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Awesome 1990s

The Drama of Microsoft Excel

The Drama of Microsoft Excel

“My spreadsheet doesn’t do that!” This 1992 promo spot for Microsoft Excel 4.0 seems like it was directed and performed by a team that wished they were doing more meaningful work. Instead, they ended up pimping the ubiquitous productivity software with a level of gravitas typically reserved for serious TV dramas.

Installing Microsoft Office 97 from Floppy Disk

Installing Microsoft Office 97 from Floppy Disk

We recently were reminded how painful it was to get on the Internet in the 1990s. Installing software on a computer without a CD-ROM drive was even more of a chore. Tech Tangents walks us through the slow but somewhat meditative task of installing Microsoft Office 97 from its 46 floppy disks onto a Gateway 2000 laptop.

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Connecting to the Internet in the 1990s

Connecting to the Internet in the 1990s

These days, we’re used to whipping our phones out and connecting instantly to the internet. But back in the 1990s, it was a much slower task. Gough Lui dusted off an old PC running Windows 98 to walk us slowly down memory lane to surf the web using a 31.2k baud dial-up modem and some vintage web browsers.

Museum of Endangered Sounds

Museum of Endangered Sounds

Long for the startup sound of your old Macintosh? Or perhaps the squeal of a dial-up modem? Save the Sounds’ Museum of Endangered Sounds offers an online soundboard where you can enjoy the sounds of retro technology any time you’re feeling nostalgic. Try playing them all at the same time for fun.

Skullcandy x Pit Viper Earbuds

Skullcandy x Pit Viper Earbuds
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Nostalgic for the ’90s? Skullcandy goes retro with this limited-run earbud collection, borrowing the neon-pink, purple, and blue splatter colorway from Pit Viper, the lifestyle brand conceived on the ski hill and born in the back of a van. Options include the popular Grind, Push Active and Dime true wireless earbuds.

Nike Air More Trading Cards

Nike Air More Trading Cards
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Nike goes back to the 1990s with these funky cushioned sneakers based on the Air More Uptempo ’96. Graffiti-inspired bubble graphics splash the word “AIR” wrapped along their sides while the Swoosh moves to the toebox of these high-contrast black and white shoes. Drops 3.16.2022.

Mini Video Store Diorama

Mini Video Store Diorama

Artist Marina Totino loves to make models and miniatures. While all her work is impressive, her incredible replica of a 1990s video store is our favorite. The store is accurate down to the VHS tapes on its shelves, and a set of mirrors creates an awesome infinite-depth illusion.

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600 Songs from the 1990s

600 Songs from the 1990s

Everybody dance now! ’90s kids, crank up the volume and take a trip back in time with The Hood Internet’s 34-minute megamix, incorporating 600 of the best and most popular songs of the decade, all played in chronological sequence. See how many you can name.

Hot Wheels PC Upgraded

Hot Wheels PC Upgraded

If you spent any time using computers back in the 1990s, you might remember the electric blue Hot Wheels PC with the flame job. Shank Mods took one of these colorful computing relics and rebuilt it with the latest high-performance PC hardware, then set up a bank of three of the matching CRT monitors for widescreen gaming.

Retro Gamer Logo Magnets

Retro Gamer Logo Magnets
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UK shop ReadyPlayerTwo creates these nifty 3-dimensional logo signs inspired by classic video game and computer systems. Each one is 3D printed from PLA plastic to accurately replicate the original color scheme, and has neodymium magnets securely mounted inside.

If Modern Apps Ran on macOS 9

If Modern Apps Ran on macOS 9

macOS X and its successors have been around since 2001, but those of us who used Apple’s computers in the 20th century remember even earlier versions of the operating system. Designer Michael Feeney imagines what it might have been like if today’s apps ran on the more primitive user interface of macOS 9.

