Aug 22
Aug 22
How the Navy Taught Its Engineers About Them New Fangled Computer Machines Back in 1962 [Video]
Posted in: Today's Chili
Have you been looking for the perfect way to teach your aging parents or grandparents about these fancy new computers the kids are always talking about? It turns out the Navy was too—back in 1962—so it commissioned this educational film to get its engineers up to speed. More »
Aug 22
Even Shock Jocks Sound Sweet on this Vintage Shortwave Radio [Past Perfect]
Posted in: Today's Chili
Classic turntables may get all the glamour, but the shortwave radio deserves a place of prominence in the home of any audiophile. For a stylish way to surf the airwaves, try this stunning late 1950s Trans-World T-9, produced by Philco (that’s the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, for those who don’t like to abbreviate). Beautiful chrome knobs handle tuning, tone, and band selection, and the package comes with a world map, logbook, and twelve pages of schematics. More »
Aug 21
A lighter is not just a hunk of cheap plastic you use to fire up a smoke. It’s also a matter of taste. And you can light up in style with a pair of vintage Braun lighters designed by Dieter Rams for sale on eBay. More »
Aug 20
Contrary to what you might think, this photo was not snapped over the weekend using Instagram’s Valencia filter. It’s known as Lenna and as Motherboard points out, it’s one of the oldest, most widely used test picture used for all kinds of image processing algorithms. More »
Aug 18
Computer animation may be a lot better than it used to be, but it’s been around for quite a while. This is an example of one of the older bits, dating way back to 1965, and it features some 4D shapes. Oh, and it’s also in 3D. Just cross your eyes. More »
Aug 16
The New iPhone Will Make This Repurposed Audio Gear Obsolete Again [Past Perfect]
Posted in: Today's Chili
What do you do when your speaker dock stops working? You call it a piece of junk, throw it away, and buy another one. But back when audio gear was expensive and repairable, people—or shops at least—needed gear to figure out what was wrong with it. More »
Aug 15
West German Weather Ball Lends Vintage Charm To Climate Change [Past Perfect]
Posted in: Today's Chili
The weather is changing, and fast. If you can’t beat it, the next best thing is to accurately measure its volatility. More »
Aug 14
Aug 10
Even Apple’s Siri, arguably the cutting-edge of synthesized computer voices, sounds incredibly fake. To the point where you’d think that field of research has only been around for about 10 years. But shockingly it dates back to the 1930s—80+ years ago! More »
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