Retro Thing

Then And Now: Zombie Gadget Brands

Here's a look at some of companies that enjoyed massive success but eventually faltered, only to be brought back from the dead as "Zombie Brands..."

Polaroid: Edwin Land's company got its start selling polarized sunglasses in 1948 before moving into the instant camera market. They competed head-to-head with Kodak for many years but eventually faltered after the dubious introduction of Polavision, an ill-fated instant movie system that cost the company millions. They failed to make the jump to digital and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. The Polaroid name now appears on a variety of products including TVs and digital cameras.

Bell & Howell: There was once a time when nearly every school in North America had an A/V room filled with B&H 16mm projectors. The company's 16mm Filmo movie camera was renowned for its rugged simplicity and their 8mm cameras were tremendously popular with amateurs. Alas, they didn't survive the transition to video and the company produced its last motion picture camera in the late 1970s. These days, the B&H name is licensed to companies producing digital cameras, noise reduction headphones and even floor lamps.

Commodore computers seemed to be everywhere in the late 1970s and early 1980s. From modest beginnings with the KIM-1 board, they had a string of hits with the PET 2001, VIC-20, C-64 and the Amiga. Alas, they also had more than their fair share of flops. There have been several attempts to revive the Commodore brand in the years since its bankruptcy in 1994, most of them centering around the Amiga. The name was eventually sold in 2004 for a reported € 22-million and Commodore Gaming unveiled a line of expensive looking Commodore XX PCs.

AgfaPhoto: The oldest Zombie on the list, originally founded in 1867. The company was famous for the development of the Agfacolor film in the 1920s and the rollout of Agfacolor-Neu color reversal film in 1937 (intended to compete with Kodachrome). They filed for insolvency in early 2005 and the AgfaPhoto name is now licensed to companies such as Sagem, Plawa and the unfortunately named Lupus.

I can hardly wait to see which of today's high-flying brands will go on to become tomorrow's zombies.

Happy Birthday, Ingvar

Today is IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad's 81st birthday. Many people think of him as the originator of IKEA's "assemble it yourself" flatpack furniture, but that honor goes to Gillis Lundgren, whose frustration at trying to cram a fully assembled table into the back of a car in the mid 1950s sparked a revolution. He went on to design a number of classic IKEA products such as the Billy bookshelf. Clever compact packaging meant that IKEA could cram more furniture into a single truck or storefront, and made it possible to shift the responsibility for transportation and assembly to the customer.

There are several things everyone can learn from Kamprad's personal philosophy:

1. Accidental innovation can pave the way to great success.

2. It's OK to make mistakes. Kamprad is famously quoted as remarking, "Only those who are asleep make no mistakes." Unless they fall out of bed, that is.

3. You can accomplish a lot with only a little time, "Divide your life into 10-minute units, and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity."

Ingvar Kamprad on Forbes' Billionaires List

Interview: Synthesizer Designer John Bowen

It's true, I've been two-timing you. It's not because of anything you did, it's just that I can't resist shiny new synthesizers.

You see, I've been hanging with the "cool kids" over at Create Digital Music, where I just wrapped up an interview with synthesizer legend John Bowen. John got his start with Moog in the early 1970s and worked on some classic synthesizers for Sequential Circuits and Korg in the 1970s and 1980s before jumping into software. He just introduced the brand new Solaris synthesizer keyboard, and she's stunning. Again, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself...

Visit CDM for more about the new instrument and Bowen's return to hardware design

Cox: Classic Fly By Wire Model Aircraft

"Fly by Wire" usually describes an aircraft with electronic control systems. But Cox has been producing another kind of "fly by wire" model aircraft for decades. As a kid, I somehow scrounged together enough money to buy a little Cox control line P-51 Mustang. It was powered by a tiny .049 glow plug engine that was excruciatingly difficult to start. In fact, the only way I could get it to run was by giving up completely. Once running, it sounded like a hamster-sized chainsaw (and was about as safe). The trick was to get it into the air without climbing ridiculously fast (which could result in a panicked dive and a punishing crash) where it would zip around in circles until it ran out of fuel.

