Retro Tech Tuesday: Merlin electronic game

I remember finding a Merlin in a forgotten corner of my house. While it was from before my time, I was fascinated by the array of touch buttons, even if I could never figure out what to do with the darn thing. Thanks to this commercial I now know about the six(!) different electronic games you could play on Merlin. But I challenge anyone to explain to me how Blackjack worked in any playable manner. Enjoy this commercial which I think also serves to show we don't have enough musical ditties in electronics commercials anymore. (And kids, if you find one of these at a yard sale "penlite batteries" are AA.)

Retro Tech Tuesday: Streaming video circa 2010

(c)TheDigitalLifestyle.tvThe constant pace of technology is quickening. Need proof? Today's retro tech goes all the way back to the early days of 2010. Gather round young folks for a story of a bygone time. A time when streaming Netflix video to your Nintendo Wii and/or PS3 meant inserting a disc into the system first. Granted this was pretty much merely a provision caused by the exclusivity of streaming to the XBox without a disc, but still, it's an interesting mile marker into how far Netflix has come. Today it streams directly to the Apple TV, dozens of set-top boxes, and even TV themselves. My how time flies.

Retro Tech Tuesday: Time to rock with Casio!

So you wanna be a rockstar! With those words Casio launches us into a purely 80's rockin' good time, all meant to show us how the only way to rock out is with the Casio CZ-101. Let's do our hair in a rad style and check out the cz-101. Just don't call it a keyboard!

Retro Tech Tuesday: Know this sound? If so, you're over 30

Today, we take you back to hear a sound that is so hauntingly familiar to many of us, that all these years later, its like reuniting with an old friend. Of course it was an old friend that often led to frustration. I speak of course, of the phone modem dialing sequence. Show of hands: who could tell whether the connection would be successful based on the tone sequence? Enjoy!

Retro Tech Tuesday: Cable TV vs. the Internet

Imagine a magical new technology, allowing you to take classes, pay bills, and even shop from the comfort of your home. It sounds a lot like the Internet today, but in the early 1970's this was also the promise of cable TV. Yes, lost in the 500-channel universe of today was all the promise and hope for two-way cable communications, way back when. Thanks to 60 Minutes, we can get in our magical time machine, and turn back to a time when it looked like cable TV could just about cure everything that ailed us. As a sidenote, it's interesting to hear the concerns that this box in your house was tantamount to "Big Brother." We scoff at giving away personal info left and right today. Hmm... maybe they were on to something...