treats it as a favorite example of silly but educational computer science, recommended often when threads touch odd storage hacks.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2022–2023Commenters recommend it as a clear, well-animated explanation of memory, especially for visual learners.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2016–2018HN fans use it as the gateway to the Techmoan channel and praise it as one of the most fascinating obscure audio formats.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2011–2026It is the go-to viral demo whenever HN discusses vibration, acoustic attacks, or sound affecting hard drives.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2009–2011S ssdawesome · demoHN passed it around in 2009 as a funny, impressive demo of SSD speed despite its marketing origin.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2016–2022HN points to it whenever hard drive destruction or fast physical data wiping comes up, as an empirical test of what actually works.
- 1 HN recommenders 2 months 2023–2025D der8auer EN · demoPointed to as a look at Hetzner's unusual semi-custom server hardware and cooling.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2011–2026T teraera08 · explainerRemembered fondly as a fun, memorable animated explanation of how perpendicular disk storage works.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020T Techquickie · explainerHN commenters link it when webcam quality comes up, as a quick rundown of why laptop webcams lag behind phones.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2015–2021HN cites it as the example of Google's open-sourced linear book scanner design when discussing book digitization.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2011–2021Cited as the memorable case for moving to SSDs and as an example of how swearing can make a talk stick.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2023B bookscanner · demoHN brings it up in book-digitization threads as an elegant, careful scanner design.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2021HN refers to it as an honest, candid account of the common story of losing precious data to storage failure.
- cited 4× 0 months 2024–2026HN mostly cites it in critiques of Apple's hardware choices and base-model storage and memory, as an example of a design flaw.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–2023HN cites it as the go-to video on the little-known MD Data format, mostly in MiniDisc and obsolete-media threads.
- cited 8× 0 months 2018–2023HN links it whenever data-on-video-tape or YouTube-as-storage schemes come up, as the real precedent for storing digital data on VHS.
- cited 3× 0 months 2010–2022B bigshredder · demoLinked as an example of industrial shredding for secure bulk drive destruction.
- cited 3× 0 months 2014–2025I IBM · documentaryHN commenters link it as the making-of companion to IBM's atom stop-motion film.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2020Cited as an example of data hoarders testing Google's unlimited storage and of Google rate limiting heavy use.
- cited 3× 0 months 2016–2025A AdDiCt Zorz · demoHN commenters cite it as the famous demonstration of what happens to CPUs without thermal protection, especially the Athlon burning out.
Questions
What is the most recommended hardware (other) video on Hacker News?
Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need by suckerpinch: HN treats it as a favorite example of silly but educational computer science, recommended often when threads touch odd storage hacks.
How is this hardware (other) list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.