Retro

Ever since we were kids, Crave has always been fascinated with blimps. To this day we still idolize the dirigible, though the atrocious Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow did its best to ruin the image forever.

That's probably why we're partial to the "Zeppelin" from B&W Loudspeakers, the first of its kind for the iPod that's shaped like the airship of yesteryear. SCI FI Tech says the 2-foot-long system backs up its design with some impressive acoustic muscle--"five drivers including a 5-inch woofer, glass-fiber cones and those sweet tapered … Read more

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were nowhere near as many in-car distractions as there are these days. However, unlike cell phones and DVD players, here's one almost anyone will welcome with open arms.

The Star Wars Talking Dashboard Statues (take your pick from Darth Vader, Yoda, and C3PO) are one of the latest offerings from ThinkGeek. The awesomeness is priced at $9.99 per statue.

Part hula girl, part spiritual GPS guide, the statues blurt out famous Star Wars quotes every time you press a button on its base or hit a pothole. … Read more

Ah, if only all your pals could display a limited range of emotions, sit silently on your desk, and draw power from a USB port.

Yes, these dreams can come true with Mr. Tengu, the latest USB toy sold by Japan's Solid Alliance.

Mr. Tengu reacts to various noises with light-up facial expressions. Just like normal human beings, Mr. Tengu's facial "emotions" include large block-mouth, narrow block-mouth, oval mouth, and mouth-that-turns-into-a-secondary-face mouth. A full chart of Mr. Tengu's multiple moods can be seen here.

Of course, you may know Solid Alliance as the retailers of … Read more

Finally. After almost 30 years of waiting, there's a perfect tech solution for breakdancers: a boombox you can break down into a flat cardboard mat and cold bust windmills and headspins on.

The cardboard, AA-battery-powered Mini Boombox for iPod, designed by Suck UK, folds into an iPod speaker system. It can also be used with other MP3 players.

Pricing info is unavailable for the Mini Boombox for iPod. The system is slated for release in September.

We don't expect the speaker system to rival Klipsch's iFi in terms of sound quality or DLO's HomeDock Deluxe in … Read more

Here's one way to transform a special occasion into something even more special. And, quite possibly, get a stomachache in the process.

Nashville's French Confection cake shop created this impressive Optimus Prime cake, using Rice Krispies treats, brownies, and cake to make the edible robot.

The Autobot-themed cake was special-ordered by Morgan Valentine for her husband's 30th birthday party. You're a lucky man, Mr. Valentine.

The bakery's repertoire is pretty impressive. Other nerd-worthy cakes (see below) include The Simpsons, a delicious six-pack of Coke, and Yoda.

[[Via Boing Boing.]]

According to this story in the Los Angeles Times, the semi-classic car featured in Back to the Future may be primed for a limited-run comeback.

DeLorean Motor Co. Vice President James Espey has 200 of the original V-6 engines in stock. While DeLorean Motor Co. still stays in business refurbishing and servicing early-1980s DeLoreans, Espey says they may start building new ones from the stock parts in the next few years.

Don't expect to see new DeLoreans all over the place. If it happens, Espey is quoted as saying new car production will be limited to about 20 per … Read more

Apparently a Chuck E. Cheese/Showbiz Pizza Place animatronic band has found new life singing modern hits like "Lithium" from Evanescence, "London Bridge" from Fergie, "Dani California" from RHCP, and my favorite, "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx (shown after the break).

If you've never experienced the delicious trauma of seeing the Chuck E. Cheese furry robot band as a kid, then these videos will probably be more funny than creepy. For the rest of us who remember crying under the table while holding back pizza vomit, these videos tap into an especially dark place populated by H.R. Pufnstuf episodes and David Bowie's musical interludes in Labyrinth.… Read more

Sick of dusting off that Kid Icarus cartridge and blowing on it 80 times before you can play it? Maybe it's time to make the ultimate sacrifice and turn that cartridge into a speaker system.

Morte Moya, he of the NES MP3 controller mod, has created the perfect complementary speaker system.

Modding an old-school Rush 'N' Attack cart, he made a nice NES-themed speaker set to go along with his controller-turned-player.

Cool as this MP3 player/speaker combo is, I've still got a soft spot for Donald Bell's Little Professor MP3 player. All it needs is a … Read more

South Korea will soon be seeing BTO's latest audio-ripping powerhouse, the Plusdeck EX. The bread-loaf-size box allows users to encode virtually any audio source (cassette, turntable, radio, even your mobile phone) into an MP3 or uncompressed WAV file. This is the same company that created the Plusdeck 2c, a dedicated cassette player that fits into a 5.25-inch computer drive bay. The 2c, however looks like a case study in '90s tech design, while the EX looks pretty stylish despite its girth.

The Plusdeck EX also comes with a remote, radio antennas, power supply and a USB cable. It … Read more