Old Timey TikTok

If I asked you to think of any movie or recording from the early 1900s you would likely think the same as me: something with a lot of grain or muffled sound. Then I came upon this post from Dave Rahardja over on Mastodon. These carbon microphones are incredible because you have @Samsonite1890 performing Five Foot Two on the banjo here in 2024 and yet it sounds perfectly like a recording a century ago. Originally developed in 1878 by David Hughes in England, the device used loosely packed carbon granules and the varying pressure exerted on the granules by the…

The Touchscreen iMac

On the 40th anniversary of the Macintosh computer, I thought it would be interesting to look back on an oddity in the history of this machine: a touch screen version. In the late 90s Apple was close to going out of business and with the acquisition of NeXT brought Steve Jobs back into the fold. The iMac was the first piece of saving the company. Then a different company was buying them and installing touch technology into them for niche use. The coolest part of these machines was that the company ELO was an Apple Authorized seller and apparently had…

The First Webpage

Tons of things online are lost to time, but one of the most important things ever continues to live on: The first webpage. Even better, the announcement of said webpage by Sir Tim Berners-Lee continues to be available online. To me, it’s the ultimate nostalgia trip. Before the web, there was Usenet and Listserv message boards and mailing lists. The idea of a graphical way to “visit” a place was a far-out idea but on August 6, 1991 the announcement was made from CERN. In part it reads as follows: WorldWideWeb – Executive Summary The WWW project merges the techniques…

Kid Defeats Tetris

Tetris news, like the game itself, never seems to end. The classic puzzle game returned to the news last week because something new with the game had been accomplished for the first time: beating it. Thought Tetris has no ending? Think again. A 13-year old boy who goes by the name of Blue Scuti was live streaming an attempt to reach what’s called a “kill screen”; a part of a game where the whole thing glitches and it’s impossible to continue. And sure enough he was able to achieve this feat for the first time ever. You can watch as…

Half-Life at 25

Late last week, I had the pleasure of immersing myself in Valve’s 25th anniversary hour-long documentary, which focuses on the remarkable journey behind the creation of Half-Life. The game turns 25 and Valve felt it was worth a celebration. If you aren’t familiar with Half-Life, this may sound odd. So, let’s rewind. Half-Life was the first game by Valve, the company behind Steam and the Steam Deck. Released in 1998, the game was a first person shooter but unlike anything that had come before it. Half-Life (HL) was designed to tell a narrative story that immersed you in the environment.…

Speedrunning Mario

Speedrunning, the technique of completing a video game as fast as possible, is a niche hobby in the video game realm. People focus on a game and look to exploit it as much as possible in order to break records for the shortest completion time. Nintendo’s 1985 masterpiece Super Mario Bros is one such game. The game may be 30+ years old but there is a whole new generation attempting to shave fractions of a second off records. Kyle Orland at Ars Technica has more of how humans are almost beating times only thought achievable by machines. Niftski’s new record…

Traditionally Beating It

If it’s one thing I can never get enough of, it’s incredible alternative covers of Michael Jackson’s Beat It. This time around we get a rendition using a traditional Chinese Guzheng. The sounds this instrument make is instantly recognizable not just for the similarities to traditional Chinese music we’ve heard over the years, but then how it morphs into a song that is legendary. The song is performed by 墨韵 Moyun Official and I am so, so impressed with how fantastic it sounds. If you’re a fan of the track, it’s well worth a watch.

Data Recovery Exonerates A Man

Every justice system has failures where innocent people are wrongly convicted. A recent story I saw on Mastodon recounts how the Bloop Museum, a technology archive project, was called upon to try to recover crucial data from old floppy disks. Why? Because court records were stored on them, and it was vital to retrieve that information in order to exonerate an innocent man. You can find more details on the museum’s Patreon page. Okay, it was just last year, and the museum received a visit from the Wicomico County Prosecution Integrity Unit. We weren’t in any trouble, but any time…

Atari Tries Again

When it comes to video games, there is always a sense of nostalgia. Nintendo had a hit on its hands when the NES Classic came out a few years ago. Sega had been doing the same for many years with subpar retro consoles, but then copied Nintendo to release a proper Genesis clone. Sony followed suit with a PS1 version, which reinforced the fact that games from the PS1 / Saturn era do not hold up well. Now Atari is back, again, with a console that will play all those pixel-perfect games, in an emulated fashion. Wes Davis at The…

ABC’s 1980’s All-In Promo

Television’s landscape 40 years was a big push for eyeballs. When only a few networks were in existence, each of the national broadcasters were in fierce competition for viewers. In 1980, it seems ABC decided to go all in. One single promo that lasts a whopping minute and forty seconds features every. single. actor. on its network. How ABC was able to get the talent for each program onto a set at a single time is beyond my comprehension but it’s a feat ABC achieved. Crazy to think that not only were these big A-List actors but they were all…

