Awesome job on this, really enjoyed! E-Waste is a topic that continually needs more attention. Especially CRTs. The articles I've seen of massive warehouses full with nowhere for them to be recycled due to the huge cost involved, it's wild.

This is incredibly well filmed & edited... Great video Colin & great initiative Free Geek!

Just finished watching the video, and after a quick google search I've found a Free Geek store in the town next to mine. I'm going to call tomorrow for more information on how to volunteer. Thank you so much Colin for creating this documentary!

Love the documentary style videos, such high production value and interesting content!

I used to work in a similar place. The amount of old C64's and such, which we then just tore apart, still saddens me. :|

I love your Minnesota-centered content. Makes me proud of my state

Really cool, Colin! They’re doing such great things. I grew up in a low income home, where old, obsolete Macintosh computers or ‘98 Dell laptops were our only option. They were purchased or serviced from small, Mom and pop shops. It’s neat that these guys are reaching out to those people, to close up the gap. It’s unimaginable to most, to entirely believable to me that there are still many people who don’t even have access to good computers and internet access. It can be a real handicap. Also, great work on this documentary-style video, which is relatively new territory for your channel, yes? Love the gradual incorporation of your drone into your content.

Wow. Awesome cinematography. I'm very impressed with how this all came together. Good job man

This was really well put together. Enjoyed immensely.

Great video, Colin. Really nice job.

linux literally saved my 10 year old laptop, i installed Lubuntu (like that laptop at 17:45) and its amazing that an 1 core 1 thread laptop is still usable. Also its obvious that if they used windows 10, even if the pcs could handle it, there would be backflash from Microsoft ig and make things complicated..

Love the style of this video! Also, it's so sad to see those older 486 CPUs get recycled, since they're getting harder to find for cheap.

The ewaste is a major world problem and I am glad they are doing this kind of work, but for only 2 cities it is just too small to handle that high volume of ewaste coming out. Really need them to spread to most major cities around the world.

I volunteered at a Goodwill office in highschool that had a section just for doing what Free Geek does. The experience there was super useful to get my first job at a computer repair store. From there plus college I was able to get into a sysadmin job 🙂. So it's really cool to see that other cities have something similar!

Dang. The production value of this is out of this world, absolutely loved it. A shining example of why I love this channel.

This is amazing. I think I know what I want to do when I grow up. I'm going to see if it would be feasible to start something like this in the Washington, DC area.

I really enjoyed this documentary, great story beautifully told. One of the jewels of this channel, which is already very entertaining. Congratulations and thanks.

Hey, that's where I got my Optiplex 380! Great video, these people definitely need more exposure - between the service they're doing for the community, as well as the environment, Free Geek is honestly one of the most admirable nonprofits I know of.

Can't believe I missed this episode, glad you referenced it in your 2019 look-ahead video! Looks like a great cause, and to repeat the comments below - a very well done docu-short.

This could/should run on the TPT Minnesota channel. Very well produced.

Here in Germany - Leipzig, I also worked in a company that restored, completed and repaired notebooks and PCs thrown away from scrap for needy families, of course you took something home with you from time to time, especially when it was from the company Apple or even an Alienware notebook :-)

Excellent video! Hits every point perfectly and very well filmed and produced! I live in the area and go here all the time. Have brought my PCA clients here for volunteer work, put about 30 hours in myself in the recycling room, have bought many things from their thrift store and nabbed many a tasty item out of recycling (with permission, of course!). Lately I've even been bringing them in my old car parts for them to bring to the scrapper, heavy steel pieces they're all too happy to take off my hands. Wes is a legend, we've had some pretty fun conversations, and the thrift store guys are a good bunch as well, ready to wheel and deal with me on prices. I've outfitted many people, friends and family, with computer and audio setups using stuff bought from their store. It's a fantastic place and I can only wish them continuing success.

I suggested this subject a few months ago in Twitter. :) Pretty cool to see it explored with such great production. Congrats, Colin, great work. Also congrats for the 100k subscribers.

A wonderful documentary! This place is inspirational. I'd love to see if something similar already exists in London, England. It's such a great initiative.

Good to restore the parts of a computer and all of the peripherals. It provides the knowledge, as well as the skills of doing the things that saves the environment, keeping lives safe, giving and making many employed by means of preservation of technology, as well as making arts and decor from the use of materials. Recycling is good, as long as many useful things can be derived, that is no doubt to all that are capable of making many things from what was discarded. SMEs.......respectively.

So much of my retro tech computers - particularly my Apple collection pre-Intel transition is from a local tech recycling co-op here in Australia where I live - have loved volunteering there for nearly 10 years now. Catching up with these videos - really love this work. (i have newer bought tech tho.)

