classics

All that talk of fancy 3D TVs making you long for your simple old analog set? LG is out with a bulky, retro-styled set that features rabbit ears, detachable chrome legs, and functional knobs for changing the channel and volume. You can even switch between full-color, black-and-white, and sepia modes.

But the glossy orange 14-inch set doesn't just look like it belongs in a living room on "That '70s Show"; it uses trusty old cathode ray tube, or CRT, technology with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The LG Serie 1 Retro Classic TV does have some modern … Read more

We've been recommending that fans of the Wii Virtual Console take a look at the Nyko Wing for their old-school gaming needs, but come April we may have to switch our recommendation to the Wii Classic Controller Pro.

Available in black or white, the Pro adds a second row of shoulder buttons along with two grips on either side. It certainly looks more comfortable than the original Nintendo offering and it'll work with more than 450 current Wii, Virtual Console, and WiiWare games. Just like the Classic Controller, it will need to be plugged into a Wii remote … Read more

MiniSquadron is a 2D aerial-dogfighting game with a cute, cartoony vibe and lots of frenetic arcade action. The game uses a simple two-sided interface: you shoot with a touch-screen button on your right, and you steer with a virtual joystick on your left. You can bounce off either side of each scrolling level (performing a convenient Immelman turn), and if you fly up too high, your plane stalls--forcing you to turn back into the stall to keep from crashing. Play progresses through eight levels (which you unlock as contiguous "countries" on a map), with multiple, increasingly difficult waves … Read more

Do they give awards for "Most Inventive Re-Imagining of a Classic Paper Game"? If so, I nominate Hanged for iPhone (which should also be in the running for "Best Stop-Motion Love Story" and "Game Most Likely to Make You Pull Out Your iPhone and Tell Friends, 'You Gotta See This!'")

If that sounds like a lot of gushing for what is essentially Hangman: Extreme Makeover Edition, it's because Hanged is such a clever and pleasant surprise.

The game has no menus, no instructions--it is just Hangman, after all. I don't want to … Read more

OK, I know this next comment is going totally show my age, but when I was a child, I wanted to slip through the window of the General Lee and make the big jump like they did during the opening of that '70s TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard." As we all know, the 01 car was (at least at first) a 1969 Dodge Charger, a well known and revered classic American muscle car. But to paraphrase car restoration expert Travis Bowe: Dodge made cars, not airplanes. The first General Lee used on "Dukes" didn't … Read more

One of the first albums I owned was a Chuck Berry greatest hits compilation wherein the very first song, "Maybelline," name checked the Cadillac Coupe De Ville as the ride of choice of Berry's muse within the song. "Maybelline" was a hit in 1955, so even at a preteen age I became interested in Caddys from the '50s, especially the 1955 model that I imagine Maybelline in while sitting "at the top of the hill." I've never had the fortune of owning or even driving a 1955 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, so … Read more

With the holiday coming this week, I thought I'd just throw out a few ideas to anyone who was interested about what to get this humble writer for Christmas. Obviously, this list could go on for days and days, but for starters, I thought I'd offer up today's Web video blog about a true American classic, the 1962 Chevy Corvette Convertible.

This video gives us a thorough look both inside and outside of this bad-ass American ride, and boy is it pretty to gaze at. They definitely don't make 'em like this anymore. The '62 marks … Read more

It took a while to get used to the new Office 2007 interface. Nothing was where it was supposed to be, and the now-ubiquitous ribbon was a foreign concept. Hours sifting through menus and the Help file sometimes failed to locate familiar features from previous versions of Office. If you're having problems adapting to Office 2007, you may find that Classic Style Menus and Toolbars for Microsoft Office 2007 is exactly what you need to bring back that old familiar feel.

The program is deceptively simple. Once it's installed, users will find that their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint … Read more

For today's holiday giveaway we've serving up one the best portable iPod and iPhone speakers on the market, Altec Lansing's inMotion Classic.

CNET Editor Donald Bell says that while Classic lacks the low-end oomph of a larger system, it sounds "remarkable for its size" and has a built-in rechargeable battery. (Read the full review).

Normally, an inMotion Classic would cost you about $125, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how do you try to win this portable iPod dock? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will … Read more