SegWhy

The Segway is two things: a thing mall cops ride and a thing you may ride on a tour. That’s it. And what a fall from grace it is for this weird device, because it’s an innovative piece of tech that never stood a chance. For the unfamiliar, the Segway was marketed as a revolutionary way to get around when you didn’t want to walk and distances were too short for a car. Dean Kamen invented it and tried to market it as “the “the next big thing.” We know that never panned out, but the “why” that defined its…

4K Nirvana

One of the most influential bands of the 90s, Nirvana has endured through its short span of existence. The band had incredible hits and musicians. The unfortunate suicide of Kurt Cobain marked the end of the band, but their music lives on. I recently stumbled upon this 4K 60FPS video of Nirvana performing on Saturday Night Live in 1992. The video is clear, the sound is great, and it’s incredible to see Cobain in full high definition. You can even see how his hair is a different color. It’s nine minutes of pure nostalgia, but it opens with the legendary…

The Prop House where One Of a Kind Props Sit in Filing Cabinets

Every movie needs “stuff” to tell its story. Actors convey the lines and the crew films it, but the “stuff” is what everyone interacts with. Of course, we know them as props, and some are quite famous. Adam Savage, best known for Mythbusters, filmed a visit to The Earl Hayes Press, which is a shop that has been printing props for over a hundred years. Alone, that is a really cool place, but kicking things up a notch is his interview with Michael Corrie, who’s an archivist at the shop. Corrie details how some valuable and one-of-a-kind items were found…

McMerch

While the Summer of Grimace is fading away, there’s one thing McDonald’s is very good at: merchandising and creating products people want. Whether it’s food in the aforementioned Grimace Shake or a Happy Meal for adults, it’s a company that gets people in the door for a variety of reasons. But the little-known McD’s-run Smilemakers site lets you browse and purchase merch straight from the company itself. Smilemakers is generally geared toward restaurant operators and managers to provide shirts, pins, accessories, and awards for employees. But the site is open to the public. Right now, there is a Heritage Collection…

Intentionally-Stupid Games

In the past decade video games have become an accepted form of art. Millions go into producing Triple A titles in order to give gamers amazing experiences. Bad games are certainly not a thing of the past and James Rolfe continues to be the Angry Video Game Nerd reviewing those bad games. But we also have something interesting that’s come along: a contest to make the stupidest game possible on the ZX Spectrum. Rich Kelly at The Guardian has more. The Comp.Sys.Sinclair Crap Games Contest (CGC for short) has run almost every year since 1996. The idea is to write the crappest…

Grimace’s Return… To The Game Boy

The current craze with McDonald’s Grimace, the longtime purple blob mascot, is a cultural moment here in 2023. Deciding to roll out a purple shake, the fast food chain is putting Grimace front and center in its marketing. Weirdly, the Grimace shake has become a TikTok trend wherein Gen Z is drinking it and making short horror skits out of what happens next. It’s weird, and obscure, but also very creative. Now, Grimace is pulling another out-of-nowhere stunt: appearing on the Game Boy Color. Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica has more. Grimace’s Birthday was developed by Krool Toys, a Brooklyn-based…

We Didn’t Start the Fire: Updated

The iconic Billy Joel song We Didn’t Start the Fire was a major hit in 1989. In only four and a half minutes, Joel took us through important and notable events covering most of the 20th century. It was catchy, educational, and one of the last hits Joel had before moving to classical compositions. 34 years later we now have a cover of ‘Fire’ from Fall Out Boy. The song looks to cover the gap from then until now. I gave it a listen and while it sounds similar to the original I feel it’s not that great. Personally, some…

Fearless Rollerbladers

While some of the most 90s things ever are cheesy commercials about the fledgling internet and Microsoft trying to be cool, there’s another thing that was everywhere back then: Rollerblading. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hackers you know the crew always traveled by in-line skates. Our trip down memory lane features Ryan Jacklone, one of the pioneer aggressive roller skaters. Jacklone loves skating all over NYC, in and out of traffic, and basically doing what most 90s kids did: scoff at any limits placed on skating. Jackone’s style is what eventually became X-Games and the alternative competitive style of…

Sega’s 3D Tech

There was a lot of hard work being done by video game companies in the 80s. The American market was in shambles and nobody knew how to break into a new era for entertainment. Sega released their 8-bit Master System in 1986 and with it the ability to play some games in 3D. But this wasn’t the Red / Blue 3D you’d see on the NES with Rad Racer. No, Sega created an Active Shutter system that made truly impressive 3D. Nicole Branagan does a deep dive on this early technology to see how it worked and let me tell…

Half-Life’s Dream

Half-Life is one of the most successful video games of the early 2000s. The introduction of supreme storytelling into a shooter while adding exploration elements flipped an industry on its head. Half-Life was everywhere… except one notable place: Sega’s Dreamcast. It has been a mystery as to what happened with a game destined to have a port on every possible platform. And sure enough, it was going to come to the Dreamcast. Now, the Dreamcast Game Preservation group has found reporting of a near-release version of the game. The version I was given for review was about 95% complete with…