These days, Cox Hobbies markets the Hyper Viper:

Designed by a world-class control line stunt pilot, the Hyper Viper™ can fly more than three quarters of the maneuvers listed in the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) control line precision aerobatics manual. Powered by the powerful COX® Sure Start™ .049 model engine, the Hyper Viper™ can fly consecutive loops, reverse wingovers, figure eights even fly inverted with ease. Flying can be done from any smooth takeoff surface such as a playground, schoolyard or parking lot. Ready to fly in minutes requiring only a Phillips screwdriver for assembly (screwdriver not included). Forty-five feet of flight line and a control handle are included with each plane, as well as all the accessories needed to start the engine (2 'D' size Alkaline batteries required - sold separately). Comes complete with a stunt manual and 90 day limited warranty.

I know its well beyond my (non-existent) control line flying skills, but this cool little flying machine is only $39.99. Just remember not to fly too close to spectators, pets or trees or you'll have more of an adventure than you bargained for.

Cox Hyper Viper Control Line Aircraft

Retro Goodies on eBay

eBay is a treasure trove of vintage technology, although you should expect to stumble upon the occasional bitter lemon. Here are a few classics that I discovered today: 

First up is a snazzy little Timex/Sinclair 1000 computer with 16K RAM pack from 1982. It comes with the original boxes and would make a wonderful doorstop once you tire of its monochrome graphics and bizarre membrane keyboard. If you find gaming more appealing than BASIC programming, I suggest this rather appealing boxed ColecoVision with 14 games and a pair of controllers. It even includes the original warranty card.. not that it will do you much good.

I know it would be tough to ship by FedEX, but a beautiful 1974 Jaguar E-Type convertible (one owner and a moderate 34,412 miles on the odometer) looks really appealing as summer approaches.

If you're a lover of electronic music, someone with impeccable taste in early 1980s synthesizers is selling off their studio. He's selling a Fairlight Series III digital sampler (currently a bargain at only $3,995), Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Moog Memorymoog and even a Fender Chroma polysynth.

There are some bargains in the wristwatch department, too. Several sellers are offering brand new Gruen wristwatches with automatic Swiss movements and a see-through back panel for well under $50. They look like something my grandfather would have owned (which may or may not be a good thing, depending how much single malt you've consumed).

Thanks to the digital revolution, things are hopping in the camera department as well. This Voigtlander Vito 35mm camera looks especially appealing (perhaps because mine lives in a drawer beside my desk). There are also dozens of 16mm Bolex movie cameras, including a gorgeous H-16 EBM electric model with crystal-synchronized electric drive.

Disclaimer: I don't know the sellers of these items and cannot vouch for their condition or authenticity. Bid with care.

Modern Stop Motion Animation

Super 8 movie cameras are exceedingly good at messing around with the fabric of the space time continuum. Most of them are capable of filming at a wide variety of speeds, making slow motion and time lapse sequences a piece of cake to shoot. All but the cheapest models offer a single-frame mode that's perfect for stop motion animation. The idea of dragging long strips of photosensitive plastic past a piece of glass might seem quaint these days, but modern consumer camcorders can't shoot at variable frame rates and while many can capture single frames, they can't automatically stitch them together to create an animation. You'll need an "old fashioned" $20 Super 8 camera for that.

There is hope for stop motion animators who want to shoot with digital equipment, thanks to modern digital still camera technology and some clever software. Programs like Stop Motion Pro are capable of controlling a wide variety of digital cameras, including some affordable point-and-shoot models. The program costs anywhere from $70 to $595, depending on the features you require. The basic package is suitable for hobbyists, while the more costly versions add uncompressed image storage, unlimited resolution and multi-monitor output.

Of course, there are literally dozens of programs that do similar things for both the PC and Macintosh. If you're a stop motion animator, feel free to share your favorites in the comments.

Stop Motion Pro animation software

Rubberband Gatling Gun

Perhaps its a symptom of the world we live in, but even as a young nerdy kid I would shoot rubber bands off of my fingers.  You know the method, form your thumb and forefinger into a gun shape, stretch a rubber band between the two fingertips, crook your thumb to let 'er fly!

