ie8 fix

Retro

Twitter, Facebook go retro like Google Maps

If Google's April Fools' Day reimagining of its Maps service for the Nintendo Entertainment System didn't provide you with enough retro absurdity for one week, check out Dutch Web editor Jo Luijten's take on an '80s-era Twitter.

The video, which appeared on YouTube recently, is just one of several such clips Luijten has posted that mash up iconic Web 2.0 products and services with outmoded OSes, interfaces, and other technologies. (We've embedded a few below.)

In addition to Twitter, Luijten -- who's also behind a "funny jokes and frivolities" Web site called Squirrel-Monkey.com and a very serious organization called the International Guild of DOS Users (the FAQ is good for a chuckle or two) -- has also conjured up an '80s version of Angry Birds and a '90s take on Facebook. And he beat Google to the punch by whipping up a look at an '80s incarnation of the company's search engine.… Read more

Amazon's Bezos to raise Apollo rockets from watery grave

Not to be outdone by "Titanic" director James Cameron, Amazon's Jeff Bezos has just announced that after searching the seafloor, he's located the rockets that thrust Neil Armstrong toward the moon more than 40 years ago and plans to bring them back onto dry land.

Writing on his "Bezos Expeditions" blog today, the e-commerce guru and would-be space explorer said his team had located the five F-1 rockets that lifted the Apollo 11 mission spaceward and then plunged into the Atlantic.… Read more

Crave 100: The Final Chapter (podcast)

For their final episode, the Crave team does... well, exactly what they always do. Donald goes nuts for a free toy adapter that can create an unholy union between Legos and Tinker Toys. Bonnie recounts her dramatic day of technology detox. And in Geek News, Eric gives his 2 cents on "The Hunger Games" movie.

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'Mad Men' game full of pixelated whiskey and cigarettes

"Mad Men" returned to television last night after an interminably long wait. Mad Men: The Game on YouTube should help tide you over until the next episode airs.

There are more than 40 different videos in the game, so you have quite a few paths to explore -- with plenty of hard liquor and 8-bit cigarette smoke along the way. The game comes from the Fine Brothers, the same guys who brought us the "Saved by the Bell" interactive YouTube game.… Read more

Amiga Mini wants to relive Commodore glory days

Moooo! Grrrrr! Smash! Crash! That's the sound of a curmudgeonly cash-cow being dragged out of retirement to see whether there's a drop or two of milk left in her wizened udders. The name of this cash-cow: Amiga.

Amiga's maker Commodore -- remember them? Congratulations on being as old as me, but bad news: it's not the same company, it just owns the name -- has reintroduced the Amiga brand, slapping it on a high-end gaming PC that looks suspiciously like a Mac Mini.

It's even called the Amiga Mini, so Apple's lawyers are presumably getting ready to fire forth a barrage of cease-and-desist letters claiming it patented smallness.

Read more of "Amiga Mini high-end PC wants to relive Commodore glory days" at Crave UK. … Read more

Manual typewriter to world: 'I am not dead yet!'

I'm having flashbacks to high school typing class, caged in a room full of incessantly clacking keys. I was likely one of the last students to ever have to hunt and peck my way through "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy hen" on a typewriter.

If you stick around long enough, what's old becomes new again. Hammacher Schlemmer came up with a most-excellent press release headline: "Hammacher Schlemmer Introduces The Classic Manual Typewriter." It's as if the classic manual typewriter had never existed before. What crazy alternate universe is this?… Read more

Crave 81: Who let the dogs out? (podcast)

This week, the Crave team reveals its favorite Super Mario Bros.-themed lighting fixture, along with a $50 solution for adding sound effects to your doorbell. Japan offers up an off-the-grid vending machine and a rice cooker that communicates with your smartphone.

Plus, Crave's most dedicated "Star Wars" fan shows off his tattoos. And in Geek News, Eric discusses (no spoilers) the controversy surrounding the Mass Effect 3 ending, and shows off the trailer for a new space horror film, "Prometheus."

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A guide to CNET's Facebook Timeline

Since CNET's founding in 1994, we have brought you all the best from the world of tech. We've seen tech titans rise and fall (and rise again), we've reviewed countless groundbreaking products and spectacular duds, and we've watched consumer tech evolve from a niche industry to a central part of our everyday lives.

Now there's a new way to reacquaint yourself with tech history: CNET's Facebook Timeline.

We've been hard at work updating our Timeline with all the top highlights from the last 18 years of tech. Everything from Yahoo's IPO in 1996 to AOL buying Netscape for $4.2 billion to the dot-com bust to the incredibly rapid adoption of broadband to flying cars (please? hopefully?).… Read more

Crave 80: Ewok Fight Club (podcast)

This week, the Crave crew and Admiral Sackbar recount the myriad geeky DIY gadgets and projects recently featured on the Crave blog. Also, Donald pitches his idea for a new Ewok TV special; Marvel comics take on a new dimension; and two upcoming movies, "The Lone Ranger" and "Battleship," are the subject of a healthy Geek News debate.

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