Retro Tech Tuesday: Nintendo Training Circa 1991

Chances are if you're reading this, you're more likely to have been (or be) a customer of Nintendo, rather than a Nintendo reseller. As a kid, you may have dreamed of the glamorous life the electronics/toy department clerk must have had. After all, they had all those shiny toys you wanted to get your hands on at their disposal. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it wasn't all fun and games for those clerks. This deliciously dated training video from Nintendo shows the kinds of issues clerks would encounter, and offered solutions.

It's enjoyable both for taking us back, and for a few minor celebrity sightings in the video. See if you can spot any familiar faces:

Retro Tech Tuesday: The Univac

When we first launched the channel, this clip was in heavy rotation, and frankly, I still can't get enough of it. Lovingly posted by the Computer History Museum, it's a fine promotional film for one of the most popular computers of the 1950's, the Univac. Yes, just get your program properly onto the punch cards, and a whole world of blinking lights would do your bidding. Sure it seems almost laughable now, but obviously these early giants of computing were key to getting where we are today. 

Enjoy:

Retro Tech Tuesday: Early Centel Cell Ad

While we continue to digest yesterday's WWDC Keynote, it seemed like an appropriate time to look back at the history of the cell phone, so here's a look at a very early ad from Centel. Cen-who? Yeah, it was a long time ago. I didn't have this phone, but I did have an early analog from AudioVox with the good folks at Cellular One. I had two counties of coverage without roaming fees! (provided I was calling within those areas... I was still paying an outlandish amount per minute.)

Enough about me though. I know someone with a far more adventurous life: The guy in this ad. Maybe animals were far more free roaming in the late 80's, and roads were always crisscrossing streams. Good times...

Retro Tech Tuesday: AM/FM "Tape" Cartridges

Time for another dose of yesteryear with Retro Tech Tuesday. Today's photo and article comes from the 1972 Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia. I highly recommend picking up a copy of one of these Handyman sets if you're interested in seeing some old tech, coupled with everything you need to know to build a catamaran in just two pages.

We're looking at a "tape" (8-track to most of us) insert that allowed you to play AM and FM radio. Maybe someone who had one of these can shed light on why one would use the tape cartridge for radio since it was far more likely that you already had a radio and wanted to add an 8-track rather than the other way around. This would be the modern equivalent of a blu-ray disc that allowed you to watch VHS tapes. Enjoy!

Retro Tech Tuesday: A 4k Computer

I could go on and on about the TRS-80 from Radio Shack, I mean we're talking about 4k (as in kilobytes) of computing power! But this gem of an ad sums it up pretty well.. ahh, the good old days...