classic
Entertainment
Watchmen’s Old School Macintosh SE/30
2:30PM Jesus Diaz | Here it is, Ozymandias’—one of the Watchmen—computer: A Macintosh SE/30, all in black including the keyboard and mouse. One of the many Apple/Steve Jobs references in the movie (spoilers). Click to see the close-up. More »
Computers
Big Blue PC Is Ultimate Homage to 80s Lego Sets
8:35PM Jesus Diaz | This is Big Blue, a custom PC homage to the best Lego sets in history, including the Galaxy Explorer, the Yellow Castle, the Firefighter Station, plus a built-in touchscreen, spectrum analyser, and HDTV tuner. More »
Games
The Nyko Wing Looks Better than the Wii Classic Controller It’s Knocking Off
12:00AM Mark Wilson | The Nyko Wing, other than looking a bit more comfortable than the Wii’s Classic Controller, brings a few other conveniences to Wii vintage gaming. First, it’s wireless. So while it still requires an active Wiimote to communicate with the system (and it uses a Wiimote dongle to do so), you won’t need to worry about wire tethering. The extra shoulder buttons may or may not come in handy (since Nintendo doesn’t allow controller remapping in most Virtual Console titles), but very thoughtfully, you can load the Wing with AAA rechargeable batteries that can be refreshed via built-in USB. Looks good, but no word on pricing or availability yet. [IGN] More »
Gadgets
Death Ray Machine Does What Jesus Could Not
11:00AM Haroon Malik | For this week’s retromodo installation, we’re looking at the Death Ray Machine, (awesome name). Apparently, the device was put together by a Cleveland scientist, and its abilities were only showcased in a one time display to members of the National Inventors’ Congress at Omaha, Nebraska. The Death Ray Machine was witnessed to instantly kill dogs, cats and rabbits once its beam shone on them. More »
Random Stuff
20 Years Ago Tonight, ‘Max Headroom’ the Video Pirate Took Over Chicago’s Airwaves
4:55AM Adam Frucci | 20 years ago today, during a broadcast of a Dr. Who episode on WTTW channel 11 in Chicago, a video pirate took over the airwaves dressed as Max Headroom (remember him?). Wearing a mask and standing in front of a moving background, the video pirate rambled for a couple minutes in a tough-to-understand voice and then voluntarily went off the air. Who was this prankster, and what was he trying to accomplish? More »
Design
Mac Classic Devolves to Icon
1:51AM Mark Wilson | There’s little doubt that the Mac Classic is an iconic piece of computing history, but this SattaMac mod is truly, inarguably an icon. Even the most hardened PC users need to grit their teeth and admit, yes, the Mac Classic is an icon. Damn that modder! Damn him!! From what we can tell, the SattaMac is made from nothing but a Mac Classic and some well-placed black and off-white paint. Granted, it’s not exactly ready for operation. But were you really doing anything with that old machine before? Seriously, we’re coming by and cleaning out your basement. And kicking you out per your mom’s request*. More »
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Classic Mac Becomes Sweet Jukebox
11:37PM Mark Wilson | One industrious modder decided that the bet use for his newly acquired Mac Classic was to make it into this personal jukebox. After ripping out the CRT monitor, he was able to squeeze in a new LCD display, 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac Mini, extra 750GB drive and power supply. The only external modifications included expanding the disc drive for CDs/DVDs and adding a tiny opening for an IR receiver. OS X was modified to automatically load FrontRow upon booting, completing retro functional sweetness. Bonus pic: More »
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Itty Bitty Masterpiece Chairs of the World Collection
1:10AM Seamus Byrne | If you can’t actually have designer furniture in your hepcat bachelor pad, now you can possess a veritable Greatest Hits of Chair Design in 1/12 scale with the Masterpiece Chairs of the World Collection. That oughta fit in even cubby-hole apartments. The little seats are highly detailed, and some of them have removable cushions. That chaise lounge even reclines a bit. These miniature chairs are available in six volumes, each group costing between $38 and $50. The models don’t have much practicality, but they just look cool. Check out the gallery to get an idea of their scale. – Charlie White galleryPost('tinychairs', 8, 'Tiny Chairs'); Masterpiece chairs of the world collection (Japanese translation) [Rakuten, via TFTS] More »
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