Nostr notes by media archaeology lab

one of our newest volunteers is a first year undergrad who ran a ...

2026-10-09T18:05:46Z

one of our newest volunteers is a first year undergrad who ran a typewriter repair business out of his parents' garage during high school. now he's fixing our duplicating machines - including this Ditto spirit duplicator (we just need to get the spirit recipe right and it'll be perfect)

listen we don't condone theft from libraries, but look at ...

2026-10-08T19:40:21Z

listen we don't condone theft from libraries, but look at this library book catalog card

is this the weirdest way we have ever tuned in to ...

2026-10-02T16:47:14Z

is this the weirdest way we have ever tuned in to http://1190.radio? maybe! that is, yes, an AM radio adapter cassette.

We're very excited to announce that our new MAL ...

2026-10-01T17:59:26Z

We're very excited to announce that our new MAL Correspondent, Marin Mendell, will be writing short articles about artifacts and experiences in the lab. Her first piece, on the Yamaha CX5M, is available to read in our latest newsletter & also as a standalone on archive https://archive.org/details/yamaha_202609

Our new zine is here! It's titled 'How to Spend Ten Years ...

2026-10-01T15:27:18Z

Our new zine is here!

It's titled 'How to Spend Ten Years Repairing a Computer and Why You Should Too' - and we'd like to send out some free copies.

First 50 emails with the subject line "Zine, please" to mediaarchaeology+zine@proton.me will get a copy (U.S. only, sorry folks, trying to keep our postage costs under control).

You can also find a print-ready version of the zine at https://archive.org/details/lisazine

This is the activity we did with students today, and we'd ...

2026-09-24T20:05:59Z

This is the activity we did with students today, and we'd love to hear your responses as well...

1. Pick an older device you have access to.

2. Identify it! (when is it from, what is it called, what is it for, what kind of device is it?)

3. Turn it on, use it as though you've never touched it or seen it before, try to understand it just by interacting with it.

And then reflect on the following...

4. How does it look backwards - what does it have that previous technologies also had?

5. How does it look forwards - what does it have that present-day technologies also have?

6. How does it diverge - what does it have that previous technologies didn’t have and present-day technologies didn’t keep?

7. In what ways is it a kind of “wish fulfillment”, trying to make previously fictional technologies real?

Nostr event nevent1qqsq2yfaagrg5wkl4kylmz6w6dmr29rw9dk3k7swl5tzpkrwnt6egwszyz0drta886rdw63wz4vptzfml4vgj3m578mcmu2fgmlt9gw0ckfsumwu6cj

2026-09-23T21:21:25Z

Anybody have an LTO-4 tape drive sitting around by chance?

it's the 60th anniversary of Star Trek's first air date ...

2026-09-08T14:45:31Z

it's the 60th anniversary of Star Trek's first air date and we have *so much* Star Trek media in the lab that maybe we will just share some of it all week...

we got to visit the Computer History Museum in Slovenia on ...

2026-07-27T07:45:23Z

we got to visit the Computer History Museum in Slovenia on Saturday, what an excellent spot

today in things you didn't know you needed, a briefcase-style ...

2026-07-09T20:35:54Z

today in things you didn't know you needed, a briefcase-style portable microfiche reader

why does this APL reference look so much like a poetry book? ...

2026-07-06T20:51:02Z

why does this APL reference look so much like a poetry book?

July newsletter is live! 2nd of the month, pretty good! ...

2026-07-02T20:28:12Z

July newsletter is live! 2nd of the month, pretty good! https://mediaarchaeologylab.ghost.io/oh-my-july/

Our residency call for the 26/27 academic year is live! The theme ...

2026-06-22T19:33:38Z

Our residency call for the 26/27 academic year is live! The theme this year is Creative Misuse - interpret as you will.

Read the full prompt: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zB-7J4UoajGAooans30yEgQKlzys2hD/view

Fill out the application: https://forms.gle/KNfcAGBVCbyURiWJA

when you come in to the lab you now stand a good chance of ...

