This Is My Computer: Long-Form Ep. 1

The Apple Manifesto 0:00

Direct-to-camera opening. Van tells the story of his 44-year relationship with Apple, walks through how each hardware generation traded physical controls for glass, and argues that AI is the first technology powerful enough to reverse the trend. He holds up an iPod Nano: the last computer that knew what it was, and contrasts it with the iPad Pro. The argument isn't anti-technology. It's anti-dependence.

Fast Mock: Apple Pencil 5:58

Quick product critique. Van handles the Apple Pencil, identifies what's wrong with it (it pretends to be a pencil but functions as a mouse), and proposes what it should be instead. Fast, opinionated, visual. Under two minutes.

A Thing We Love: Franklin Language Master 8:58

Van shows his Franklin Language Master electronic dictionary, a device from the 1990s that does exactly one thing: look up words. No Wi-Fi, no apps, no updates. You type a word, it gives you the definition. Van argues this is what a tool should be: a machine that serves a single purpose and does it permanently. He's used this one for decades and it still works.

See also: Things I Love

Ranked List: 5 Best Computers 11:17

Van ranks the five best computers he has ever used, in order. The ranking is personal and specific to how each machine changed his working life. Includes machines from the 1980s to the present. The number-one pick is the Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro : a dedicated hardware video switcher that Van argues is a better "computer" than a dedicated hardware video switcher that Van argues is a better "computer" than any laptop because it does one thing and does it with physical buttons. The iPod Nano 3rd generation also makes the list. The criteria: does the machine respect the human's hands?

Childhood Story: Kim & Ben's Dad and the Atari Hack 15:38

A formative story from Van's childhood. His friends' father modified an Atari to make it do something it was never designed to do: the first time Van saw someone refuse to accept a machine's limitationthe first time Van saw someone refuse to accept a machine's limitations. The story connects the episode's theme to Van's origin: the instinct to take tools apart and rebuild them for your actual purpose.

The Build: Multicam Switcher Cart 17:23

The anchor build of the episode. Van constructs a rolling multicam video production cart from scratch in his workshop. He used ChatGPT to design the configuration. Asking it to replace every software menu with a physical button or cable connection. The cart runs on a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro as the central switcher, with multiple camera feeds, a monitor stack, and all routing done through hardware. Van narrates every material choice: the plywood, the cable routing, the monitor mount angles. The point is that AI didn't add a screen. It helped eliminate them.

it helped eliminate them.

Key gear: Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro, Atomos Ninja, GoPro cameras

A Fix: GoPro Tripod Shoe 24:59

Van repairs a broken GoPro tripod shoe adapter instead of ordering a replacement. Short, problem-and-solution format. The shoe cracked at the mounting point; Van rebuilds it using workshop materials. The segment demonstrates the show's ethos: repair over replace, hands over cart.

A Thing We Love: Camera Flat Mount Plate 26:10

A quick object-love segment. Van shows the flat-mount camera plate he uses on every shoot: a simple, purpose-built piece of hardware that solves one problem cleanly. Under a minute. The kind of specific, single-purpose tool that makes Van's eyes light up.

See also: Things I Love