Retro

Long before 1080p video and high-resolution imagery, a special graphic design style known as ASCII art enabled amateur artists to create unique images on computers through specifically formatted text.

The glory days of text art invading e-mails and bulletin boards are mostly gone. But you can at least take a stroll down memory lane with a Web site that automatically converts Google Maps' Street View into a world of colorful ASCII art. … Read more

MakerBot is best known for its 3D printers. Would you have predicted an MP3 player for its newest product?

The MixTape is available in two iterations. The $25 MixTape Kit, aimed at those who already own a 3D printer, includes the guts of a basic MP3 player. Simply print out the enclosure using the plans on MakerBot's Thingiverse site, plug in the electronics, and you're ready to upload your music.

For those without a 3D printer, MakerBot will sell you a pre-assembled MixTape for $39.

The actual specs of the MixTape MP3 player are modest. It has 2GB … Read more

The hoverboard floated onto the big screen in "Back to the Future II" and broke the hearts of geeks worldwide when director Robert Zemeckis announced that the technology would not be available until the year 2015. Decades later, we're all still waiting for power laces, hydrator machines, power laces, and a real hoverboard, but Mattel was on-hand at Comic-Con 2012 to show off the next best thing: a 1:1 scale replica of the original hover board ridden by Marty McFly.

While it's still unacceptable that the thing doesn't actually glide through the air (don't even think about water), the prop retains the exact look and feel of the real thing, replete with a scooter handle hole, Velcro ankle strap, motion sensors, and "whooshing" sound effects pulled directly from the movies.… Read more

Stern Pinball has officially started churning out the X-Men pinball game it hinted at back in June.

The machine comes in three different flavors. The base model is the X-Men Pro ($5,699) and includes a backglass graphic with all the X-Men mutants crammed together in an explosion of awesome.

Then you have the two X-Men Limited Edition machines ($7,999) which include a few extra playfield options, such as a motorized "Ice Slide" ramp, pop-up Night Crawlers, color-changing LEDs, and a magnetic spinning disc that basically rules. The two versions of this machine include an edition with … Read more

Holiday shopping season is coming. Oh yes, it is. And the new Furby is waiting. Hasbro has redesigned the Furby and is releasing it this fall, complete with complementary iOS apps and a re-engineered body.

I don't choose to believe that the Furby is officially a retro toy. That ages me too much. The original Furby came out in 1998, which somehow adds up to 14 years ago. I missed Furbymania completely (I was in grad school), but for both newcomers and the Furby-nostalgic Hasbro is readying its first new Furby product since the days of Y2K. The name? It's still just Furby. And one has arrived at our CNET offices.… Read more

If deck railings, shower innards, old bike wheels, and Nike sneakers can be made into musical instruments, why stop there?

In the grand tradition of making music from unlikely materials, students at the U.K.'s University of Manchester incorporated the sounds of a giant working steam mill engine into an original composition.

Three brass players accompanied the running twin Victoria and Alexandra engines (yes, they have names) at Ellenroad Mill in Rochdale, England, at a performance earlier this month. The brass players started with a fanfare, gathering speed as the 85-ton flywheel, which measures 28 feet in diameter, gradually roared to life to play its part in a piece by Simon Joyner, a Manchester master's student in composition. … Read more

We've found the perfect coffee table for that home recording studio you're putting together. Or maybe the perfect display space for that collection of obsolete technology you're so proud of.

Yes indeed, it's the "Mixtape Table," from Jeff Skierka Designs, a 12:1 scaled replica of that cassette mix tape you gave your main squeeze back in high school to profess your love. … Read more

It's Geek Pride Day. I'm celebrating by taking a look back through time at my collection of oddball "Star Trek" props and memorabilia excavated during a recent spring cleaning.

"Star Trek" was a bunch of television shows. It was a bunch of movies. It was also a lot more than that to me. I first became fascinated with "Star Trek" through watching reruns in the afternoons when I was in fourth grade.

I was a shy, quiet child, but suddenly I wanted to become either an astronaut or an actor, whatever would get me closest to the Enterprise the fastest. … Read more

Keytars used to be cool. Then they were lame. Now they're cool again, thanks to Jeri Ellsworth and her Commodore 64 bass guitar.

The unique instrument debuted at the Bay Area Maker Faire over the weekend. It's essentially a bass guitar grafted onto a Commodore 64, creating an unholy alliance between the thudding bottom end of a rock song and the raw retro power of an iconic computer.… Read more