- TV remote control replaced with labeled discs and simple action
- Toddlers can select shows without reading icons, touching screens or scrolling through thumbnails
- Floppy disks limit options by design and reduce accidental content changes
Floppy disks were once an integral part of home computing, used to load software, save documents, and move data between machines.
They disappeared from everyday use as optical discs, and later SSD storage replaced them for local file transfer, while cloud storage completely reduced the need for physical media.
Developer Mads Chr. Olesen turned floppy disks into a tangible selection system that lets her toddler choose TV shows by inserting a floppy disk into a drive.
Transforming show selection into a physical action
Olesen believes that “floppy disks are the best storage medium ever invented” and applies this belief to a child-friendly television control system.
The system, named FloppyDiskCast, describes the overall setup, although its function differs from traditional streaming hardware.
It uses outdated hardware to replace touchscreens and multi-button remote controls, and the disk functions as a physical switcher rather than a storage device.
The TV control setup assigns each floppy disk a specific program, eliminating the need for menus or scrolling interfaces.
Each disc has a visual label clearly indicating which show will play when inserted, and when a child places a disc in the player, that action alone determines what appears on the screen.
This reduces the interaction to a single, repeatable movement that does not rely on reading or symbolic navigation.
The FloppyDiskCast system creates the impression that the broadcast resides on the disc itself, even though playback is via a connected streaming device rather than a local hard drive.
This illusion mirrors how removable media worked, where inserting an object directly produced visible results.
The system structure avoids the layered complexity found in many smart TV setups, and Olesen’s approach reflects concern about how current smart TV controls work for very young users.
Standard remotes and touch controls often combine ads, recommendations, and settings within the same interface.
For a toddler, this can introduce confusion rather than choice. The floppy disk-based system limits options by design, since only available disks can be selected.
This constraint encourages focused viewing and prevents accidental navigation to unrelated content.
Comments around the project include phrases such as “floppy disks are awesome”, although the practical focus remains on interaction design rather than nostalgia.
Although this project shows how constrained physical interfaces can reduce cognitive load, it does not address scalability beyond a limited number of broadcasts.
This is unlikely to be a problem, as experts recommend limiting screen time to one hour per day for children ages 2 to 5.
Children aged 18 months to 2 years are advised to have even less exposure, while babies under 18 months are generally advised to avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting.
Via Tom’s material
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