When Old Meets New

”The most fashionable thing at the moment is retro remake. It’s come back in our clothes, gadgets, films, the economy etc, etc. I’ve heard that the best thing about the 80’s was new years eve 1989, but with that said you can’t deny that remakes of 80’s crap is selling as good as when they first came out, so I’ve found a small collection of gadgets which brings the old straight into now.

The Tape Express RRP £49.99

Remember cassette tapes? Of course you do, recording the chart show or making your own compilation by just recording the radio, those were simple times. If you haven’t got rid of them, lets face it we have all got a draw or box stashed somewhere with tapes in them, dig them out now! This Is no ordinary cassette player it plugs straight into your computer through a USB port and is able to make your old classics in to mp3’s, from there on you do what you like, download them to your mp3 player, listen to them on your computer, burn them on CD. If you do feel poetically nostalgic it can run off AA batteries (is well as USB) and play like a proper Walkman, and because it’s got an audio output you can even link it up to your stereo system. For that price though and depending on how much of a collection you have wouldn’t it be cheaper just to download your songs off the computer to begin with? Your decision.

The Xi Jukebox RRP £7,381 (Yes it’s a pricey one)

Now you don’t get any more retro than a jukebox, and this American Style one is very cool, and very pricey. It will be one of those things that you would look at say you want one but wouldn’t get it when common sense tells you that you can buy a pretty decent car with that much money, or a nice holiday (A round the world holiday costs less). I’m showing it you because it looks so cool. It links up to your iPod and will play your music. It’s still got the old buttons and powerful speakers but the new twist means it has a LCD TV built in for your iPod videos, and a remote control. The lights around it can be changed to suit your mood or style. This thing is brilliant but with that price tag, for me it will be ‘look but not touch’.

The Joytron Singibigi RRP £26

Let me take you back to a time when games were played by waggling a joystick and bashing on buttons, you remember? This is a gaming pad that has all the play and style of old school. It has a USB cable meaning you can use it on your PS3, PS2 or PC. FYI make sure you have a Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter game before buying. When I saw this I was at a game/comic convention and I saw people playing on these antique pads and was like “What the hell?” then getting more information which leads on to “Oh my god I want one!” It doesn’t get much more classic than this wood finished joy pad.

Saga Mega Drive Twin Player Console RRP £39.95

Now this brings back memories. In my time the Sega Mega Drive was just bowing out to the PlayStation 1, I think, but I did have the ‘game gear’ handheld version of it, which I loved until I spilt my drink on it and it died, RIP my friend. But that opening tune of “Seegaa” being sung is what first came to mind. This is a more compact version of it’s older sibling and plugs straight in to your TV. It has 15 Sega licensed games built into it, including Sonic and Knuckles, Alex Kidd, Golden Axe and more. It also has a slot for your old sega megadrive cartridges. Like I said before, root out that old box with your sega stuff in, dust them off and say hello to an old friend.

Stress Reliving Milk $43 (£28) for 900ml

Something a bit different. Not that milk hasn’t been around for ever, but following the trend of taking old things and revamping them this falls into that category, if only just. So you pay £28 for about 1 1/2 pints what are you getting for your money? The milk comes all the way from Japan where they milk the cows once a week at the crack of dawn. Doing this means that the milk has a high level of melatonin ( 4 times greater than normal milk) which is a brilliant stress reliever. The milk is bottled no longer than 6 hours after milking which helps keep the goodness in. It is targeted at adults with stressful lives and claims if you drink it, it will calm you down. I can just imagine it now “Hey mate, how was work today?”, “Bloody stressful, glad it’s over”, “Fancy going out for a drink tonight then to relieve the stress?”, “Yeah ok, meet you outside the hippie organic shop tonight for a pint of Japanese Cow’s Milk”

Retro Sweet Jar RRP £24.99

This is a jar of nostalgia. I love seeing sweets from my childhood in the shops so I would be over the moon if someone gave me a jar full of these oldies. In it you get Drum Sticks, Wham Bars, Flying Saucers, Dolly Mixtures, Tooty Frooties, Dip Dabs, Curly Wurlies, Candy Shrimps, Double Lollies, Fruit Salads, and loads, loads more. Basically it’s nostalgia in a jar, and irresistible. Open the jar and wait for the inevitable conversation of “I remember these, Id always buy them…”

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