Slashdot Mirror

Photons. Photons carry energy, as proved by solar cells. It is simply that you can't collect a lot of energy with low-frequency photons like those associated with RF. But "not a lot" of energy is not the same thing as "no" energy. Any device with an appropriately small energy need (the classic device is the crystal radio set), can be powered by RF photons. So, anyone promoting the powering of a modern device by RF photons merely has to show that the device needs an appropriately small energy supply. If it needs too much, it won't work. But if it can collect enough RF photons, then it should work just fine.

The Agent Zero Sonic Blaster. Destroying drones and kid's hearing since 1960.

http://www.retrothing.com/2009...

It's just a 2XL and a Radio Shack Armatron glued together... I had this in 1985...
http://www.retrothing.com/2006...
http://www1.pcmag.com/media/im...

Also, a fax machine is just a waffle iron with a phone attached.

Well, it does physically resemble one particular Bolex design.

Also, I feel an overwhelming urge to point out that brand name recognition and hence resurrection is not exclusive to hipsters. There have been five "Atari" companies, for example.

Yay!

Google reinvents the Bone Fone

No prior 'art' here?

A Sega Nomad?! :P

Sega Genesis in your hand?! Say What?!

I'm not sure about the sensor itself but a Kodak engineer did invent a prototype self-contained digital camera in 1976.

http://www.retrothing.com/2008/05/kodaks-first-di.html

Mayor McCheese seeks a restraining order to prevent you from disclosing his trade secrets.

Wow, I had forgotten about Captain Crook and The Professor.

Funny how boeing and other companies are coming out with stealth vehicles that don't look *exactly* the same as the F-22. Even the boeing plane that competed against the F-22 looked nothing like it and it was stealth. I'm not sure you know what you're talking about.

http://www.retrothing.com/2009/03/boeing-f-15se-stealth-fighter.html

Doesn't like the a duplicate of the F-22 to me.

My first computer was a 199Mhz Pentium...

A Pentium?? When I was a kid, we would have climbed over dead bodies to get a Pentium! We had to walk 2 miles through the snow to time-share on this, and we thought we were lucky.

Kids these days.

And also they've invented the walkman in the end of the 70s http://www.retrothing.com/2005/12/introducing_the.html ...

Patent filing date has nothing to do with it, we have 'first to invent' rules
(so happy or not- that is the current law- gotta live with it for now)

so if Kodak can prove they did it before someone else-- they win for first to invent

BTW, I readily found a website
http://www.retrothing.com/2008/05/kodaks-first-di.html
indicating kodak first met the conditions of the patent in 1975

"The device was semi-portable, and a massive VCR-sized microcomputer was used to display the images on a TV screen using a primitive frame store, but I doubt that the Kodak executives saw digital technology as a credible threat to their existing product line"

It's bad enough how CDs ripped to MP3 cause that empty audio jerk between tracks. And when one track completes (such as when heard on the radio), I always expect the next to come, and get disappointed when it doesn't. Who knows what 16-bit audio has already removed from the feel of this music. At least it's not 8-bit (see http://www.retrothing.com/2010/03/8bit-pink-floyd-dark-side-of-the-moon-.html).

If you are willing to think that way, we are saved then : quantum effects *are* involved in transistor logic.

Yes. Significantly. However, not significantly in electron tubes, or gears, or hydraulics, or folded paper: And you can create any logic element you like out of any one of those building blocks, given space, time, a significant exercise of will and, I think, an unhealthy dose of masochism. :)

Consequently I would argue that the quantum effects that make transistors work are in no way a pre-requisite for what we're having them do for us at a higher level, which is the same: Make logic processing devices.

Invert, and, or, xor, clocked states and various other combinatorial goodies... it's all mundane as can be in terms of what is actually required to implement them. Check this baby out.

In fact, the modem in the video predates the AT command set by 14 years.

The reason you can only play a PS3 game on a PS3 is not because they've legally tied the game to the PS3, it's because currently the only hardware capable of playing it.

If another machine were to be able to play it, the only illegality involved would be if they stole copyrighted code from Sony (i.e. Sony's BIOS for the PS3) or violated Sony's patents in implementing their machine.

The parent's analogy is far more appropriate and closer to the truth than yours. Apple had their "PS3" moment when they were producing specialized hardware to run the Mac OS on. But today they sell Intel machines, ones that are completely capable of being built independently of Apple. If this were a video game console analogy, it'd be the Atari 2600 vs. the Coleco Gemini and Coleco won that one.

Nothing. What makes it popular is the apple mystic and excellent marketing...

If that was enough, we'd all be watching Apple TV's while jotting notes into our Newtons. Heck, Apple was one of the first Digital Camera manufacturers and had a video game console.

