Eric Brodeur sent us a link to this amazing interpretation of NYC using old-school 8-bit graphics. Click and drag the image to explore the five boroughs like you never have before. I would seriously be willing to pay for maps like this on my GPS. [8-bit-NYC via TechCrunch] Continue »

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Original post by James Grahame

Character Options does a tremendous job with their line of poseable figures from the classic Doctor Who series. Several years ago the company created a special edition of the figures in black and white - the way early Who fans would remember the first couple of doctors. These are galaxies away from the dreadful Dapol figures we’ve written about before…. Continue »

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Original post by bohus

Tim Putz writes, “From 1960 to 1970, I photographed the first 100 Sambo’s in the country. Today, only the first is still in operation here in Santa Barbara. At one time there were about 1200 locations from coast to coast.”…

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Original post by James Grahame

We’ve talked about the PA-10 before, but only recently have we had a chance to lay our ears on one at Retro Thing labs. It’s made by Trends Audio, the same folks who also offer an audiophile version of the famous T-amp amplifier. The PA-10 is the same compact size (about the size of a couple of cassettes stacked up), has the same simple controls & few inputs… but the difference is apparent right away. There’s a blue-glowing tube sticking out of the top (and you know how we feel about blue glowing things).
You connect your audio source to one of two inputs on the back (with a small switch to select between the two inputs), and then plug in your headphones to the 1/8” jack on the front. The big friendly volume knob on the front and blue power led completes the ensemble and off you go.
My tests were […]

Original post by bohus

Mike Haener writes, “Here’s a link to the entire 137 year history of PopSci magazine for free browsing. What a great archive of historic articles and period advertising.
I spent many a night lying in bed reading these articles as a kid and dreaming about what the future might bring. Amazing just how inaccurate they were! (ie. we were all supposed to be flying around in jet packs by now!)”
It’s stunning to recall what a huge impact Popular Science had in the pre-internet days. I remember pouring over the “What’s New” section in each new issue in my grade school library when I was only 10 or 11. The weird little ads at the back were the most fun — a never ending parade of BB guns, hovercraft plans, windmills, canoe kits, small engine repair courses and even the occasional computer kit.
Incidentally, ninety years of Popular Science are in the […]

Original post by James Grahame

Here’s a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of an early commercial shoot featuring Ronald McDonald and a large cast of anthropomorphized food characters. What a production! Ronald looks like he just got out of the shower, and younger Retro Thing readers may not remember such a large cast of kooky cooked characters. The “McDonaldland” concept was gradually phased out in the late 70’s and early 80’s (though it lives on in some McDonald’s equipped with a Playland), which is also when several characters disappeared. Why?
Originally the Needham Harper & Steers ad agency hoped to license characters from Sid & Marty Krofft’s TV hit H.R. Pufnstuff. Instead they created a similar concept leaving the Krofft brothers uncredited. In 1973 the Kroffts sued McDonald’s (finally settling in ‘77 for over a million dollars) arguing that McDonaldland was a copy of their “Living Island”, and that Mayor McCheese ripped off H.R. Pufnstuff who […]

Original post by bohus

I cannot find words to convey how awesome this is. [Blue Tube Project via Gio Militano]

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Original post by James Grahame

The Commodore SID chip is perhaps the most famous sound generator of the 8-bit era. Its 3 channels of analog audio created kept Commodore owners from going slowly mad while waiting for their 1541 disk drives to load games at a snail’s pace. As a result, the chip’s distinctive sound influenced a generation of electronic musicians and game designers and has remained constantly in demand since its debut in 1982.

HyperSID is a stand-alone MIDI-driven hardware unit that contains a microcontroller and a SID chip. A companion software plug-in lets you edit and play genuine SID sounds from within your favorite computer-based music recording program, integrating 8-bit sound with 21st century technology.
The hardware support all versions of the SID chip (8580 / 6582 / 6581) and includes a balanced mono audio output. The OS can be upgraded via serial port and the front panel backlight brightness can be controlled by MIDI […]

Original post by James Grahame

This might sound a bit odd, but when I was about 8 years old my school snack shack started selling old army surplus ammo boxes. These days, that would probably trigger an immediate lock-down. But back during the cold war, I simply plunked down most of my meager allowance for a green metal box wrapped in torn brown paper. It was battered and worn, yet perfect for lugging around my most important childhood possessions.
Fast-forward three decades and Thomas Spaans has created the A-BOX, a a high quality portable iPod amplifier integrated into a fifties design M2A1 ammo box.
He says, “The iPod/mp3 player can be connected on the outside of the A-BOX as well
as the inside so you can listen to your tunes while running around with
the A-BOX for example or just protecting your iPod from bullets and
stuff.
the A-BOX comes in 2 models: the light version […]

Original post by James Grahame

Vince Briel is famous for his replicas of vintage Apple I and Commodore KIM-1 computers. His latest machine is the Altair 8800 Micro, a miniaturized (10″ x 7.5″ x 3″) recreation of the Altair 8800, which appeared on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, billed as the “World’s first minicomputer kit to rival commercial models.”
While the original was based on the Intel 8080 processor, the new machine emulates the original CPU using an Atmel AVR microcontroller. It includes 32K RAM, SD flash memory card slot, VGA or composite video output using an Integrated PockeTerm serial terminal and PS/2 keyboard support.

A couple of days ago, he proudly announced, “After a month of intense programming, the Altair 8800 Micro is now
functional. Early tests show it runs all 4K BASIC commands and 8K is now
being tested. The Micro version is one of 3 planned versions of the
Altair replica […]

Original post by James Grahame