More ambitious kits in shop class would secretly create rubber band guns out of wood.  Once they'd crafted a suitably gun-shaped piece of wood, an attached clothespin kept the rubber band cocked.  A little thumb pressure at just the right moment and THWAP!  A silent attack leaving behind no forensic evidence except a common little rubber band.

Those kids in shop class have since grown up, and have escalated the elastic band arms race to see who can concoct the most devastating implement of childhood warfare.   One of the more elaborate examples is the above gun from Backyard Artillery.  This baby can fling 144 rubber bands (yes, that's a gross of stinging rubber ammo!) without reloading.  Of course power comes at a premium, and only you can decide whether $395 is too much to pay to protect your garden shed.

If you're not scatter-gunning down hordes of invaders, perhaps you can make do with a smaller efficiency model.  As a Chicago resident and fan of The Untouchables, They have many gun styles, but I'd really like a pearl-handled Derringer for my moll to keep tucked in her garter.

Oh, and you can also pick one of these carnival-styled targets as a safe alternative to shooting other people.  I'd certainly never shoot at a person.  Never, never.  Hey James, is that the sunburned nape of your neck?  TWANG!

Buy the Backyard Machine Gun
Build your own using the official woodworking plans
A $7 Target can preserve your eyesight

Transforming a Vintage Toaster Into a Delicious Mini PC

The computer industry has a few quirks. One of the most baffling is that no matter how innovative or revolutionary the technology is on the inside, chances are that the final product will be aesthetically dull and rectangular. I suspect a lot of the trouble stems from the fact that cutting-edge industrial design is an expensive endeavor, but c'mon; modern Dell desktops look strikingly similar to the original IBM-PC, and Apple was able to turn the computing world on its ear in the late 1990s by making computers that were, uhh, colorful and transparent. This isn't rocket science.

Luckily, there is hope lurking on the fringes of the Internet. Characters like Jeffrey at Slipperyskip Computers have started cramming tiny motherboards into some very cool cases. This quirky little DECOmputer is built into the shell of an old 1938 Breakfaster toaster/hotplate. The original unit was perfect for modding: it had a wonderful art deco shape, Bakelite feet and a complete absence of fiddly switches and knobs.

The case was brought into the 21st century with the addition of a tongue-in-cheek meter and switch panel on the top and a colorful logo on the front. A Kontron motherboard lives inside, complete with a 1.8 MHz Pentium M processor, 40 GB drive and 1GB of RAM. Dare I say this might be the perfect kitchen PC? [Thanks, Rob!]

More about The DECOmputer

Affordable Seiko 5 Automatic Wristwatches

You might be stunned to learn that mainstream watchmaker Seiko manufactures several ranges of mechanical watches at extremely reasonable prices. The company doesn't import these timepieces into North America, but they're quite popular in parts of the world where watch batteries could prove hard to come by. Best of all, prices start at under $70 US.

All Seiko 5 automatic watches feature 21 jewel self-winding mechanical mechanisms, but remember that a mechanical watch won't be as accurate as an electronic quartz model. You'll find yourself resetting the time every now and then to stay in sync with the rest of the world. However, the precision movement will provide years of battery-free timekeeping.

My favorite is the Seiko 5 Military series. These rugged models feature 24 hour markings, day/date display and a luminous second hand. They're also water resistant to 30m. You can own one for as little as $62.95, but everyone will think you paid much more.

Seiko 5 watches from under $70

Lectron Electronic Dominoes

Raytheon is a name most people associate with multi-million dollar defense and aerospace contracts. But back in the 1960s the company imported a fantastic range of Lectron electronic building block kits developed by West German model train maker Egger-Bahn and electronics giant Braun.