Cooking With Brian Baumgartner

Brian Baumgartner’s character of Kevin from The Office is legendary. There are many reasons, but of course, his chili segment is The One that everyone remembers. Even Peacock put the recipe into its Terms of Service simply as an easter egg to see who’d notice. While The Office is long over, its popularity remains. In the Binging with Babish series on YouTube, Brian does some of his own series-inspired cooking. The 16-minute video is a fun look at how Kevin’s snacks on the show could actually be cooked and even if it’s a good idea. Baumgartner is a lot of…

The Lisa That Started It All

Every time Apple talks about its history during a keynote, they focus on the Macintosh. Its 1984 debut was industry-shifting. However, nearly every groundbreaking idea it embodied stood on the shoulders of its lesser-known predecessor. The Apple Lisa was a much-chunkier computer released 40 years ago. It was a complete flop. Apple poured boatloads of resources into its list of firsts: GUI, a mouse, menus, file systems, multiple apps, usability, and friendly computing. The Lisa was also incredibly expensive. The machine started at $9,995 (equivalent to $27,190 in 2021). But, without the Lisa, the Macintosh would never have been the success…

Jack Black: Commercial Actor

Jack Black, the actor loved by many, is set to voice Bowser in the new Super Mario Bros movie. But did you know that forty years ago, he starred in a commercial for Pitfall? Pitfall was a popular adventure game for Atari 2600 and featured advanced graphics for its time. Now, you can enjoy Black’s past work before seeing his new performance in 2023.

High School Pinball Throwback

Arcades, dominant in the 80s are something of a bygone era. While there is a resurgence in places to play video games in the modern era, no 80s arcade is as unique as this one in Los Angeles. Because its location is quite unexpected: Torrence High School. The Electronics Club of the school did something unique and opened a “pinball room”, which ironically also had arcade cabinets too. The club is the subject of the All American High documentary that was released in 1987. A piece of the footage is below which shows the pinball room in action. It’s an…

Twitter Peeking into the Past

Many, many gadgets may seem like a good idea, but never make it to market. Then, some do. And in even rare occasions, they never should have. Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook know that all too well. One device that needed a crowd to say “No!” was the Twitter Peek. Back in the infancy of the iPhone and the modern smartphone era, the Peek was a small single-purpose device that allowed you to access your Twitter feed without a smartphone or computer. It was one of the first standalone devices made specifically for social media, and it was supposed to be…

Vinyl’s Revival Rolls On

As a music lover and record collector since the late 90s, I have loved the fact that records have made an incredible comeback. What was once thought to be a dead format has had a resurgence like no other. More exciting to me is the news that vinyl records have officially outsold CDs in the US. Jess Weatherbed from The Verge has more about this great news. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) annual revenue report, vinyl records outsold CDs in the US last year for the first time since 1987, selling 41 million units against 33…

Rapper’s Delight

The roots of rap and hip hop are intertwined with past music. From the earliest releases to the latest hits, so many songs use samples of prior music. Puff Daddy made mega-hits of songs in the 90s based off 80s samples. So have Dr. Dre, The Fugees, and Eminem. The list goes on and on. Now, with the release of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising on streaming, we learn more of what needs to be addressed: the legality of sampling. Dan Charnas at Slate discusses the struggle of the legendary hip-hop group to legally release their music…

Tetris: The Movie

We can joke around that modern movies using 80s pop culture properties have not usually worked out: Battleship and GI Joe are two examples. If it hadn’t been milked to death, Transformers would’ve broken that trend. Now we get a drama coming soon that looks to actually do what Transformers could not. And that property is Tetris. It may sound laughable, but the story behind Tetris is fascinating for many reasons. First, the Soviet Union owned all intellectual property and that meant Tetris never belonged to creator Alexey Pajitnov. Second, Atari was thought to own the rights to the game…

Pinball Wizard Music

Video game music is an art form. Composers finally have their own category at the Grammy awards. But watching the music get composed for pinball in the 80s is where some real magic happens. Composer Suzanne Ciani is the main composer in this documentary video showing how she creates music and digitizes speech for Xenon. The table features her voice and original music for all aspects of play. It’s an incredible piece of archival footage; mainly because Ciani talks you through the process every step of the way. From drawings of how the table will look to enthusiastic talk about…

Pressing Vinyl

The saying goes “what’s old is new again” and that really applies to vinyl records. The music format went from the only game in town to a decline with cassettes and CDs to death’s door in less than two decades. The late 90s to early aughts were a time when getting an album on vinyl was near-impossible. Funny enough, it’s also the time when records produced during those days are highly collectible due to the low production runs. The resurgence of records crept in slowly, aided by Record Store Day and a growing interest in the format from people who…