Whoa... I literally live on the same street and just a matter of blocks down from this place, and I never knew it existed. I need to crawl out from under this rock...

Thank you so much for spending the time to shoot and edit this together into an exceptionally well-made video. This was inspiring!

Amazing "documentary". Great jobs from you and Twin Cities!

Thanks for sharing this local story with the world Colin, I loved it. Your production value was impressive here and I look forward to what else you might be cooking up in the future! Well done sir!

Man I miss Free Geek. Used to be a part of FGM (Free Geek Michiana). Unfortunately, it crashed and burned in 2009-2010? Tom Brown the founder passed away in 2012. It closed the same year. I do miss the work... Well done Free Geek Twin Cities... Glad to see other Free Geek sites have survived.

You're a very talented documentary film maker. Well filmed, well recording, superb editing.

I'm hugely impressed with this video - one of your absolute best! But, as a retro nerd who's having more and more trouble finding certain hardware, I cringe when I see a lot of these computers just getting scrapped. I suppose most of what passes through their doors are machines where just about everything but CPU, RAM, and storage is built right onto the motherboard, though, and there's just no resale market for that stuff.

Very good job! Amazing video! It’s exciting learning that there’s a place like this in Minnesota!

THIS IS SOOOO FREAKIN COOOOL! as an disabled person, I really wish this was possible in The Netherlands, I would love to volunteer there!

This really touched my heart. I love how they're making the world a better place.

I live about 2 to 3 miles from this place. Funny- I always thought that that b&w “Free Geek” wall piece was just a mural/graffiti art on the side of someone’s small workshop. There are a lot of smaller than a warehouse size buildings in this area that people started putting-use-to in the early 2000’s … and it being in a fairly art-centric neighborhood or ‘district’, I thought that mural was just another way someone wanted to decorate the outside of their workshop/building, with just a witty phrase. Much like a funny bumper sticker. I have watched your videos often but the first time I heard you mention something like, “My friends at Free Geek twin cities sent me ~this~”, my mind completely gave all my attention to watching the video. I thought “hey, ‘Free Geek’ just like that mural by my house!” … then I realized WHY it was there😮 and that it wasn’t just a cool looking “motto” somebody wanted on their building. It was a store, a whole non profit at that, that I overlooked many times just for a hipster-esq mural 😂

This is so above and beyond well done Colin. Just jaw dropping. Amazing brother. Truly stunning work.

Great video Colin. I’ve been watching your channel for a couple months, and I love what you’ve done with it. I’m always interested in knowing your point of view for different topics of your podcasts. I definitely like this documentary style too. Keep it up man.

damn, all those vintage components just being destroyed and melted down, just sad...

I remember when you were there shooting this. Was fun to meet you and love the video you made.

I really hope one opens here in Indiana sometime. I would buy lots of parts from them. I would also work with them in the recycling aspect of their business.

It's pretty amazing that you are making now this films because shows all these parts about the geek culture, thanks

A very simple but effective documentary! 10/10

Only a few seconds in but will say I’m excited to watch, the drone shots are stunning and as someone who moved to Minnesota a year ago it’s cool to learn about stuff going on in the neighborhood :)

Wish I had a place like this, I'm always looking for cheap junk PCs to practice my craft. I usually have to luck into Craigslist deals for Pentium 4/Core2 era stuff.

I used to sell thrift store computers that I rehabbed back in the early 2000s. The market has dried up and the supply is not there anymore. The fun of it was bringing PCs back from the dead-there was no real profit in it. I love the idea of rehabbing old PCs and putting them back in circulation. I have always loved to reuse old things in the "modern age".

This is a very professionally done video. I'm impressed!

RIP tube TVs. You are loved and not forgotten!

This is the exact same Free Geek that I go to. I have recently picked up a green iMac G3 (fully working) for $90 there.

As a former volunteer, it's a pretty fun place to be in. They have great deals too.

I've always wanted a free geek to open by me. I would love to take apart and fix computers all day. Such a relaxing experience.

And for all the people now excitedly googling DBAN: It's time has been over for several years now. Now it's just snake oil that wastes time, write cycles or bearing wear . If data could be written any more dense on the hardware the firmware of the manufacturer would do that to advertise higher numbers. DBAN is a relic of a past where you could somewhat reasonably assume that it could sometimes be possible to restore overwritten data. That tiem was about 10-30 years ago depending on who you ask. But if you ask for any evidence of such a restoration they all go silent or refer to way older hardware.

I had no idea this existed. Definitely will be buying future systems from there.

Here from LGR's tweet, excellent video, not sure what your channel is about but if it's gonna entail more documentaries about technology and such then I'm all for it!

This was a great documentary, would love to see more

What a great job! So well done!!! I wish I could be part of it in Minneapolis

Looks like a paradise to me 😍

I wish we had something similar here in my country.