2026-06-12T20:03:56Z

when you come in to the lab you now stand a good chance of leaving with a Print Shop sign

hello and welcome to today's episode of "will this catch ...

2026-05-22T17:30:22Z

hello and welcome to today's episode of "will this catch fire if we plug it in?"

if you haven't seen the Virtual OS Museum yet - check it out, ...

2026-05-21T17:50:05Z

if you haven't seen the Virtual OS Museum yet - check it out, it's genuinely remarkable.

this is *not* the kind of work that is within our mission, but it is adjacent to what we do and we appreciate it so, so much. it's the combination of everyone doing their individual things that leads to an incredible variety of ways to understand and access this history https://virtualosmuseum.org/

On Thursday April 9 at 5pm our current resident Clemens Schöll ...

2026-04-06T21:16:05Z

On Thursday April 9 at 5pm our current resident Clemens Schöll (nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyd968gmewwp6kyqpqxeftlucy6paw9glz9072lrysyu49eep5gt4rpzrvxmkwghm57pyq524u86 (nprofile…4u86)) will share his Instagram automaton, “Artist at Work 4.0.”

Clemens' sculptural-bot will be installed in the MAL pop-up space (CASE W250).

Please join us as Clemens will deliver an artist talk on his creative process during his MAL residency. Clemens will also position “Artist at work 4.0” in relation to his broader practice-based research in counter-automation.

Clemens’ talk will also be live-streamed on Twitch (https://twitch.tv/mediaarchaeology) at 5pm MST / UTC -6.

Nostr event nevent1qqs0z5fp2f5lnpkgys5lcy5698896y9mktqa3qlr26scez2nh82vd8czyz0drta886rdw63wz4vptzfml4vgj3m578mcmu2fgmlt9gw0ckfsunull2j

2026-03-26T20:43:25Z

(no)

look at them! ...

2026-02-26T19:01:08Z

look at them!

for those who have asked if we have a reel-to-reel player... the ...

2026-01-16T22:18:07Z

for those who have asked if we have a reel-to-reel player... the answer is finally yes! we even have a little primitive lapel mic

Did You Know... we have a lot of stuff? sometimes, we get things ...

2026-01-15T20:41:41Z

Did You Know... we have a lot of stuff?

sometimes, we get things that are broken or un-usable. sometimes things break and are not fixable or not worth fixing.

those things go into the e-waste pile of doom, from whence they are eventually taken to the Colorado Hard to Recycle Materials Facility.

howEVER, this time around we decided to add another step in that process. we'll be doing a "Take Our Stuff, Please!" free rummage on the porch on January 31 from 2-4 PM.

everything from letterpress type to broken circuit boards to partially scavenged computer towers to textbooks from the 80s - all free, for whatever use you might have for it...

save the date! bring your own bag or box! take whatever you want!

(edit: one of our high school volunteers made a poster)

who needs a fresh copy of CP/M WordStar? ...

2025-12-10T21:34:27Z

who needs a fresh copy of CP/M WordStar?

today's readings.... ...

2025-12-01T18:40:49Z

today's readings....

we added a couple more new models, and everyone got a little ...

2025-11-24T23:41:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…lm76
_________________________

we added a couple more new models, and everyone got a little dusting and rearranging and new ribbons

we've gotten a little typewriter mad around these parts ...

2025-11-24T21:22:12Z

we've gotten a little typewriter mad around these parts again...

different sort of bag phone... ...

2025-11-13T19:41:48Z

different sort of bag phone...

our beautiful Victrola suddenly started having more erratic ...

2025-10-02T16:15:58Z

our beautiful Victrola suddenly started having more erratic vibrations so we took a look inside. it already needed a good clean & lube, but it also turns out one of the flyballs broke off the centrifugal governor. so, now it needs a little repair as well.

we are shifting the theme of our pop-up space on campus to ...