Apple's "mystic and excellent marketing" is clearly not enough to sell any old box. Really, you might want to look into why the iPhone is so popular. I'm sure Palm as we speak is adjusting the Treo line with the lessons learned from the iPhone.

Full disclosure: I'm a prior treo 600 owner. It has a much better keyboard than the iPhone, but for everything else I prefer Apple's little machine.

How about:
- A subscription to Make magazine
- A chemistry kit
- A Velleman Electronics kit (he could build a pong game or whatever else catches his interest)
- A robot kit from Parallax.com
- Build a crystal radio with him. Even cooler, build one out of household junk.
- A Digicomp mechanical computer.

Heck, rather than me writing a long list, you should visit the DIY section on my site It should give you a few dozen good ideas. Just be sure to drop me a line if you actually build an ALTAIR 8800, tube amplifier or homebuilt ultralight, though.

How about:
- A subscription to Make magazine
- A chemistry kit
- A Velleman Electronics kit (he could build a pong game or whatever else catches his interest)
- A robot kit from Parallax.com
- Build a crystal radio with him. Even cooler, build one out of household junk.
- A Digicomp mechanical computer.

Heck, rather than me writing a long list, you should visit the DIY section on my site It should give you a few dozen good ideas. Just be sure to drop me a line if you actually build an ALTAIR 8800, tube amplifier or homebuilt ultralight, though.

How about:
- A subscription to Make magazine
- A chemistry kit
- A Velleman Electronics kit (he could build a pong game or whatever else catches his interest)
- A robot kit from Parallax.com
- Build a crystal radio with him. Even cooler, build one out of household junk.
- A Digicomp mechanical computer.

Heck, rather than me writing a long list, you should visit the DIY section on my site It should give you a few dozen good ideas. Just be sure to drop me a line if you actually build an ALTAIR 8800, tube amplifier or homebuilt ultralight, though.

I have a surprisingly sleek Cambridge Z88 notepad from 1988 that I still use occasionally. It has an absolutely silent rubber keyboard with sculpted keys and a rather decent text editor built in. Total time to resume is around half a second and it runs 20 hours on 4 AA batteries.

vTech has a kids laptop out for $50 that does almost everything they want. Just remove the display, add a flash/sd media drive and a networking or RS232 port, port over Contiki OS and you're set.

http://www.retrothing.com/2007/12/vtech-laser-128.html

Piker. My first computer had three bits of memory, and it clocked at 1Hz if I was fast. No friggin kilo- prefixes for me.

The Apollo astronauts reported that moondust smells like smells like 'spent gunpowder.' They couldn't help tracking the fine powder back into their lunar modules (especially after tripping and falling while bouncing around the lunar surface). To add to the mystery, the smell disappears after it being exposed to air.

Hitler is merely a footnote in the birth of the bug. An early "Beetle" design appeared as the NSU Typ 32, which appeared in 1932. It was designed by Ferdinand Porsche years before Hitler rose to power and bears a striking resemblance to the beetle. See my writeup here for a picture: http://www.retrothing.com/2007/06/the_vw_beetles_.html The VW bug was promoted as the almost impossibly inexpensive KdF-Wagen (Kraft durch Freude - strength through happiness), which was announced by the Nazi's in 1938. Porsche thought that the very optimistic 1000 Reichmark price was unattainable, but it undoubtedly played a huge role in his clever and simple design. Unfortunately, the events if WWII put the Bug on hold in favour of military equipment. The production line was restarted by the British following the war and eventually handed over to the West German government.

Here is what you need: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/epl200.htm

That kit is almost identical to my 200-in-1 kit. They moved the batteries up topside and added binding posts but that's the one. There is NO BETTER way to teach kids about electronics. The link on radio shack's page should be named "15-in-1 kit". Doesn't look like there's enough to make jack with it. I wonder how many projects are in that book they ship with it.

They must have bought it from Tandy. Nice, they even posted a list of the 200 projects here: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/kit-files/epl/epl200.pdf Many of the projects are to teach you about how digital circuits work, like how AND and NOR gates are actually assembled from smaller parts. Sort of like the difference between learning assembly and C++. Sure C++ will get it done faster but if you know assembly you can kick butt and know more about why things work. Too bad they didn't post one or two pages of the kit like oh, #94. An actual, working, AM radio transmitter. Somewhere in that list is a circiut that makes a working intercom. I had a lot of fun with that one.

I believe I have a gift idea for someone I know now. But unfortunately I don't think this is a gift for everyone. I was a major self-starter on these sorts of things, and unless you have some committment to it I don't know, it may end up as parent says, in the clothset after a few weeks.

Some of these projects used almost ALL the components on the kit. There is simply no way to make a kit that allows physical assembly of such complex projects that can match the structure of the schematic. Also, if you wanted to "insert" some circuitry in a fixed position kit, that would be a nightmare. This kit is just a matter of moving a couple wires.

