hackertube.io

GENERAL MAGIC - Official Trailer

General Magic and the Soul of Tech · documentary · Watch on YouTube

Tech company stories & documentariesHistory of computingConsumer devices & gadgets

What it is

The official trailer for the documentary General Magic, about the secretive Apple spinoff that tried to build a handheld communicator in 1990 and whose ideas shaped the smartphone era.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends the documentary itself as a story of an epic early failure in mobile computing, and the trailer is the linked entry point.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “Highly recommend the documentary on General Magic.”

    Documentary on General Magic's early attempt at building the iPhone.

    brunorsini, 2024-12 · Strong recommendation · in “He Built Apple's 1980s iPad Concept [video]”

  2. “I found it interesting.”

    Documentary about General Magic and the people behind early mobile computing.

    the_af, 2021-01 · Recommendation · in “Halt and Catch Fire Syllabus”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: general magic, early smartphones, silicon valley, apple, startup failure

Also recommended by the same people