If Weezer Was Nirvana

If Weezer Was Nirvana

Musician and impressionist Steve Welsh imagine what it might have sounded like of the Nirvana classic Come as You Are were performed by another band that hit it big in the early 1990s, Weezer. He totally nails the layered pop vocals and garage rock sounds of Rivers Cuomo and gang.

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If Blink-182 Wrote Wonderwall

If Blink-182 Wrote Wonderwall

Musician Alex Melton proves yet again that just about any song can be done in the style of Blink-182. His latest take on the pop-punk maestros imagines what the Oasis track Wonderwall might have sounded like if Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus created the song instead of Noel and Liam Gallagher.

Terminator 2 Modern Trailer

Terminator 2 Modern Trailer

There’s no question that Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the best movie of the entire franchise. But back in 1991, movie trailers weren’t quite as slick as they are today. Michael Edwards edited together an awesome new trailer for James Cameron’s classic action flick, which also avoids the spoilers of the original trailer.

Famous Synth Sounds of the ’80s and ’90s

Famous Synth Sounds of the ’80s and ’90s

Are you an ’80s or ’90s kid? Then you’ll want to hit play on Estuera’s two-part video series about the synthesizers and presets that defined the sounds of two decades. Along the way, he performs excerpts from more than 40 tracks and makes them sound just like the originals, thanks in part to Arturia’s synth emulation tech.

The History of Music Trackers

The History of Music Trackers

The 1980s brought the first 16-bit PCs, and advances in hardware brought better graphics and sound. Programmers went on to create music synthesizers and sequencers called trackers, which became a demo and hacker scene staple. Ahoy looks back at the history of trackers and the ear-pleasing chiptunes they produced.

Boston Dynamics in the ’90s

Boston Dynamics in the ’90s

Boston Dynamics has made a name for themselves with their humanoid and animal-inspired robots. We’ve previously met Spot, their robo-dog that can handle all kinds of terrain and carry small payloads. Future Punk made this fun video that imagines what Spot might have been like had he come out in the 1990s.

Radiohead: Follow Me Around

Radiohead: Follow Me Around

Radiohead’s KID A MNESIA drops on 11.5.21, and includes reissues of Kid A and Amnesiac, along with unreleased tracks from their 1999 to 2000 recording sessions. The music video for the acoustic track Follow Me Around looks like it was shot on VHS tape, and features Guy Pearce doing everything he can to avoid the camera.

Welcome! Sweatshirt

Welcome! Sweatshirt
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’90s kids, remember the squeal of your modem as it connected to America Online? Vapor95 pays tribute to the once-massive online service with a vibrant polyester micro-fleece sweatshirt, embellished with the AOL logo on its chest, a colorful community of people on its sleeves, and the familiar cry of “¿A/S/L?” on its back.

Spider-Man: No Way Home as a 90s Cartoon

Spider-Man: No Way Home as a 90s Cartoon

100Bombs Studios dusted off footage from the 1990s Spider-Man animated series and edited it to match the audio from the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. Using scenes between Spidey, Doctor Strange, and Doc Ock, it syncs up surprisingly well.

The Last Video Store VR Game

The Last Video Store VR Game

RareBird Games created this VR gaming oddity. The game sends players back in time to a Blockbuster-style video store to wander the shelves looking for movies to rent on VHS and DVD. In survival mode, you’ll work to make money for bills and movie rentals, and you’ll even be able to watch some movies inside of the game.

Your Illustrated Childhood

Your Illustrated Childhood

If you grew up in the ’80s, ’90s, or ’00s you saw the work of artist Gary Ciccarelli. You might not know his name, but the illustrator created airbrushed images for countless products, including action figure packages, toy boxes, board games, movie posters, trading cards, and more. His work is gradually being archived on Instagram.

Bliss

Bliss

In 1996, photographer Charles O’Rear snapped a photo that would appear on over a billion desktops thanks to its selection as the default Windows XP wallpaper. Animator Zachary Loren Jones revisits the story of this iconic image and its impact on the zeitgeist with an imaginative and surreal retrospective.

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