FLY Pentop Computer: LeapFrog's Big Flop - Krazy Ken’s Tech Talk

[@ComputerClan]

This episode is a tad more personal to me than many and I had lots of fun making it! It was also a big challenge, but I hope you love it! ❤🔔Subscribe and stay tuned because my next episode launches in about 3 weeks (late October, date TBD). It's likely going to be a new scam-buster! I don't know which product yet because I have a few investigations open!

[@MatthewCenance]

What's your favorite thing about making it?

[@MatthewCenance]

And looks like my chances of being the preview comment were already over before it started.

[@NALTOHQ]

Hey! Tad! I see what you did there!

[@UltimatePerfection]

And here I thought having a pen usb memory is cool.

[@MonadoBoy16]

Do a scam-buster on DKOldies and their "Refurbished" consoles!

[@endymallorn]

The thing I love about this story, and all of LeapFrog’s dev stories, is how they seemed to be willing to throw money out the window if the tech or the idea might genuinely help a child to learn. It speaks to the way the company was founded, that one man wanted to help his own child and just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and he’s been trying to help other parents and spare them that helpless feeling.

[@justkittensbeingkittens5892]

Real and true. Much respect to the good souls out there genuinely trying to help

[@WarFoxThunder]

IKR

[@KnittingFoole]

As a parent of kids at that time, one thing that would have discouraged me from buying something like the Fly would def have been having to keep buying that special paper for kids who would def be messing it up or losing it or whatever.

[@slaneyinfamous]

and as a kid at the time whose older sister had the fusion pen growing up, we were ABSOLUTELY wasting that stuff lol

[@mi5iu491]

Bad parent. Baaaaaaaaaad

[@MadScientist267]

I agree but I bought the original not for the kids but for myself... To this day it is in demonstratable condition. The thing was bad ass for its time. Knew when I saw it that we were going to be seeing some insane shit turning the corner soon. He's right in that it loses its appeal beyond cool factor and conversation piece, but it wasn't as much about what it did but the idea it could do it, for me. I saw so much more possibility and had to know how it worked. I didn't know the details about exactly how they were arranged but had noticed "patterned dots" and worked out more or less what it was doing. This was interesting to find a couple decades later clarifying a couple odd and end mysteries. Pretty cool little concept even if it didn't really take off. It showed what was coming. That's what made it special.

[@dogwalker666]

Photocopies worked perfectly.

[@post-leftluddite]

I'm 39 now, I remember thinking this thing was stupid and no kid would want it then and I look at it and think the same thing now....I can't believe anybody would have bought this

[@LegoWormNoah101]

It's worth noting that LeapFrog did more than just toys. Around 2003-2009 (IDK the exact dates), Leapfrog posted some Direct-To-Video animations using their characters Tad, Lily and Leapshire, their parents, and many supporting characters. The early specials focused on letters and phonics, while the later ones spread towards many school topics like counting and math, along with downsizing the main cast to just the little siblings and Edison the firefly. Then, they produced a spin-off series using Scout the dog and his friends going through various locations to learn similar topics. There's not been a Direct-To-Video special since then

[@MattSuguisAsFondAsEverrr]

that's literally my only association with the brand then to the point that i got confused when they brought out the dog mascots

[@shararm]

You just straight up blew my mind

[@tmc249]

damn some nostalgia hit me i remembered watching them back then in the early 2010s

[@wlpaul4]

Yo, some of those songs are absolute bangers.

[@alextoolstudio]

I WATCHED THOSE A LOT ON NETFILX

[@dylan_00]

The "Go" sound of the LeapPad was so nostalgic lol

[@NALTOHQ]

Absolutely. I bought a pink and purple LeapPad just to hear it again. And SpongeBob Salty Sea Stories. Loved that little book.

[@WolfPackYT]

ONG AND THE VOICE

[@andresbravo2003]

Same to me.

[@thetechsavvy01]

OH MY GOD I haven't heard that sound in forever! So much nostalgia

[@JBlooey]

I haven't heard that sound in 17 years, yet I heard it clear as day mentally as soon as I saw "LeapFrog" in the title!

