tube on technabob...

There are certainly a ton of different ways to tell time, but this retro-modern digital clock is definitely one of the cooler designs I’ve seen in a while.

The Ice Tube clock ($70 USD) gets its brilliant blue display thanks to an old-school Russian-issued VFD (vacuum fluorescent display) tube. It’s set inside of a spiffy…

Brando’s got a portable sound card for you, and it’s packaged in a cute, totally not senseless, vacuum tube-style case. All you need to do is plug it in to your computer via it’s mini USB-to-USB adapter, plug in your headphones and/or mic, and you’re good to go. The blue light that turns on as…

Areaware’s 2B Radio lets you enjoy the “big, warm, radiant sound” that can only be produced by vacuum tubes, along with a Braun-inspired minimalist design.

Aside from an AM & FM internal antenna, the 2B Radio also has an aux input and a recording output, so you can pair it with modern audio devices.

Nice.…

I’m not sure if this clock design qualifies as “steampunk” or simply anachronistic, but it sure looks different than just about any timepiece I’ve ever seen.

Combining retro Nixie tubes with a baroque antique bronze enclosure, it’s definitely different. For some reason, I’m betting your Grandma probably didn’t have one of these on her mantle.…

I don’t know what it is, but I’m a real sucker for Nixie tube clocks. There’s something about the soothing orange glow tubes that offer a simple, yet elegant way to display any numeric information. I hadn’t seen a design that really caught my eye in a while, when I stumbled onto this wooden beauty.…

Look at these cool led lights, designed by Jörg Schieber for German company chameledeon. Minimal and elegant, they work with a remote switch and cycle through 16 different colors, so you can set the mood in your living room without having to get up from the couch.

Besides the colored series, a single color white…

Looking for some compact speakers that don’t look like all the others? Then check out this funky aluminum audio system from Gais.

The Gais Lisire Series 020 is a complete 2.1 channel sound system featuring distinct cylindrical styling. The Lisire’s aluminum covered ported subwoofer tube measures about 12-inches wide and is flanked by a pair…

This wouldn’t be the first Nixie tube clock I’ve ever seen, but it sure offers some different display options than the typical numeric display they usually feature. Raymond Weisling’s GeekKlok not only can display time using traditional digits, it offers custom “fonts” which can tell time using special characters.

The GeekKlok comes in kit form,…

Designed by Japan’s M+K Design, these slick lamps use modern lighting technology to offer a cool, otherworldly glow. To me, they look like something taken right off the set of Blade Runner or Minority Report.

Designers Maiko Watanabe and Koichi Tanaka’s Sweet Icicle Lamps encase a bright cold cathode tube in a block of crystal clear…

For some reason, clock makers keep trying to bring back the magic of Nixie tubes without using any of the actual tubes. First, we had the LED “Nixie” Clock, and now we get this cheapo version that uses LCDs instead.

About the only thing the Marksman LCD “Nixie-Style” Alarm Clock has in common with a…

Many audiophiles will tell you that there’s nothing quite as sweet as the sound of a good old analog tube-based amplifier. While there are a handful for tube amps for the iPod already out there, most of them are quite expensive.

This dock from Dice Electronics looks to change that. Not only does the Dice…

Ferrucio Laviani’s dramatic tubular lighting fixtures are truly a sight to behold. The Italian designer has created these beautifully simple tubes of PMMA (acrylic) which contain a bright incandescent light source at the top.

These Toobe lamps can be ordered in either clear, or imbued with a splash of primary color. The unique design provides…