Category: Retro

Do you have an old Macintosh lying around gathering dust? While you might want to turn it into an aquarium, you could also update it to run a much more modern operating system. Modder Travis DeRose of Curiosityness shows us how he cracked open a Macintosh Plus and converted it into a permanent home for an iPad Mini.

Back in the 1980s, computers were largely shades of beige or grey plastic. While this look might seem dated by today’s standards of slim, glass and metal devices, there’s no question that these retro color schemes immediately bring back fond memories of the early days of personal computing.

Do you love retro arcade games? I certainly do. While the pixel art character sprites get a whole lot of love, the fonts used to display your score and life status deserve much more appreciation. Typeface designer Toshi Omagari’s book catalogs dozens of the chunky pixelated fonts used in arcade games from the 1970s through the 1990s.

Despite getting its start back in 1966, Star Trek continues to entertain, with new series like Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks, all actively in production. Over the years, the franchise has certainly evolved, though in general, sticking to a formula that blends social commentary, science fiction, adventure, and humor.

Something is appealing to me about the aesthetics of old personal computers from the ’80s and ’90s. I know they’re not streamlined or sleek like the stuff that Apple is churning out these days, but I liked that those old machines felt more purposeful in their design.

Those of us who grew up playing video games back in the 1980s have a special place in our hearts for the pixel art characters from the 8-bit arcade and home console world. From Pac-Man to Dig Dug to Donkey Kong to Galaga, game artists had to really stretch their creativity and imagination to give us memorable and identifiable characters using the most primitive of blocks and limited color schemes.

Having cut my teeth on computers back in the 1980s, I have a very soft spot in my heart for the aesthetics of the era. I also happen to be a fan of clicky mechanical keyboards.

I love LEGO, and I love Nintendo games, so when I first heard the two companies were partnering up, I thought it could result in some really great collaborations. While the first LEGO Super Mario kits were definitely targeted to little kids, and not overgrown kids like me, their newly-announced set is definitely up my alley.

Like many of you, I love to play retro arcade games. I even have a custom built MAME cabinet in my basement for when I’m craving a little game of Pac-Man, Dig Dug, or Donkey Kong.

Running around a maze with ghosts on your ass and gobbling dots all day works up quite the thirst. It’s important for a Pac-Man to keep hydrated. While Pac-Man Energy Drink is hard to come by these days, there are plenty of other thirst quenchers to choose from.

The Nintendo Switch and its docking station are pretty good looking the way they come from the factory. But that hasn’t stopped people from wanting to customize their game systems to their own liking. If you’re into the look of classic Nintendo game systems, then you might want to build a Switch dock like this one, which a modder built into the case of an old Super Nintendo console.

Looking for a unique piece of furniture for your living room or game room? Well, skip the IKEA and go for something a bit more geeky, I say. This cool coffee table has LEDs built into its top which can display a colorful light show, or even play simple video games.

When it comes to retro gaming systems, SEGA made some of my favorites, including the Master System, Genesis, and Dreamcast. Long before modern mobile devices, the Japanese video game company created one of the first full-color handhelds, the SEGA Game Gear.

Among my many geeky pursuits, two of my favorites are classic arcade games and LEGO. So when I stumbled onto this collection of custom LEGO arcade machines, I had to bust open the piggy bank (aka my PayPal account) – since that’s where I save my spare change to buy stuff that I don’t NEED but that I really WANT.

If you love the retro look of pixel art, check out this little desktop accessory that not only can display custom pixel art, but can play music and work as an alarm clock, among other things.

Among classic arcade and console games, light gun shooters are some of my favorites. The problem is that the technology used for older video game systems required the scanning beam of a cathode ray picture tube to detect where you were pointing the light gun.