Colin excellent job this is a very professional documentary! Thanks for all your work and passion.

Starting a similar non profit organization in Quebec city, Canada (my hometown) is my dream. Very inspiring!

This sounds like heaven I wish they had something like this in Canterbury NZ

This is so cool, I would love to get involved in something like this if there was one near me.

This is an entirely new level for you Colin. Amazing! Thank you!

I have always wanted something like this in Australia. Here, many op shops (what we call thrift stores) don't take in computers of any sort. They might have a keyboard or a monitor. Maybe. At landfills, however, you're able to find all sorts of stuff for very cheap (I've picked a Microsoft Natural Elite and a Logitech joystick, for example.) Even then, our local council are shutting these 'dump shops' down for safety reasons (equipment sold may pose a risk to users (or so I've been told). I'd love to start an initiative like Free Geek in my area, but I just don't know how to do it. Lessen amounts of e-waste, make sure everyone has access to vital services provided by digital systems and provide education those both knowledgeable and noviced when it comes to computers.

What a beautifully done video!

WOW! You hit a home run! This was beautifully made.

This was very interesting and incredibly well filmed!

I wish they would come to Seattle!

Well TDNC/Colin, this documentary is so good as a whole, that it would not look out of place on a conventional television! Yyyyeah, I suck at compliments, but I hope you know what I mean! PS: I love their approach towards Linux, especially when trying to nudge potential possessors of their machines to try Linux instead of being more narrow-minded towards alternatives. We were all noobs, with some being narrow-minded at one, and some having false perceptions of Linux, like I did at one stage.

my problem with this is good usable machines and parts are broken, i know some stuff is cherry picked, but not enough some of those power supplies are hard to find and worth stupid money(just one example).

Wish there was something like this in San Diego CA.

This was great, thank you! Man.... I'd love to snag some old CRTs from this place.

SO COOL! i would love to go their sometime!

even the outside of the building is beautiful

Awesome documentary style editing. Enjoyed a lot.

Best documentary ever

Huh, I love printers for parts like steppers, fans, heatsinks, rails etc. I also repair and repurpose many CRT. It's AMAZING how much you can get out of many of the mid 90s tubes as replacement CRT for arcade machines. Tandy/Commodore/Apple or any of the 8 and 16 bit era monitors can bring a small fortune when repaired correctly.

Awesome video. I volunteered there and helped with the PC section a few months ago (PC repair is something I'm looking to get into), but haven't been able to get back due to schedule issues.

More people should collect vintage laptops. I collect hp laptops I think they made really nicely designed laptops. Especially the ones with cool designs molded into the plastics from 2008 to 2013. They are fun to work on collect, display, modify, play games on. They are so much more fun to collect then action figures or other collectibles.

Man, I love your work!

Makes me proud to see my state of MN positively featured. Have you heard on mncfs.org? Business donate hardware and penitentiary inmates refurbish the computers and then offer them to schools. I was able to outfit a small school with a lab for very little money when I started teaching 15 years ago. Still making use of them today.

This entire piece of so well-made and for such a good cause. Awesome all around!

I am what you call a hard core geek, I have been building computers since early 2000. So Lots of what I see is interesting!

Wish there is something like this in my hometown in germany... I would work there, because building and repair computer are my hobby.

from Egypt, I loved the idea ♥

We have one in Vancouver, great place

I really really reaaalllly want to freakin work as a volunteer in such a place.....So liberating, awesome! (Again, I cannot work propperly due traumatic stuff and Autism and ADHD, I really love messing with tech, but usually dont have the room to do so..... so awesome this!)

Lovely documentary. Looks and sounds very professional. Kudos! And a great cause!

I really need to make a trip down there. I'd love to check out this place.

My retro buddies would do a lot for those PATA drives and some CRTs but yeah shipping kills on those.

Huh, I have a ton of 486 that have succumbed to battery damage way to bad to repair. I pull the eproms, but still have a lot I should bring to these guys the next time I get that way.

Better than whats on TV!

"E-Waste and Education" sounds like some rock metal album lol

I need some old pata 2.5" drives for an old thinkpad t42 (which I use as a retro gaming machine, actually my only gaming machine), too bad they don't save them anymore. I'm looking into volunteering or doing some recycling jobs like this in my country. I've already saved a lot of old hardware to start a tiny museum of computer hardware.

Fantastic video Colin, well put together

16:00 I've been looking for that elite book for ever. back In like 7th grade we had one assigned to each of us and that was the laptop that made me love computers I would just mess with everything about it (little did the school know ) I still want one because I still think that is the best laptop I have ever used(I know its not) I remember my school one had a lower end core I5 and 4 gigs of ram lol

professional documentary

this is amazing, well done TDNC and well done Free Geek

Just mind blowing.