General Magic documentary
Shares rank 10 of 17 documentary films by recommenders
A fly-on-the-wall documentary about the early 1990s General Magic company, recommended as a dramatic, well-told look at a prescient tech effort.
A fly-on-the-wall documentary about the early 1990s General Magic company, recommended as a dramatic, well-told look at a prescient tech effort.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Dramatic, tense, well-told story
“The movie created drama and tension and told a neat story.”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “Behind the scenes at the NeXT Computer office” “Both stories are absolutely legendary !”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years” Pairs well with the book
“the documentary "General Magic" and the book "Fire in the Valley" -- is a great way”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “Both stories are absolutely legendary !”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Steve Jobs Next Computer: His Forgotten Exile Years”
Other documentary films people recommend
The four most recommended other documentary films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You Can See Everything | 39 | 30 | 57% | 2 | — | — |
| The Thinking Game | 15 | 8 | 65% | 3 | — | — |
| HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis | 14 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
| It's Quieter in the Twilight | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| General Magic documentaryThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The movie created drama and tension and told a neat story.”
“Once again, early 1990's General Magic looks prescient.”
“fly-on-the-wall documentaries about historical tech efforts”
“Both stories are absolutely legendary !”
“the documentary "General Magic" and the book "Fire in the Valley" -- is a great way”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.