[@reneberthold334]

In Germany we have a device called TipToi. The episode reminded me very much of it, especially since the technology is the same. In this case, a dot grid is also captured by a camera and output via a speaker in the pen. Somehow it wouldn't surprise me if a licensed technology is used.

[@Rocket_Try]

I was looking for that comment. I would say that it is highly likely, that it is licensed from there. The technologies are just to similar/identical. Do you know already the talk of the guy who hacked a Tiptoi?

[@Cooe.]

​@@Rocket_TryThey both licensed the same technology from Anato.

[@sparkycorkers1196]

This is just like my livescribe pen that i use to help my dyslexia. It will record audio as you write, you then touch the paper where you wrote, and it will play the aydio from that moment. Bloody brilliant

[@PhilXavierSierraJones]

The red blinking light may indicate the battery is too discharged to "safely" recharge it. You can usually (emphasis on USUALLY) jumpstart it using a power bank with a recovery mode, like certain bar type single cell power banks (look for the Hotchip branding on the main IC)

[@hectorg5809]

Interesting!

[@Mike-77-YT]

Basically, it means that the battery is completely dead.

[@mack.attack]

Even the magic of buying two of them couldn't help Ken 😭😭

[@DecayingReverie]

That sound of pressing on "Go" on the LeapFrog just unlocked chore childhood memories. Holy crap, I used the crap out of my LeapFrog. I loved all the little songs and sounds the thing would play. I only found out recently I am on the autistic spectrum and I really connected to sounds and interaction when other methods didn't connect with me as well.

[@ComputerClan]

I'm glad that resonated with you. I actually wasn't going to include the Go chime, but I was demoing the unit for someone in the studio and they reacted to the sound. Then I thought… wow… I need to include that soundbite!

[@richneptune]

I never saw the original Fly, but a friend at work was very proud of his LiveScribe a decade and a bit ago! It always looked cool, but was one of those "solution in search of a problem" kinda things, the fact it needed expensive and hard to obtain paper was just another reason that detracted from its potential usefulness. It's actually cool to see that they got it into a kids toy and tried, valiantly, to turn it into something of a productivity tool.

[@VraerynDaDragon]

I used to have one in High School. Sure it didn't...do much that I actually needed, but you better believe it was the coolest pen ever according to my classmates!

[@tomsaltner3011]

Expensive yes, although not compared to moleskin or alike. Hard to obtain? No. I just ordered it and arrived pretty fast. And I was living outside of the US.

[@paulweston1106]

I had one of those for a while, we bought a few at work. You could actually print your own paper from a downloadable PDF so there was no need to buy the paper. We mostly used them for completing pre-printed building survey forms but they did work and you didn't end up with the broken screens that came from dropped tablets.

[@xureality]

It was very niche, but I had a livescribe that I used for recording lectures and taking notes, back when professors wouldn't allow you to use a phone to record lectures or a laptop to take notes. What they don't know won't hurt them.

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, been a while, but didn't someone like Logitech and/or one of the luxury pen companies have an accelerometer based one that didn't need optical scanning? Not sure how reliable any of that was back in the day.

[@LiamJude]

I was OBSESSED with my fly pen as a kid. Just 7 years old and I begged for this. Thank you for the nostalgia 😄

[@hectorg5809]

How long did you use it for?

[@alextoolstudio]

reminds me the time i had the newer leap pen

[@LdeinerProductions]

I had a live scribe when I was doing grad school a few years ago. I am vision impaired and it was really helpful for taking notes because it had a microphone in it and I could just make some marks on the paper or something to bookmark it. My school paid for it too so it would have been cheaper than paying for Otter or something, which does some similar things, but costs a monthly fee.

[@pascalguerin5238]

wow. nice!

[@hectorg5809]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@coolelectronics1759]

interesting!

[@CDRiley]

I can believe 2005 is almost 19 years old. 😮 Time flying by!

[@chrisbaker8533]

I'm still wondering where the 80's went. lol

[@hectorg5809]

Ken has trouble with numbers sometimes, you'll have to forgive him. 2005 was only like 2 years ago, 3 tops

[@kyrylosovailo1690]

Let's just appreciate early 2000th engineers that made a computer into a pen, no cloud services, no mobile apps, no subscriptions, no wireless capabilities. Truly the peak of human civilization.

