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Awesome Retro

Carrier37 Synthesizer

Carrier37 Synthesizer

Artist and designer Love Hultén shows off another one of his amazing custom builds. This time, he took a modern Korg Minilogue analog synthesizer, and built a Commodore SX-64-inspired portable wooden enclosure to house its electronics, then outfitted with cool orange knobs, and a matching keyboard in retro shades of tan and brown.

Fineday Retro Projector

Fineday Retro Projector

This tabletop gadget looks like a vintage film projector, but it actually packs a modern DLP digital projector inside. It’s made from sturdy aluminum, with a tilting base. Its 10000 mAH battery means it’ll run for up to 4 hours while unplugged, and it can mirror Android or iOS devices over WiFi in addition to its HDMI input.

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Arcade 1Up Star Wars Trilogy

Arcade 1Up Star Wars Trilogy
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Makers of 2/3rd-scale arcade machines Arcade 1Up have released a cabinet that plays three classic Atari Star Wars video games based on the original trilogy. It features a 17″ color display, a 15″ arcade height riser, and is one of the only ways to play these games with the proper arcade controller. Also available from Gamestop.

The Evolution of Windows Sounds

The Evolution of Windows Sounds

If you’ve been a user of the Microsoft Windows operating system, you know that each major version has had its own unique startup and shutdown sounds. Pod was kind enough to catalog most of these musical flourishes from Windows 3.1 through Windows 10. This older video captures a few more obscure variants.

The 1980s in a Nutshell

The 1980s in a Nutshell

Go back to the 80s with musician Mario Mathy, aka Belgium’s “King of Synths,” as he jams out on his ridiculous rack of keyboards which would require Doc Ock’s tentacles to play at the same time. From his white outfit, to his pink headband, to his Keytar, the video is a joy to watch.

1983: 50 Songs in 3 Minutes

1983: 50 Songs in 3 Minutes

Another week, another awesome retro remix, courtesy of The Hood Internet. As we move into 1983, the hair bands are on the rise, hip hop takes hold, and pop is on a roll with Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, and Journey all blowing up the charts.

Total Recall (1990) Honest Trailer

Total Recall (1990) Honest Trailer

(Gore) Screen Junkies reminisces about Paul Verhoeven’s classically campy action sci-fi movie that asked the question “If I’m not me, who the hell am I?,”, literally sucked the air out of the room, introduced us to three-boobed women, and eventually went on to inspire the plot of Avatar.

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Super Mario Bros. Ragtime Style

Super Mario Bros. Ragtime Style

If the Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the 1920s instead of the 1980s, the music its games played might have sounded a bit like the ragtime jazz piano arranged and played brilliantly here by musician Scott Bradlee.

adidas Archive_MR2 Watch

adidas Archive_MR2 Watch
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We love the retro-modernist design of adidas bold dual-time digital timepiece. It features a pair of reverse LCD readouts, stopwatch, calendar, alarm, and light functions. Its 41mm case and band are made from stainless steel, in gold, black, or silver finishes.

Head 2 Head Arcade Cabinets

Head 2 Head Arcade Cabinets
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Arcade1Up offers up a 2-player arcade experience in a mini cocktail cabinet. Each system has dual controls and a 17″ display. The Pac-Man editions include 8 games, while the Street Fighter units have a dozen games. The colorful versions are available from Gamestop, while the black editions are exclusive to Arcade1up.

Retro Mac AirPods Case

Retro Mac AirPods Case
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Give your Apple AirPods a fun new home with elago’s retro-look case cover, inspired by the original 1984 Macintosh computer. The silicone wrapper features the iconic “hello.” cursive lettering on its screen, and is done up in classic beige. Compatible with wired or wireless charging cases.

Internet Archive: MS-DOS Games

Internet Archive: MS-DOS Games

Say goodbye to productivity today. Thanks to the folks at the amazing Internet Archive, you can play thousands of retro PC games right in your web browser. Their extensive software library is packed with classics like The Oregon Trail, SimCity, Prince of Persia, Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, Leisure Suit Larry, and many more.

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Retro Tech: The Famicom Titler

Retro Tech: The Famicom Titler

Back in 1989, Sharp took the electronics from a Nintendo Famicom 8-bit gaming system and tricked them out to create an early piece of home video wizardy – a tool that could be used to create titles and graphics to overlay on video recordings. Nostalgia Nerd got up close with this obscure gadget to see what it could do.

Retro Tech: LASER FX

Retro Tech: LASER FX

Techmoan managed to get his hands on an a truly 1980s gadget, unopened and in its original box. The LASER FX was a home light show that attempted to replicate the experience of a concert with a laser light show. Unfortunately, its lack of an actual laser beam was its downfall. Fortunately, these days we have the LaserCube.

Nixt IV-17 VFD Clock

Nixt IV-17 VFD Clock

The Nixt IV-17 VFD Clock is a nixie tube clock with eight tubes and colorful LED footlights. Aside from telling time, it also displays the date and the ambient temperature. You can also set it to display a custom message. Check out Nixt’s other clocks and products here.

’80s Logo Graphics

’80s Logo Graphics

Take another flashback to the 1980s with this compilation of neon-tinged “high-tech” logo graphics from the era. This vintage video comes from a 1981 showreel from Image West, and extensively used Scanimate, an early analog computer motion graphics system.

ION Boombox Deluxe Bluetooth Speaker

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We love the retro ’80s looks of ION’s boombox, which pumps out big sounds from its dual full-range speakers. In addition to playing and recording cassette tapes, it can stream music via Bluetooth, and archive cassettes to a USB stick. Available now at Best Buy.

Here Comes the Sun

Here Comes the Sun

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Abbey Road, their company Apple Corps collaborated with Trunk Animation to create a new music video for Here Comes The Sun. The clip takes us inside the famed Abbey Road Studios’ Studio Two, and features rare band images, and film footage shot by Linda McCartney.

Arcade Puzzle Coasters

Arcade Puzzle Coasters
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Celebrate your love for classic arcade games with this set of fun drink coasters. Each plastic coaster features a motion puzzle inspired by an 8-bit game, including Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Q*Bert, and Space Invaders. Sold in a set of four.

GameShell Hackable Handheld

There are lots of handheld retro game systems, but the GameShell offers far more versatility than others. In addition to playing emulators for Atari, GB, GBA, NES, MAME, MD, PS1, and more, its modular construction and GNU/LINUX-based dev kit encourages you hack and modify to your liking. Some assembly required.

Talking Steel Guitar

Talking Steel Guitar

Talk box vocal effects reached their height of popularity in the 1970s thanks to Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh, but back in 1964, musician and record producer Pete Drake applied the unique sound to his pedal steel guitar, with this performance of his country blues track Forever. And then there’s this.

’80s Synth Riffs

’80s Synth Riffs

From The Final Countdown to Take on Me to Axel F, musician shochan8883 catalogs some of the most memorable synthesizer riffs of the 1980s. It’s by no means comprehensive, but entertaining nonetheless. Also, we’re not sure what to make of that Baroque Hoedown.

Video Game Metal Tribute

Video Game Metal Tribute

It’s a few years old, but that doesn’t make FamilyJules‘ hard rock medley of classic video game music any less entertaining. Whenever we hear video game music played with this much energy and speed, we think our character is about to run out of health. Grab the MP3 here.

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