The humble GIF file was first brought kicking and screaming into the world by Compuserve way back in 1987. It didn't take long before it became the scourge of internet forums and comment sections alike. Yes there have been some hilarious ones over the years, but hell, most of them are just plain hideous flashing monstrosities. Read More >
I can't put this Hasselblad 500EL in my pocket. And I can't use it to snap shots on a daily basis—it will cost a gazillion dollars on film and development. But I would love to have one at home. Just to look at it. It's a work of art. And it was used in the Apollo program. You know...On the Moon. Read More >
If you think Back To the Future 2 was the first time the world was introduced to the concept of hoverboards, think again. As far back as 1955, the US Navy was demonstrating its own hoverboard concept, but unfortunately it wasn't as slick as Hollywood had envisioned them to be. Read More >
20 years ago, the brainiacs at id Software came up with a genius game that was one of the first forays into the genre known today as the first-person shooter. And since then, gaming has never been quite the same. To celebrate the momentous occasion, current id Software publisher Bethesda has made Wolfenstein 3D available freely to play in the comfort of your browser. Read More >
With all this talk of “holograms” and 3D movies, plus several companies like Nintendo and LG trying to shove portable 3D gaming down our throats, it’s easy to forget that it was all tried once before. Way back in 1991, Sega unveiled the world’s first “holographic” game called Time Traveller, and it was doomed from the start. Read More >
Featured comment by fazered:
"I was just talking about this the other day after the Tupac video. The effect was actually really good but the game was absolute rubbish. Hard and unr..." More »
It's widely assumed that the ideas for both Apple's and Microsoft's GUI-based operating systems were heavily lifted from research done at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC. And this clip from 1972, showing off Xerox's Alto desktop computer, all but proves the company was years ahead of its time. Read More >
Featured comment by Cortez:
"Not true. He did see it, and most of it ended up in Apple products. He just didn't like to admit to it. Far better to claim credit then defend the ..." More »
Good news retro-Britain lovers: BT’s flogging off a load of its iconic red phone boxes, restored back to their former glory, and even you can buy one to complete your ultimate pad. The world-famous K6, or “Jubilee Kiosk”, weighs just 762kgs so I’m sure it’d fit right in with your massive 152-inch monster TV. Read More >
If you have a taste for wild fisheye shots, here's the ultimate lens. It's claimed that it can "see behind itself"; was made as a proof-of-concept for a trade show in 1970, and can be yours now. If you have £100,000 lying around, that is. Read More >
Featured comment by violentpacifist:
"Obviously I won't be paying £100K for this, but I'd really like to see what a 220 straight image looks like. All the ones online seem to have been st..." More »
We’ve had talk to Frank in the UK for a while now, and let’s be honest, some of its adverts have been a tad strange. But even Frank can’t hold a candle to this truly weird, trippy, American public safety advert about marijuana, featuring a fortune-telling super computer. Hell, it’s more like a drug-induced hallucination than anything else. Read More >
Featured comment by Tacos:
"Makes sense I guess, Whoever is doing them is nailing the 90s vibe pretty well on the info vid but still, I feel like it's a bit overplayed now. Next ..." More »
The Claude glass was an early pocket lens, sans camera, that 18th century men and women would hold aloft to regard the scene over their shoulder. Read More >
Featured comment by Magic Robot:
"You are quite right - The article is inaccurate - The Claude Glass is not a lens really, its a convex mirror or black glass. A sort of fisheyed mirror..." More »
Featured comment by Alex Winton:
""Digi Grotesk was derived from other fonts by a German businessman in 1931. As our friends at Buzzfeed explain, the font wasn’t developed for comput..." More »
Analogue TV wasn’t the only casualty of the digital switch-over and with London’s switch-off last night, another old friend bit the dust too – Ceefax. The BBC’s teletext service, which was born way back in 1974, brought text news and stories to the decidedly non-digital world, miles before the internet we know and love today was opened-up to the public. Ceefax was your Grandad’s internet. Read More >
Featured comment by EzenceII:
"Oh Sam, why do you do this to me?
"RIP Ceefax — The Internet Before There Was Internet"
Before the internet you say? ;)" More »
If you find yourself too self-conscious to even entertain the thought of getting a shoe shine in public, this wall-mountable kit makes it easy to keep the polish on your wing-tips when you're buffing them at home. Read More >
Sure, most of the handsets in this Bell advertisement are pretty hideous—but it was the late '70s, man. These were hideous times. And besides, I'll take the wacky "Sculptura" and "Stowaway" over today's sea of black blech rectangles. Read More >
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