Feature: High-Tech Meets Low-Tech

We have seen the future, and it’s low-tech? Here are three gadgets that bring advanced technology to the low-tech past.

Telegraph RSS Feed Clicker

Tired of reading your favorite RSS feeds in Google Reader? Then check out this Telegraph RSS feed clicker, which churns out the latest headlines in morse code.

To actually grab the RSS feed I used the well known MagpieRSS PHP script. To interface the Caps Lock LED to the telegraph sounder I built a little comparator and FET driver circuit using a BUZ11 and an LM324

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Steampunk Keyboard

This keyboard is cool yet strange at the same time. Here’s a word from its creator:

My goal with this project was to build a retro keyboard that was fully functional and of a sufficient quality that it could be used everyday by a touch typist. In order to achieve this I chose a high quality (though widely available) keyboard as my starting point

[Source]

Steampunk Laptop

Yes, this Steampunk sculpture is actually a fully-functional laptop, complete with morse key and wooden space bar. Other features include Ethernet, USB connectivity, and VGA-out.

We’re not exactly sure how this actually works, but a creative Japanese fellow seems to have created a laptop that looks like something out of the movie “Pi.” The creator was inspired by both the Apple Mac (he wanted to make something completely different) and Terry Gilliam

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