2025-06-03T18:03:29Z

we are shifting the theme of our pop-up space on campus to "Media Before Media"--it'll include artifacts from the long history of A.I. (automatons! early chat-bots!) plus 19th century optical toys, magic lanterns, wire recorders, etc. we're putting on a little fundraiser to help us purchase these somewhat pricey additions to our collection - grateful for donations and also grateful if you'd help us spread the word! https://othernetworks.net/2025/06/03/fundraising-for-media-before-media-exhibit/

happy June, enjoy a fresh newsletter! ...

2025-06-02T21:03:11Z

happy June, enjoy a fresh newsletter! https://mediaarchaeologylab.ghost.io/june-is-here/

this 18 year old TomTom actually found a satellite it can talk ...

2025-05-23T21:07:21Z

this 18 year old TomTom actually found a satellite it can talk to!

guess who has a working Lisa? ...

2025-05-12T19:18:11Z

guess who has a working Lisa?

new stickers are in and they are great, with printing work by ...

2025-05-07T16:49:22Z

new stickers are in and they are great, with printing work by stickerguy.com as always

look at this beautiful pair of walkie-talkies we just got ...

2025-05-02T19:47:37Z

look at this beautiful pair of walkie-talkies we just got

today's fun! Hoot-Nanny The Magic Designer is a spirograph ...

2025-04-23T16:22:37Z

today's fun! Hoot-Nanny The Magic Designer is a spirograph predecessor from the 1930s (originally produced in 1933)

yesterday we had errands that took us by the best-named road in ...

2025-04-18T15:55:09Z

yesterday we had errands that took us by the best-named road in the area

our zine collection is growing quite respectable (hi ...

2025-04-16T20:54:22Z

our zine collection is growing quite respectable (hi nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqmxqe2jrzl354txf6a0ws9xsd872qcal2cup9mghhflazqfxaje3serkf6a (nprofile…kf6a) and nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq8z2nekda9jss0kkrpsty8patvsj97xmv2g29xhepdm9wt5y2rfmqfyujvh (nprofile…ujvh) !)

The Media Archaeology Lab (MAL) Practitioner-In-Residence program ...

2025-04-09T17:44:47Z

The Media Archaeology Lab (MAL) Practitioner-In-Residence program is inviting applications for the 2025/2026 cohort!

The theme for our 2025/2026 residency is Counter Computing: Alternative Imaginaries. We would like to see your interpretation and exploration of this open brief. You may consider thinking about the following questions: What is computation? What is the role of the “counter” in artistic and technological practice? How can we imagine technology and society otherwise through such counter-acts? What are the poetics of techno-social relations?

We are interested in any form of artistic and/or scholarly practice that engages counter-computational practices, such as glitching, hacking, tinkering, queering, subverting, (un)making and (re)imagining. Through such experimentation, we encourage you to explore how our relation to (and imagination of) technology can be remade to envision alternative pasts, presents and futures.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/gFDaQKGJsb8APMGQ9

we are SUPER excited to be sponsoring a screening of the ...

2025-03-31T20:36:17Z

we are SUPER excited to be sponsoring a screening of the documentary Seeking Mavis Beacon followed by a Q&A session with one of the filmmakers!

When: Wednesday, April 9, 4PM

Where: ATLAS building on CU Boulder central campus, Room 102

finally unboxing our NABU Personal Computers and remembering how ...

2025-03-27T21:19:10Z

finally unboxing our NABU Personal Computers and remembering how much we hate the feeling of 40-year-old rubber bands

@nprofile…xlhv it was definitely built at a point when HAL was ...

2025-03-07T19:09:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…xr6q
_________________________

nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq2ze486vfl7f9nk2vsan0u07lrd7tfn37f8djqeryl0uztsck8ltsc9xlhv (nprofile…xlhv) it was definitely built at a point when HAL was firmly in the cultural canon

just look at them 😍 ...

2025-02-12T17:13:07Z

just *look at them* 😍

introducing our new irregularly updated photo series, "have ...

2025-02-10T20:26:28Z

introducing our new irregularly updated photo series, "have fun explaining that to a teenager"

we had a lot of fun at the opening reception for the Other ...