I can't believe how cheap that thing is. I smoked two or three transistors and both chips and had to replace them, and some of those parts were hard to come by. Try today to find a non CMOS RS232 NAND chip...

The 150-in-1 kit was similar in size to this one but was in a wooden box instead of a plastic case. Almost as many parts to use, but not as big of a project book.

Here's another good link: http://www.retrothing.com/2007/01/a_modern_descen.html - looks like a rework of the original 150 in 1 kit.

And here's one of the ones I don't like: http://www.laserballs.com/teb.htm That was radio shack's upgrade to the 200 in 1 and was as I expected, a miserable flop. Again trying to use a peg board approach to assembly, severely limits flexibility and creativity.

More kits available here: http://www.laserballs.com/tee.htm

This was a big improvement over the Radio Shack kits that used springs and jumper wires.

I can only believe that Tinkertoys will be next. They burn if ignited. They can cause physical injury if someone is stabbed with one...

Or used them to compute the design of nuclear weapons.

Where can I get some dummy/discarded panels? I want to replace all the walls in my room with them, and wire up some LED's to blink randomly/illuminate when I press the buttons.

Well...a couple places I'd look for starters would be Fair Radio Sales:

http://www.fairradio.com/

They carry a wide range of varied military and commercial electronics.

Also might try Uncle Sams' own surplus sales through the DRMS (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service):

http://www.drms.dla.mil/

Or, hey...you could actually get something that actually works plus looks cool as heck. How about an IMSAI computer ala 1975? Here's an updated but still vintage-appearing IMSAI (Series 2)..plus, who wouldn't want the computer that had a brief spot in the movie "Wargames"? (Check the pic at the bottom.) How geek-cool is that???

http://www.retrothing.com/2005/08/the_imsai_serie. html

Hey, wait!!! There's the answer right there!! All they need is to buy a few of these puppies, and problem solved!! :P

Cheers!

Strat

Here's another bold prediction: you plagiarized this entire comment from the Retro Thing blog. The exact same post was uploaded to Retro Thing by "james" at 1:08PM on Jan 10.

Enjoy your ill-gotten karma...

The iPod line needed a reboot, and the iPhone was splashiest way to do it. In fact, this device is the logical evolution of the Newton MessagePad. Think about it. Apple realized that boring contact lists, calendars and handwriting recognition won't encourage the Unwashed Masses to adopt portable computers. People are far more media-centric than that.

The rejuvenated iPod lineup will tempt you with music, movies and games, while offering an addictive combination of go-anywhere Wi-Fi browsing and email. And you can bet that Apple is planning to open up third-party development as quickly as possible.

As for the iPhone device, the bleak reality is that it is slightly larger than a 5G iPod. Too big to slip into the pocket of my jeans, which means it's too large to use as my everyday phone. My hard drive-equipped iPod usually lives in a messenger bag on my shoulder or in a jacket pocket, simply because it's too bulky to function as an "everywhere" communications accessory. I wouldn't be willing to carry something as large or expensive as the iPhone with me everywhere I go. I'd look like a dork with my calculator on a belt clip. Besides, mobile phones are expensive enough to begin with and many people (especially students) will balk at the idea of committing to a 2 year $1000+ mobile voice/data/voicemail contract after shelling out $599 for the iPhone itself.

No, the real magic will happen when Apple releases a $299 version of this device - the next generation iPod - that retains everything but the GSM + EDGE phone technology. At that point, the iPod will be perfectly positioned to become everyone's favorite teeny-tiny ultraportable computer.

Vespa has recently started making a gas-electric scooter. Why pay attention to this Dutch guy's pipe dream when there is a real production (sortof) model.

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/354/C7428/

http://www.retrothing.com/2006/04/introducing_two. html

http://2strokebuzz.com/index.php/?p=2758

My Vespa LX-150 gets around 60MPG. It's a city bike, and only 150cc, but plenty enough power for city traffic (cruises up to 55-60mph). I spend less than $5/month in gas.

Piaggio, makers of the Vespa, are actually working on two hybrid models, but the rumor is the under-seat storage will be reduced or eliminated for batteries, so I have no interest in upgrading.

I second Paul's comment. http://www.retrothing.com/ absolutely rocks. The site is a never-ending torrent of nifty gadgets from the past, mixed with a smattering of modern Retro stuff like hybrid Vespa scooters and reissues of PDP 8 computers.

A much better source for this kind of stuff is the Retrothing Blog. Definitely a favorite of my RSS feed list.

When they mention Mr. Potato Head's roll-out in 1952, there is some sensational math: grossed more than $4 million in its first year (that's $30 billion in 2005 dollars)

That's an increase of 7,500 times. IOW, the average salary in 1952 should have been around $5 per year! If you want a more tech-centric look at a few hundred classic gadgets, drop by my site -- http://www.retrothing.com/.