Each electronic component is housed in a small plastic box. The boxes contain magnets to connect them to each other or to a ferrous-coated mounting board that acted as an electrical ground plane. A typical kit included a variety of modules containing relays, speakers, variable capacitors, photocells and a battery pack. Prices in the USA started at $19.50 and ranged up to a whopping $128 for a full set (these were 1960s dollars, remember). It's a pity they didn't team up with LEGO -- I would have killed for an affordable modular electronics toy as a kid.

Lectron article in Sept. 1967 Electronics Illustrated [via matrix at matrixsynth]

Play Pac-Man with a Nickel

The sports card publisher Fleer got the video game bug in the early 80's.  They seem to have suffered especially from Pac-Man fever, and produced collectible stickers and rub-off games. 

The Pac-Man series was packaged just like bubblegum cards, including the taste-free slat of gum.  The sticker variety was rather limited, which I guess is no surprise given the subject matter.  You'd get a ghost and a Pac-Man, each with a word bubble containing what you could euphemistically refer to as a "joke". 

When I bought these as a kid, what I was interested in was the rub-off game.  The maze was similar to the arcade's, but instead of little dots to eat the course is covered in golden scratch off circles.  You grab your favorite gaming nickel (ahh, so THAT'S where this post's title refers to) and scratch away revealing dots (gulp!), blue ghosts (yum!), or the evil colored ghost mosters (wah-wah-wah).

We didn't have a Pac-Man machine anywhere in the neighborhood, so these cards were the closest thing.  Supplemented by a kid's imagination, it was actually sort of fun.  Soon other arcade titles appeared as rub-off games including Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and even Dragon's Lair.

I found a few of these cards from my childhood, and the scratch-off dots are now impenetrable.  They were always a little hard to scratch off (probably to protect against rough handling and packaging), but the mysterious material is now molecularly bonded to the card,  What's the lesson here?   Don't save every little piece of junk from your childhood thinking you'll have fun with it again someday!

More than you ever wanted to know about rub-off video games

Gallery of many (if not all) of the stickers

Lockheed-Martin Skunk Works

In my career I can't say that I've worked on anything as crucial as a military jet or anything else typical of the Lockheed-Martin Corporation, but I have been on teams sometimes referred to as a "skunk works".  I knew that this meant we were working on a project that was secret from the rest of the company (mostly to keep our work from the prying eyes of the marketing guys looking for something new to sell), but I never knew the true origin of the term.

The nickname "skunk works" came from the Li'l Abner comic strip, referring to a secret still churning out moonshine whose chief ingredients were ground up boots and dead skunks.  The staff at Lockheed-Martin must have felt kinship with the bootleggers of this roadkill-based homebrew, and adopted the name for their unconventional secret projects within the firm.

Back in the 40's Lockheed-Martin had a design group that were autonomous within the company.  They had control over their own budgets, staff, procedure, and were able to jet through the bureaucracy that plagues any large organization.  Through this radical approach, this secret group within Lockheed-Martin was able to deliver essential technology faster than ever.  They continue to operate to this day.

We've all had to deal with the rules and regs of a large organization.  My experience has usually been that these often random edicts throw more roadblocks before the creative process than the actual challenge of the project itself.  It's an enlightened company that shakes things up by creating a radical splinter group within the enterprise charged with actually getting work done.

Over time, Lockheed-Martin's Skunk Works established some great rules for how to run a project, and many of them are still useful today.  See if you agree by reading the rules after the jump.

Big Trak Robotic Toy Vehicle

In the 80's, this was one of the gold standard bearer toys for me.  I didn't have one, but I thought that every kid who did was incredibly fortunate to have their house patrolled by a tank/dump truck/TV static generator/robot like Big Trak.

Dark grey Big Trak (white and called "bigtrak" in the U.K. for some reason) was a programmable toy vehicle put out by game maker Milton Bradley - apparently it was developed by everyone's rubber-keyboard superstar Clive Sinclair.  Video & handheld LED games were the rage at the time, but some of the microchip revolution made it into the brains of more traditional toys like this. 

