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Prairie Gates

(8,128 posts)

9. Many kids and teens today build their own gaming rigs

Reply to LiberalArkie (Original post)

Sun Mar 29, 2026, 10:03 AM

Yesterday

There's also a whole kinda wild subculture of homemade keyboards that probably mimics the science of the science fair kit pretty closely.

Sure, much of it is plug and play, but kids do learn about computer components and shop for them and sometimes repair their computers when they're not working.

I'm actually not that worried about engineering knowledge among younger kids and teens. The loss of humanities sensibilities is going to be far more dire.

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Polybius misanthrope

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(AI Created voice and images): What Happened To Radioshack's Science Fair Kit? The Toy That Built America's Engineers [View all] LiberalArkie Yesterday OP

I had a crystal radio kit, probably around 1950. 3Hotdogs Yesterday #1

So, I had pretty much every version from their catalog. OldBaldy1701E Yesterday #2

Back in the day. It's a wonder we lived through it. paleotn Yesterday #5

Famous Chevy Nova. Named to appeal to Latinos. No Va. Doesn't Go. usonian Yesterday #17

I had heard about how it was one of the worse selling cars in Hispanic America for that reason. OldBaldy1701E 12 hrs ago #25

A 350 in that little car was just amazing. usonian 11 hrs ago #28

Lots of stuff like that back in the day. Feels like there's less emphasis on such things today. paleotn Yesterday #3

Makers Maninacan Yesterday #4

AI slop. Please edit your title to reflect this is AI slop, or better yet, pull the entire thing. TIA Celerity Yesterday #6

It literally says AI Generated content right on the screen. LiberalArkie Yesterday #7

IMHO you should disclose that this is AI slop in your OP title. Celerity Yesterday #8

Many kids and teens today build their own gaming rigs Prairie Gates Yesterday #9

My first IBM Clone was from a defective motherboard I bought from Jameco as I could not afford a new one LiberalArkie Yesterday #20

Some of us had a higher risk tolerance (just kidding) usonian Yesterday #10

I have the transistor version of that tube radio. hunter Yesterday #13

I never saw one. usonian Yesterday #14

Yeah, it is curious that there were not more injuries. Disaffected Yesterday #18

There's a lot of ways to electrocute yourself with that. hunter Yesterday #19

Wow, that takes me back. Disaffected Yesterday #16

Radio Shack was far from the only company that made such kits. MineralMan Yesterday #11

I had a montgomery wards type of electronic kit about 1970 BlueWaveNeverEnd 12 hrs ago #27

Why do people keep hammering this site with AI slop? If it is not inaccurate, it is unethical on account of how it . . . xocetaceans Yesterday #12

I didn't watch the video. I rarely do. hunter Yesterday #15

It was good. LiberalArkie Yesterday #21

I can imagine that the scribes felt the same way when the Gutenberg press came out. And all readers that would read LiberalArkie Yesterday #22

The problem with that comment is that your analogy is faulty. 'AI' is not a means of transmission of ideas: it has . . . xocetaceans Yesterday #23

Same here because generally it is a waste of time to interact with 'AI' content. Take for example this video from . . . xocetaceans 23 hrs ago #24

More AI slop, with the script probably AI-written as well. Possibly from a foreign content farm. highplainsdem 12 hrs ago #26