From the desk of Shayne

Although I typically resist the temptation to fill my home with vintage electronics, I can’t help but be fascinated with home video devices of the past.  Total Rewind, The Virtual Museum of Vintage VCRs has information on just about any device that’s ever been used to watch pre-recorded video on your TV.  Their thorough history goes back to some large reel-to-reel units, some very obscure disc-based systems, and all the way through the VHS vs. BetaMAX days until now.  Included are photos, technical explanations of how each format works and the backstory on what went wrong.  The site is extremely entertaining if you’re at all interested in old-timey gadgetry.

As lame as this sounds, I have got to have one of these disco floors.  This is old news, but I have to mention it.  For those of you who haven’t seen this yet, some students from MIT have developed a rather elaborate disco floor (a la Saturday Night Fever) with touch-sensitive panels, USB connectivity with custom controller software, etc.  And, they’ve started a company to sell all of the components to build one in your own home.  For a couple grand, you too can discreetly live out your own disco fantasy (or relive it, whichever the case may be.  Anyway, I give you the 1E Disco Dance Floor.  Definitely check out the videos, you’ll be measuring out a space in your basement for one.