2025-01-31T23:59:37Z

we had a lot of fun at the opening reception for the Other Networks pop-up exhibition today, especially of the "playing tetris on Minitel" and "sending selfies via videophone" variety

it's always surprising to see where we once were, unsettling ...

2025-01-22T21:57:01Z

it's always surprising to see where we once were, unsettling to think where we could go from here

we're always combating entropy - to that end, does anyone ...

2025-01-16T17:22:43Z

we're always combating entropy - to that end, does anyone local to us have an older fax machine that works & that we can borrow for a few months?

this was a lovely holiday surprise/relief - apparently this got ...

2024-12-19T21:59:30Z

this was a lovely holiday surprise/relief - apparently this got lost in the university mail system for MONTHS, but we finally got it this week!

just in case you've got an excess of punch cards and a lack ...

2024-12-19T18:37:48Z

just in case you've got an excess of punch cards and a lack of Christmas decor...

today in accessioning: ...

2024-12-12T19:32:56Z

today in accessioning:

it's SIM ANT day again 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜 ...

2024-07-25T19:34:33Z

it's SIM ANT day again 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜

we are so thrilled to launch this pamphlet series, Other Networks ...

2024-07-10T21:30:37Z

we are so thrilled to launch this pamphlet series, Other Networks For Everyone. add your name to the list if you'd like us to mail you a copy---> https://forms.gle/jfsEZZMyLf1L5SrG8 #othernetworks

if you're gonna learn C, might as well learn it from the ...

2024-07-03T17:36:18Z

if you're gonna learn C, might as well learn it from the source

the FUTURE ...

2024-07-01T21:33:42Z

the FUTURE

@npub1rv4…ft5j sometimes

2024-06-28T00:27:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…errt
_________________________

npub1rv4738d6q3nxf24v4gmg4u7lh3udmarsttfzp7q0xttdlqk5ls3s65ft5j (npub1rv4…ft5j) sometimes

SO: we are going to try and do a weekly lunchtime chat on Twitch, ...

2024-06-26T16:18:05Z

SO: we are going to try and do a weekly lunchtime chat on Twitch, starting Monday July 1 at noon our time (UTC-6). We'll work on whatever project we're doing and chat for an hour or so and then leave the stream up for open house hours the rest of the afternoon. Let's see how it goes! https://www.twitch.tv/mediaarchaeology

if anyone has access to closed-captioning software (of the type ...

2024-06-24T18:52:48Z

if anyone has access to closed-captioning software (of the type that can be used with a hardware encoder) we'd love to see documentation of it working

if we scheduled (and actually stuck with...) a weekly livestream, ...

2024-06-24T14:58:52Z

if we scheduled (and actually stuck with...) a weekly livestream, would you watch?

we've got a working Pong dupe! the Radio Shack TV Scoreboard ...

2024-06-14T17:40:44Z

we've got a working Pong dupe! the Radio Shack TV Scoreboard came in a few different models - this one does the basics: Tennis (Pong), Hockey, Squash, and a practice screen. we actually have another of this model but it has never worked properly, so it's fun to have one that functions!

today's oddity... ...

2024-06-12T17:34:12Z

today's oddity...

it's very cute. but it doesn't totally work - lights come ...

2024-06-05T19:47:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…rukc
_________________________

it's very cute. but it doesn't totally work - lights come on but doesn't do anything else. sooo time to poke around

look at what we got! ...

2024-06-05T19:43:16Z

look at what we got!

there are very few things we will bend our "must be in ...

2024-05-22T16:50:18Z

there are very few things we will bend our "must be in working condition" rule for but... iykyk

happy birthday fifth element ...

2024-05-09T16:37:34Z

happy birthday fifth element

Rob Ray @npub1d8m…q4j0 workshopping in the MAL - we're ...

2024-04-25T21:19:56Z

Rob Ray npub1d8mtpw59k9d45pxmplgq480qy600e9p69e60j7726std0wftes3qygq4j0 (npub1d8m…q4j0) workshopping in the MAL - we're livestreaming to Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/mediaarchaeology) via the Panasonic OmniMovie VHS Movie Camera Recorder/Playback System