[@carlwebbiii6731]

I dont know about the “peak” but definitely big! 👊🏻😂

[@JamesR624]

12:08 "I did a little mining off camera" 16:28 "Let's open up the butter packet" This man is a treasure trove of culture.

[@CaptainAwsome]

16:26 D R I V E R I S S U E

[@brobeckskazooremixes8703]

Urethra!

[@PunctualGuy_]

Hey, I had one of these as a kid. My experience was basically the same as yours, used it for about a week then forgot about it. Bet my parents were really happy they spent $100 on that. Defiantly one of those ideas that seemed a lot cooler in theory than in practice. Didn't even know they made a follow up product.

[@toomanymarys7355]

I had a hand me down obe I gave my kids for car rides before they were fluent readers.

[@JamesR624]

Aww, I LOVED this thing at the time and genuinely thought it was the "future of computing". A "tablet computer" without the bulk of a tablet. It was also an interesting novelty to have "physical apps". I genuinely would love to see this concept come back, maybe as a UI paradigm for tablets. Instead of a homescreen and tapping or typing to find stuff. Just draw your functions. The ultimate in customization. Much better than simply moving icons or changing a wallpaper. Imagine if you could just design the UI yourself, easily.

[@pascalguerin5238]

also I have no idea if the iPad or android version is better. I'd think it would be better

[@swedneck]

The natural evolution of this, and something that is actually maybe useful, is the combination of a heads-up display and control glove that Voidstar Labs made.

[@ardensetiawan353]

The thing is drawing your own functions would be great at first. But then if you use that function repeatedly, at one point you'll have the idea to just save that specific function to a certain position so you can just click on it to use instead of drawing it again every time. Maybe call that saved drawing "icon". Then you will one day end up with lots of "icons" saved. How to quickly find the icon that you need? How about giving them names, and now you can search them based on their na- Basically, icons and search function is the eventual evolution of any UI. When it's all distilled down, that's all it would be.

[@JamesR624]

@@ardensetiawan353 I am aware of all that. I just mean that I like the idea of being able to use something like a digital version of this to "make your own apps" 'on the fly' for basic functions instead of being stuck with whatever the designers at Apple or Samsung or wherever give you.

[@peterbustin2683]

I love this channel. With all the depressing news, fake or otherwise, around at the moment, its great to see Krazy Ken's happy face and voice. It gives me a much needed lift ! ❤from UK.

[@woreno]

This thing was totally unknown for me. Drawing user interfaces for later use is so awesome! how I couldn't hear about this thing in the 90s! Greate episode

[@shatteredblade89]

Hearing the chime for the leap-pad put me back into my childhood. It was my favorite thing growing up. That and Jumpstart. God, I feel old now....

[@sheppybread]

Caught me so off guard at 1:23 😂😂

[@AnthonyPompa]

I had one of those books when I was a kid, and the sound at 3:10 unlocked so many memories for me. My head literally whipped over to see what it was because the sound was so familiar.

[@saintguardian3639]

I was always curious about what happened to it. Thank you for doing the research. Plus, I remember those pens and ALWAYS wanted one.

[@arkhe1n107]

I've been watching a few of your videos but haven't subbed so until now. The "Eureka!" was the last straw.

[@UltraDoug]

That was a great vid. Never had a leapfrog product, but I sure remember the commercials.

[@ComputerClan]

Thanks : )

[@stitchfinger7678]

That leap-pad "Go" sound just unlocked 20+ year old memories, wow

[@DooMMasteR]

There is a version of this as a toy from Ravensburger, their pen has wifi too, which it uses to sync new content onto itself. My niece has one, and it works really well and offers point and search game stuff from the age of 3 upwards.

[@SylveonMujigaeOfficial]

I remember having a LeapFrog tablet when I was little; and I would very often play an interactive _Go Diego Go!_ game on it.

[@CovenantAgentLazarus]

Lmao

[@Aliyah_666]

You can hack them babies, run an android os on it and boom emulation device for kids.

[@CovenantAgentLazarus]

@@Aliyah_666 only for like NES but that's it. Everything else is way too choppy

[@Razoredge]

Ken always sharing his passion for obscure tech is wonderful.