The top panel of Big Trak has a membrane keypad where you program a sequence of moves & functions.  There is no readout or other feedback, so short of running the little program you have no way of knowing whether Big Trak will be successful in the stealthy mission you imagined, or instead will take a header off the patio steps.  You could also get an accessory trailer that dumps its payload on command.  Probably not the best way to deliver dad an opened can of beer, but perhaps he'd enjoy a high tech truckload of pistachio nuts - red, of course...

As always with tech toys, the manufacturer promised future expansion with details shrouded in secrecy.  If you're tired of waiting more than 25 years for an official upgrade, some enterprising folks on the internet have reverse engineered Big Trak.  There are plans online for adding new parts, replacing old ones, and interfacing your new gear with decades old plasti-tech.  Take a look at the second link below just to appreciate how terribly clever the innards of Big Trak are.  It takes some real engineering oomph to reduce a sophisticated technological concept into an affordable toy.

Extensive Big Trak home page

Pimping your Big Trak

Doctor Who on the Big Screen

The smash success of the current revival of Doctor Who in the UK begs the question when the good Doc may hit the silver screen.  Many people don't realize that in fact, Doctor Who has already been in the cinema twice in the mid 60's.  In the height of Dalekmania, Amicus Productions (a sort of stepbrother to Hammer Films) brought the Daleks to life in Technicolor and Techniscope. 

Amicus fiddled with many of the basic concepts of the original black and white series (the Doctor's surname is actually "Who" - an earthman inventor who is taking his time machine on its maiden voyage, etc.), excluding the films from the elaborate series canon.  The first film was based on the first Dalek TV story, tightened up and laden with costly action.  The follow-up film was unsurprisingly based on the second TV appearance of Daleks, but was not nearly as successful as the original movie.  The option for a third movie was never picked up.

Many Who fans either don't know about the films, or ignore them entirely.  Then again I've also met people who only know Doctor Who through the features films, and are only dimly aware of the 28 year old series that they were based on.  The movies are kiddie fare, but it does show you the kind of menace the Daleks are capable of trundling around in wide screen color.  The plot changes from the source material are a bit annoying, but necessary in standalone films aimed at a young audience.

These movies are available as DVD's in wide screen (for years they were only available as poorly transferred pan & scan VHS tapes).  I actually have them both in super 8 with sound, and are fun to trot out at parties.  As a true Doctor Who fan, I can see where the films are inferior to the original cheap BBC productions.  Though as a monster film fan as well, the Daleks are one of the coolest movie monsters of all time.  Though there is still that issue with them and the stairs...

DVD of "Doctor Who and the Daleks"

DVD Sequel "Daleks - Invasion Earth"

Triumphant return of a Dalek in the 2005 series

Extremely Odd Book Titles

I've faced the odious challenge of naming a book, but these fine authors obviously found it much harder than I. These are all genuine titles (I've included links) and I can hardly wait to see if the local library has copies:

People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do about It (Gary Leon Hall, Weiser Books) -- Honestly, it sounds like Hall also had the pleasure of dating one of my more memorable ex-girlfriends. Hopefully she didn't microwave his cat, too.

How Green Were the Nazis? (Bruggemeier et al., Ohio University Press) -- You'd think that invading dozens of countries and slaughtering millions of innocent civilians would have been an incredibly messy pastime, but apparently I might be wrong.

The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (Julian Montague, Abrams Image) -- A traumatic incident while bird watching seems to have pushed poor Mr. Montague over the edge. How else can one explain his attempt at an elaborate classification system for ferile, uhh, grocery carts? Remember not to get between them and the chocolate pudding isle during mating season.

Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Seaweed Symposium (Robert Anderson et al., Springer) -- Gosh. This lot puts Harry Potter and his piddly little collection of seven books to shame. Unfortunately, I found the 17th volume a tad too predictable and can't help but feel the plot would have been dramatically improved by the inclusion of some radioactive phytoplankton, or maybe even some devious mammals.

Better Never To Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence (David Benatar, Oxford University Press) -- This one truly makes my head hurt. I can hardly wait for Benatar's follow-up, tentatively titled, "Why You Lot Should All Drop Dead and Leave Me in Bloody Peace."

Judging books by their very odd titles [cbc.ca]