Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
The Real Video Toaster
By bohus
I've held back from writing about the Video Toaster, an astonishing bit of video tech from the early 90's. It was a $5000 card that snapped into an Amiga computer, suddenly transforming the machine into a video studio powerhouse replacing tens of thousands of dollars worth of specialized gear. The Toaster turned the world on its ear, and not just because of its oddball name. We'll talk about that another time - right now I want to talk about a real video toaster... one that makes potentially yummy toast.
Remember how upset you got when your kid jammed his PBJ into your VCR? No more! Faced with a nation full of junked VCR's in the shadow of the DTV transition, it's only natural to seek out new uses for the hulking carcasses of video recorders. A crafter named Lemonie has posted a set of directions on the Instructables site for those of you who may also want to create a video toaster of your own. The fact that it sears "VHS" into the toast is just perfect. Now if only the program timer could make sure that you have toast ready in time to catch the classic Trek episode "Bread and Circuses".
Build your own video toaster by following these step by step instructions [via Hack a Day]