[@larryinc64]

I had the first pen, and still have a ton of the paper tossed in a closet somewhere. My experiences sounds a lot like yours, I thought the gimmick was so cool for a week, and then I ran through doing each thing it could do a few times, tossed it in a box, and forgot about it.

[@exactpause9218]

We've got a toy pen in germany (an maybe different countries as well but idk) these day, which works with the same pattern, but without a writing tip. You can use it in special books or board games, every child got one of those. It's called tiptoy from Ravensburger! :)

[@colinroddy5772]

My younger sister had a leap pad, that thing was awesome and definitely helped me and my siblings learn stuff while having fun. Hearing the start up sounds definitely brought back the nostalgia!

[@ninjabuddy1]

I trained for livescribe at my college because it tied voice recording to writing so we recommended it as a cheapish option for note taking accommodations for disabilities. You could actually print the paper and it worked okay, but the voice recording was the primary feature so it didn't matter if there were small inaccuracies. It also had that piano function. My big issue is despite being made to be fairly repair friendly they were very dependent on software so all the wifi ones went into the landfill. They wouldn't even let me keep one.

[@TeleviseGuy]

This tech feels so ahead of its time. I'm surprised the smart pen concept stayed relevant (just look at Livescribe Echo and the Neo Smartpen) and didn't just vanish into obscurity.

[@agentmueller]

I had one as a kid. The nostalgia is flowing back. I remember the games and the novelty of the original, it was cool, but I remember the paper being the death blow to making it resign to a life in a random tech drawer in the family home. It was a really cool pen though.

[@astererratum6546]

I REMEMBER THESE!!! I wanted one of these. Later in high school i wanted that pen that saved/transfered written notes to digital notes. It was so cool. Especially as someone who loves writing stuff down.

[@jayc1139]

I remember having one myself. I stopped using mine not because I got bored but because...they don't give ya much paper to use. I can imagine the cost that'd pile up of not just getting the pen but also getting more and more paper each time.

[@whyjnot420]

My mother is a speech & language pathologist (now retired). The products shown early in the video made very good tools for her.

[@user-kz4ro9uq4q]

Had a leapfrog device when I was younger. Would play the games and learn.

[@1912RamblerFan01]

I had completely forgot about the LeapPad. I mostly remembered LeapFrog for the Leapster, which I used a lot. I also remember having a LeapFrog toy cash register that taught children how to count change, which unfortunately didn't last long before one of our pets damaged it.

[@VegasLounge]

2:25 I was too old for LeapFrog, but I did have that globe! It was my Christmas present that year- that sucker was expensive. You could change the options to listen to music clips, language, and various other geographical facts about the places you touched...for some reason I remember really getting into Palau because of it.

[@PolarManne]

I just watched an old tape I recorded when I was a kid a few days ago and saw a commercial for this in there, and remembered how cool it seemed at the time. How funny that a couple days later this video shows up in my feed!

[@milk_is_a_lie9331]

I have had a few PDA's my last one had a color display. The best thing about is when you can put batteries that you easily find in a store, vs. dealing with a deal iphone battery you can not remove. In the 1980's I have seen a prototype book that had barcodes.

[@mvmnt.]

Ken, you need to check out what I could call the precursor to this, The Questron... from the EIGHTIES. It was a marvel of colour and light recognition through books with audio feedback from the pen. An incredible learning tool. Essentially, nothing is original.

[@borrisg4972]

Bill Cosby used to use what may have been that device for the early Nickelodeon show/skit "Picture Pages". I forget if it was a full show or a bumper skit played during comercial breaks, but it's pretty cool seeing it being used.

[@TheCrabbyArchives]

Oh man, one of my rich classmates had one of these when we were in Elementary school together. He was explaining how it worked and it blew my mind.

[@CommandantLennon]

I had one of those "smart notebooks" awhile back, complete with erasable pen. Man that thing was fantastic. Really it was just a normal notebook with a mobile app that functioned as a scanner, along with some quick-links, but the most impressive part was throwing the whole thing in the microwave and having it come out clean.

[@apetersenTV]

As a kid in the 2000s, I’ve been a big LeapFrog user back then. Seeing the story of the FLY along with a brief history of the company, nostalgia hit me like a train.

