Hasta La Gadget!

Stained. Marked. Old. These books are usually good for just one place, the garbage. But groups of book-lovers in Japan are currently holding gatherings and events to share their passion for texts very far removed from slick iPad e-books.

Known as konsekihon (literally “trace books”), recent events include an evening talk session in Nagoya, where the participants discussed and shared examples of favorite old books. A “Konsekihon Tour” also took place in Nagano last year, as well as events at book fairs in Sendai, Hiroshima and Tokyo.

[Image source here and here]

Not only is this a retro and analog trend (like the resurgent zine subculture in Tokyo), it goes beyond nostalgia to claim new grounds as to what constitutes a viable “product”. After all, even amongst bibliophiles books with graffiti and “marks” are usually held in low esteem. Not for konsekihon aficionados, for whom the “stain” is actually where the real interest and value lies. It reveals the thoughts, actions and interpretations of the previous reader, and communicates an emotional attachment and trace remaining with (and inside) the book.

Despite the growth of chain stores like Book Off, the second-hand books there do not have the same feel of a “used book” of course. The store carefully checks, vets and repairs the products it purchases for re-sell and the majority of the stock is good-as-new. However, some of the organizers behind the konsekihon movement are thinking commercially and even selling suitably stained texts to avid fans.

The iPod nano iWatch? That’s so last week. Apple’s sixth-gen PMP has found a far better home in one fellow’s old Dreamcast VMU (Visual Memory Unit). It takes a bit of work to get the 1.5-inch screen and headphone outlet aligned just right, but when it’s all said and done, you get one of the best and quickest homages to old school gaming around. And hey, it also acts as a big plastic fortress to protect your touchy music player. Video after the break.

Continue reading iPod nano modded into Dreamcast VMU, magic meets nostalgia (video)

iPod nano modded into Dreamcast VMU, magic meets nostalgia (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Geek.com, Kotaku  |  Goteking, Hobby Blog  | Email this | Comments

Lube up the fixie and adjust your oversized glasses kids, the perfect hipster accessory for your journey of ironic self destruction has arrived. Created by the San Francisco-based Mr. SiMo, BoomCase is a series of portable speakers with batteries and headphone jacks pieced together from vintage suitcases. The one-of-a-kind case above features two main speakers and a top-side tweeter bunged into an old Samsonsite. The 8-pound case pushes a total of 30 Watts for up to 10 hours off an internal rechargeable battery when fed audio from your portable device’s headphone jack. $295, that’s how much. And for $20 more, Mr. SiMo will integrate a USB charger. Check the gallery for other variations although only the case above is currently for sale.

SiMo BoomCase vintage suitcase speaker rocks your androgynous hair style originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 01:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm’s retro-fantastic X100 is probably the hottest-looking camera you’ll see this year. Announced at this year’s Photokina tradeshow, the magnesium-clad compact makes it look like Fujifilm took the wish list of many photographers and made it real.

The first thing you’ll notice is the styling, which looks almost exactly like the rangefinder cameras of the past, right down to the flash being placed where the little bright-line illuminator window would go on, say, a Leica. Likewise, the giant viewfinder is placed over to the left (from the user’s point of view).

In fact, the whole camera is laid out like an old-style rangefinder. The shutter-speed is set by turning a dial on the top plate (as is the exposure compensation). The aperture is set by twisting a dial around the lens itself and the on-off switch is a collar a round the shutter-release. In fact, from the product shots, it appears that the shutter release is drilled and threaded for a manual cable release.

Then we get to the lens. The ƒ/2 lens is a fixed 23mm, which equates to 35mm on a full-frame camera. This is the classic focal length for a rangefinder, and coupled with the 12.3-MP SLR-sized APS-C sensor, means that you’ll be able to throw backgrounds out of focus, as well as shoot in very low light (the maximum ISO of 6400 will help there, too).

But the real “holy shit” moment comes with the viewfinder. It works just like a normal optical viewfinder, but has a prism stuck in the middle. Light from the scene in front passes straight through to your eye, but off to the side is a tiny 1.44 million–dot LCD screen. When on, the panel can either superimpose camera info onto the image or — get this — function as a super–high-res optical finder. You can switch between modes with a hardware button (it’s the lever on the front) Here’s the picture:

To be clear, this means that you can use this like an old-style camera, with distraction-free framing but also with the parallax errors of a non–through-the-lens finder, or you can swap to see what you’d see in an SLR. I’m guessing that you’d also get the focus points shown, and maybe even an in-finder histogram? [Update: The histogram is in there].

The X100 will also shoot 720p video, and has a regular 460,000-dot screen on the back, along with the usual host of digicam buttons, and there is even a built-in 3-stop neutral density filter so you can cut out some light and still use the lens wide-open in bright sunlight.

I’m ridiculously excited by this camera. It’s coming out in March 2011, and, at $1,000, I predict that Fujifilm won’t be able to make them fast enough. This, you probably already know, is the camera Leica should be making.

Finepix X100 [Fujifilm]

See Also:

• Leica X1 Puts DSLR Sensor in Tiny Compact Body

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Still wondering what to get the guy that just so happens to have everything, including (but not limited to) a 1920’s style Bluetooth headset? Found. Crosley Radio has just introduced what’s possibly the most awesome nugget of retro goodness in the year 2010 AD, the Revolution CR6002. Believe it or not, the object you’re gawking at there on the right is actually a battery-powered, USB-enabled turntable. It’s quite obviously designed for travel, but it’s purportedly capable of spinning the 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records that your pop is so fond of. Furthermore, it’s capable of tuning into your fav FM radio station, and the USB interface enables analog-to-digital transfers for keeping those vinyls in a much safer place. Hit the source link if you’re ready to wave goodbye to $149.95, or hit that Vimeo vid if you still need convincing.

Continue reading Crosley goes way back, way forward with battery-powered USB turntable

Crosley goes way back, way forward with battery-powered USB turntable originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gadling  |  Crosley Radio, Vimeo (Crosley Radio)  | Email this | Comments