Awesome Tech

This unique turntable deftly blends modern and retro design. In addition to its belt-drive turntable, it has a built-in clock with a vintage Nixie tube display. It has a built-in speaker and supports 33, 44, and 78 record playback speeds. It’s also got an RCA output for connecting to an external amplifier and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker.

rerunthe80s takes us back in the time machine to remind us of sounds most of us haven’t heard in decades. From analog televisions to VCRs to video game systems, see how many of them you can guess with your eyes closed. We scored 15 out of 19.

After 98-year-old Lillian read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, filmmaker and creative director Chris Carboni interviewed her to ask some questions about the book. He then used interpretive AI technology to create images to accompany Lillian’s amusing and endearing descriptions of the story and its characters.

Engineers need to simulate earthquakes to make buildings and other structures safer. Tom Scott headed to the University of Texas to check out the T-Rex, a mobile test rig that can produce massive vibrations in the ground. Combined with sensors, it can measure the stiffness of soil thousands of feet beneath the surface without digging.

DJI latest drone is designed for first-person view flights. It captures 4K/60 fps video with a super-wide angle lens and works with DJI’s FPV Goggles 2 and a motion controller for pilot immersion and easy flying. A built-in propeller guard lets you safely fly in tight locations, and the drone self-corrects if it bumps into something.

VCRs might be obsolete technology, but they still featured some pretty smart engineering. That’s why illustrator and educator Jared Owen put together this in-depth look at the mechanisms that lie behind the VHS cassette flap. It’s cool to see how VCRs loaded and unloaded tapes without tangling them… most of the time.

The Shrimp is a minimal gaming keyboard from Nordic Game Supply. It includes only the 25 keys most used in FPS gaming, using Gateron G Pro mechanical switches. It has assignable multimedia dials at the top, RGB backlighting, and a detachable magnetic wrist rest.

When it comes to showing the power of small lasers, popping black balloons is one of the most effective demonstrations. With the right kind of reflector system, laser beams can be guided to hit precise targets, so they can pop numerous balloons in sequence like in this satisfying short video using a Wicked Lasers LaserCube.

Cars in racing games don’t have the most realistic-sounding engine sounds. AngeTheGreat’s Engine Simulator not only can replicate the mechanisms and physics of a car engine, but it also produces realistic procedurally-generated sounds. You can grab the source code for Windows on GitHub.

During their 28 years together, Daft Punk used lots of synthesizers and electronic equipment to make their music. But as far as we recall, tesla coils were not in their arsenal. Thankfully, we have Franzoli Electronics, who used his high-voltage noise-makers to play an awesome cover version of Around the World.

The PlayStation 5 is a powerful piece of gaming hardware, but its design is definitely controversial, and it doesn’t exactly blend into its surroundings. So builders Chris Salomone and Shaun Boyd got to work to conceal the console inside of a wooden shell that looks like a gigantic version of the original PlayStation.

As we’ve seen in recent videos, AI technology is getting very good at creating art. SolarProphet has been using the AI tech Midjourney to create images based on song lyrics and posted this great sequence of digital art based on the ELO classic Mr. Blue Sky. Not every image lines up perfectly, but it’s still really well done.

Dodge previews its electric future, and they’re not backing down from making muscle cars. The 2-door Charger Daytona SRT has an 800-volt Banshee propulsion system, all-wheel drive, a multi-speed transmission, and a growly, emissions-free exhaust note made by pushing air through chamber and amplifying it.

Upgrade your gaming audio with this desktop sound system from OXS. The Thunder immerses you in sound thanks to 10 audio channels, upward-firing drivers, and a satellite neck surround speaker. It supports Dolby Atmos and has built-in LED lighting that can react to on-screen action. ScorpioTech checked out early review unit.

If you’ve ever had to sit through a corporate conference call, you can probably relate to Nicholas T.’s comedy sketch. It roasts the kind of bureaucratic double-speak, buzzword bingo, and nonsensical tech talk that often fills the air. Seriously, why can’t most meetings be an e-mail? (Thanks, Rob!)

Millions of years ago, evolutionary changes caused snakes to lose their legs. Engineer and snake lover Allen Pan thought thinks that these reptiles should have kept their limbs, so he put on his thinking cap and developed a robotic exosuit that a snake can slide into and walk around in. But will the snake accept its new abilities?