[@wikiascratchboy]

Holy anchovies! Wasn't expecting you of all people! Also to add to my leap frog experiences I had a leap pad too! Fun times indeed

[@coolelectronics1759]

I went through like 6 leap pads I had the green one, then found several more at goodwill etc I had the spongebob book too!

[@GreenEcho3586]

Livescribe echo got me through college. The ability to replay the lecture audio when you wrote down the note helped immensely.

[@Robdeltonie]

I had the second Pentop computer. I had no idea it was called Pentop Fusion. I used it primarily to get my handwritten notes on the computer without having to retype them. It didn't do it that accurately. HOWEVER, I do remember at one point, instinctively, accidentally writing with the Pentop computer in cursive. And somehow, it recognized what I wrote! So it begs the question: How important was that special handwriting format anyway? The world may never know...

[@saxman112]

Wow, very cool retrospective, Ken! I never had one of these myself, but I do remember having some products from LeapFrog’s Quantum Leap line, namely the Turbo Twist math system as well as the iQuest Talk about a nostalgia trip!

[@coolelectronics1759]

I had twist n shout devision! I would hook it up to my stereo and anoy everyone in the house playing it lol I also had the green frog pad leap system that came with two demo books and had the spongebob book too. I still have the eureka explorer globe system

[@SylverstoneKhandr]

Holy crap, I had that pen as a kid. I almost forgot, but it was something I really loved using and getting to show off for my friends at school.

[@petercarter9034]

I've not heard of this product before maybe as I'm in the UK, very interesting and well researched, thanks Ken

[@seeigecannon]

It is just a guess, but the blinking red light could be indicating a failed battery. It is unlikely to still be running a NiCd battery, as they were becoming much less common after 2005, but if it has a small lithium ion battery then it could have discharged to the point that the charge circuit wont attempt to charge it for safety reasons. Might be worth cracking it open and seeing what the battery voltage reads.

[@1kreature]

Yep, replace battery by some surgery and it should be fine. The early LiIon's self destructed in 4-5 years.

[@NALTOHQ]

I own a lot of edutainment products in the eventual hope of making videos on them all. Was thinking of covering this one. You did a heck of a lot better than I could.

[@aznsensation44]

Miss the late 90s and early 00s when companies were making all these kinds of quirky electronic devices for kids. Anyone remember the Yak Bak? lol. Also this device is indeed very very cool even as an adult seeing this technology that came from early 2000s blows my mind

[@kyb7795]

I wanted you to keep going telling us more about leapfrog founders up to date

[@JimsTechNonsense]

If teachers had half of your energy I might've retained something taught in high school. Great video!

[@NonsensicalSpudz]

so true

[@mankind8088]

30k a year to babysit 25 kids a day, with a predetermined script that you can't deviate from= zero enthusiasm. I got a better idea💡 HOW ABOUT PARENTS TEACH THEIR PROGENY ANY AND EVERYTHING BEFORE THEY'RE 5..........AND EVERY SUMMER AFTER TEACH THEM THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR'S CURRICULUM SO THEY HAVE AN AVANTAGE AGAIN. I now realize the disconnect with society is that the majority of parents think education is a "schools" responsibility when it's actually only exist to supplement what has been instilled at home, and to babysit while parents 9 to 5 it.

[@spideylover4105]

I was a teacher. There are so many things happening behind the scenes that zaps our energy.

[@JimsTechNonsense]

@@spideylover4105 I get that too. I definitely wasn't helping the situation haha. Ken just has a big energy about him that keeps you hooked through the video.

[@user-lt2rw5nr9s]

3:10 The Go button transition sound is so nostalgic!

[@timfischer]

My son (now 19) had a Leapfrog Tag, which was the little-kid version of the pen. It was a cross between the LeapPad and the pens you show here. I remember thinking the tech was kind of cool. (oops, I wrote this as I was finishing up the video, and I see that you actually mentioned it lol)

[@EpicLPer]

I think those Fusion pens are dying cause their internal battery is so discharged that the protection circuit kicked in. I'd love to take one apart and hack a new battery into it and see if that makes it work again, but I doubt it'd be easy.

[@lo2740]

"install a new battery" simply, because there is nothing hacky in replacing a battery.

