Technology Connections: Difference between revisions

| birth_namecreator = Alec Watson

| genre = TechnologyDocumentary

Technology Connections has received praise from various publications for the depth and insight of Watson's research, as well as the witinesswittiness of his scripts and breadth of his subject matter.<ref name=pt /><ref name=lh>{{cite web | last=Ehrhardt | first=Michelle | date=July 12, 2024 | url=https://lifehacker.com/tech/best-tech-youtubers | title=Eight of My Favorite Tech Influencers You Should Follow | work=[[Lifehacker]] | publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815054026/https://lifehacker.com/tech/best-tech-youtubers | archivedate=August 15, 2024}}</ref> [[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".<ref name=bb>{{cite web | last=Frauenfelder | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Frauenfelder | date=March 24, 2023 | url=https://boingboing.net/2023/03/24/watch-this-excellent-explainer-video-on-how-vinyl-records-produce-stereo-sound.html | title=Watch this excellent explainer video on how vinyl records produce stereo sound | work=[[Boing Boing]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303133348/https://boingboing.net/2023/03/24/watch-this-excellent-explainer-video-on-how-vinyl-records-produce-stereo-sound.html | archivedate=March 3, 2024}}</ref> ''[[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 [[Lazy Game Reviews|LGR Oddware]]-style breakdowns on odd trends or gadgets that aren't really around anymore".<ref name=lh /> 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".<ref name=lh /> 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 {{em|how}} they work".<ref name=dcw /> Watson's video on the automatic [[Sunbeam Products|Sunbeam Radiant]] [[toaster]] went viral in 2019, with Sean Hollister of ''[[The Verge]]'' praising it as "[possibly] the smartest thing you watch today".<ref>{{cite web | last=Hollister | first=Sean | date=November 25, 2021 | url=https://www.theverge.com/22801890/sunbeam-radiant-control-toaster-t20-t35-vista | title=Why a toaster from 1949 is still smarter than any sold today | work=[[The Verge]] | publisher=[[Vox Media]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719022454/https://www.theverge.com/22801890/sunbeam-radiant-control-toaster-t20-t35-vista | archivedate=July 19, 2024}}</ref> Hollister similarly praised Watson's video detailing the mechanics of the [[Popcorn|popcorn button]] present on most consumer microwaves.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hollister | first=Sean | date=November 30, 2023 | url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/30/23982077/the-forbidden-popcorn-button | title=The forbidden popcorn button | work=[[The Verge]] | publisher=[[Vox Media]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802001228/https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/30/23982077/the-forbidden-popcorn-button | archivedate=August 2, 2024}}</ref>

The channel has also received praise from academics. The media studies scholar Marek Jancovic called Watson's video on the famous [[Ringing (telephony)|ringer]] of the [[Model 500 telephone|Western Electric Model 500 telephone]]—in which Watson deduces that modern feature films still use a sample of the ring derived from a [[stock sound effect|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".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jancovic | first=Marek Jancovic | date=2023 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RrOEAAAQBAJ | title=A Media Epigraphy of Video Compression: Reading Traces of Decay | publisher=[[Springer International Publishing]] | pages=51–52 | isbn=9783031332159 | via=Google Books}}</ref> Dan MacIsaac, a professor of physics at [[Buffalo State University|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, [[Electrical wiring in North America|North American home wiring]], and the dangers of certain [[extension cord]]s. MacIsaac recommended some Technology Connections videos as supplementary material for his introduction [[electromagnetism]] course.<ref name=pt />

In 2023, Watson published a video on the lack of use of [[brake lightlights]]s onin some electric carsvehicles andduring their[[regenerative variousbraking]]. flaws,He highlightingdemonstrated howthat his 2022 [[Hyundai Ioniq 5]]'s brakecould lightsdecelerate failedsharply to actuatea despitecomplete deceleratingstop quicklywithout toactuating athe completebrake stoplights. The video went viral, amassing over two&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web | last=Monticello | first=Mike | date=June 9, 2023 | url=https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/brake-lights-can-fail-to-provide-fair-warning-on-some-evs-a9533519285/ | title=Brake Lights Can Fail to Provide Fair Warning on Some Electric Vehicles | work=[[Consumer Reports]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730193610/https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-safety/brake-lights-can-fail-to-provide-fair-warning-on-some-evs-a9533519285/ | archivedate=July 30, 2024}}</ref>

Watson is a resident of the [[Chicago metropolitan area]].<ref name=pt>{{cite journal | last=MacIsaac | first=Dan | date=March 2024 | doi=10.1119/10.0024989

| title=''Technology Connections'' | journal=[[The Physics Teacher]] | publisher=[[AIP Publishing]] | volume=62 | issue=3 | page=239}}</ref> and originally graduated in [[hotel management]].<ref>[[Open Sauce]] Conference 2023, panel with Nile Red et al., 2023-11-07 (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2tpnZj7aWc YouTube])</ref> 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.<ref name=wbur>{{cite web | last=Ringer | first=John | author2=Meghna Chakrabarti | date=August 9, 2022 | url=https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/08/09/americas-electric-vehicle-future-government-car-biden | title=Behind the government-backed effort to create a national EV charging network | work=[[WBUR-FM|WBUR.org]] | publisher=[[NPR|National Public Radio]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924083627/https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/08/09/americas-electric-vehicle-future-government-car-biden | archivedate=September 24, 2023}}</ref>