Old-school equipment's high-tech reimagining
Some people prefer their next new thing in electronics to look like the old thing. What's the appeal of wrapping the latest electronics in a retro design, like full-size jukeboxes that are really $4,000 iPod docks and manual typewriters reconfigured to work as U.S.B. keyboards?
There are theories: the throwback designs make challenging technology seem familiar. Retro designs can also give a sense of permanence to disposable devices. Some see it as art.
An example is a manual typewriter refashioned as a computer keyboard. Jack Zylkin made one as a novel way for people to sign in when visiting Hive76, a Philadelphia communal studio for electronics tinkerers.
Photo