[@MikeBehrensWX]

Open up the butter packet lmfao. That skit used to have me dying of laughter.

[@MoonDeLaAxel]

I miss this thing. I used to have it. I may still have stuff for it around like the paper and so

[@daan8695]

I bought a livescribe pen a decade ago. When I went back to college a few years ago I dug it up and started using it. It was pretty useful, except for the fact that the microphone wasn't always good enough to pick up what was being said when I was sitting in the back of the lecture hall. Because it had laid in a drawer for quite some time the ink dried out and the battery stopped working pretty soon after I started using it. I couldn't find new fillings anymore. It sucked, because I loved using it.

[@andresbravo2003]

Leap wouldn’t be happier. **ahem** still, LeapFrog was owned by VTech on April 4th 2016, and the two Toy Companies were good at each other.

[@AaronPaluzzi]

Crazy thought. Perhaps the blinking red light is an indicator of a bad battery? Perhaps time to take apart the pen and check the battery?

[@felicityc]

they actually still use forms of these, I was given one to assist with notetaking in class, it would record the lecture and you could write notes and pull back sections of the recording based on when you wrote the note. it was cool, but kind of a novelty- it didn't record super well even sitting up at the front, and I didn't like the privacy concerns. still have it somewhere, they basically didn't care about returning it since I think they just had too many anyway. Came with a whole notebook of the special paper to use. It was just too thick and hard to use as a pen though, with my smol hands

[@danlargent3806]

Do you remember the Quasar pen? It was used in educational books that had spots to answer by pressing with the pen and it would light up red and buzz when wrong and green and ding if you were correct.

[@coolelectronics1759]

sounds very similar to the hot dot system pen I used for math class this pen was compatible with special flashcards to quiz you at

[@CRAYANATOR1]

Omg when he turned his n the leap pad so many memories came flooding in 😅

[@ZacharyRodriguezVlogs]

I had a LeapPad. It was so interesting touching around the device without the book or the cartridge.

[@citywitt3202]

Oh man the Odyssey globe. I think I’ve got one upstairs still. I remember I played the countries quiz and got an obscure one off the bat too, put the pen to my forehead in frustration and was immediately given a point. The population of my left index finger was 1.3 billion and its national anthem was row your boat. Fun times :)

[@teddyfurstman1997]

I used to play with the Leappad learning system a lot! Such fun memories.

[@rsesters]

I remember seeing the commercials for this and telling my grandparents it would be a great Christmas present for my little nephew. They decided that I was dropping hints that I wanted it. They got it for me for Christmas, I was 15 and had no use for it. I think I played with it for a day or two and never touched it again.

[@EthanReimann]

Something about the name Flycon is just amazing to me. I never had a Fly pen, but did grow up with one of the later LeapPads. I think it was the second gen model. I have so many good memories with that tablet!

[@coolelectronics1759]

did you have the one that used physical books or did you get the one with a screen? I had the green one that was a book with this pen you would tap the green go circle. I remember wanting to have a huge collection of books going to walmart and seeing all the software tytles they had

[@EthanReimann]

@@coolelectronics1759 i had the screen one

[@Yeahhhhthisisgood]

I love the topics you choose. I thought about started a blog and writing about weird obscure gadgets like the ones you feature here. You’re awesome friend

[@kidcat3000]

The LeadPad kinda reminded me of that “cool new toy” the kid from the movie Big invented. I still have my LeapPad from when I was a kid.

[@notNajimi]

Holy shit it took me a while to recognize this from my childhood. I never had this but I remember seeing the commercials and was amazed

[@SPC503]

Some of my fondest memories were with LeapPad and the Turbo Twist Math & Spelling handheld games. It was always fun to challenge yourself with absurd math problems that you can come up with just by twisting a weird electronic pepper shaker. Great video, Ken!

[@arthurdurham]

I either had one of these or a knockoff version as a kid and I agree that it kind of loses its luster quick. I ended up using it more as a voice recorder than anything else. The tech is still cool conceptually but actual practical use is cumbersome.

[@charlie_nolan]

My mom got a LeapPad for me... wow the memories came flooding back

[@BBC600]

I like how it has a Canada option to presumably account for "zed."

[@aribantala]

3:02 I don't have any History with the LeapPad but when you opened the "console" (?), it actually reminds me of something I did have, a SEGA Pico. It's about 1:1 in operation, it uses a Book and a Cartridge, but the Pico's Cartridge *is also* the book. The SEGA Pico was a full fledged console, however, and it Hooked up to a TV and gave out a Visual video feedback instead of just audio. It's honestly the coolest thing I had and I remember playing with it when I was at Kindergarten playing Berenstein Bears with my little baby sister

[@PhirePhlame]

Haven't watched yet, but I had one of those as a kid and wait a damn minute. That was a _LeapFrog_ device!?

[@DrumNut927]

Man, I loved my PDA. First I bought a Philips Nino. Then I moved to a palm pilot. And then finally a Casio PDA.

[@ventravoo12]

In the early 80’s I had a Speak & Spell by Texas Instruments. It was just like the one from the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It definitely helped me when learning to read. One day my baby sister took it in the kiddie pool and it ceased to function, I remember being devastated about it. After googling it I think it’s cool to see that you can still buy them brand new. I may order a 40th anniversary Speak & Spell for my nephew.

[@iMacJames]

3:10 god that sound is so nalstogic. Thanks for the fantastic episode!

[@AdorableLittleHeart]

I had a Fly back in the day. I had no idea that Livescribe was related in this way! My Echo pen helped get me through college with ADHD!

[@mgtpersonal]

Nice video, ken! Although our country never had one, we had something similar brought in early 2010s by a english school we have here in brazil called wizard, although it was only for reading english words in their books. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it was boring, low quality and heavily criticized by students, like my sister, who used one back then. So wizard discontinued the pen quickly and was never seen again. Wizard is now owned (or uses learning standards, idk) by pearson. In the end, nice video!

[@BijanKafi]

"Instead of building the computer into a hand-held device, Leapfrog built the computer into a... pen." Rrrright... 🤔

[@dasherpie]

I owned one of those leap pad things and a leap frog tablet 🥺 and one of those vtech consoles ❤️

[@tOSdude]

3:10 That sound byte was a nostalgia trip and a half.

[@KimPossibleShockwave]

A modern version of this would be so lit. Sync it to a tablet or phone and use regular paper/fountain pen ink cartridges, and you could copy notes physically and to your device. It could even work as a teaching aid, helping kids.

[@bluey-next777]

15:08 T E N T A C L E D I F F I C U L T I E S *WITH A SCENE THAT MADE ME LAUGH* (At least the hammer is a balloon... not real...)

[@mdog11400]

My sister had one of those my mom got for her when she went to highschool. She used it maybe once before putting it in a box.

[@soviut303]

This type of input device is still a great idea. Modern optical systems could easily allow something like this to work on regular paper, white boards, etc.

[@TheLivingCatastrophe]

To work on regular paper? Ha! Not likely! Those corporations would more likely force us to use proprietary paper than let us use standard paper!

[@soviut303]

@@TheLivingCatastrophe You realize the original required proprietary paper, right? My point was that advancements in optical tech could do wayfinding without the need for paper with special patterns on it.

[@lmj987]

“Open up the Butter packet” Loved the Mad TV reference. I died laughing. 😂

[@doublepinger]

I recently worked on a Fly Fusion and the battery still works (we recycle tech turn-ins). I was surprised to see it (among other *ancient* learning tools). Too bad I didn't get to get it to you before the video was made! Good video, was wondering where Leapfrog disappeared to

[@hacktrixapii]

Had one of the really old talking globes when I was little, along with a leap pad and let me tell you I thought it was magic

[@coyotegirl777]

I got the flu right now or a cold. I came to figure out what it is and I’m sick and what better time just to sit down and watch all of your videos and just bend them.

[@dancingwiththedogsdj]

I'd forgotten all about that thing until your video... that was so neat then and now! Awesome! 🍻🌎♥️🎶🕺 P.S. - now I want one again! I'll have to remember to look for it someday! ☺️ It was FUN once you got the hang of it! P.S. - I think there was a bug in the pen to cause that red light issue and there was a "trick" way of powering it up like specific sequence along with the power button and starting software maybe, but I don't remember exactly what it is... might see if you find a solution that way ... great video!