philco

A California-based design studio has dreamed up a deliciously retro desktop PC that looks like it came from the set of midcentury sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet." The Philco PC from SchultzeWorks pays homage to an iconic brand of TV marketed in the late '50s, the Philco Predicta.

The hep PC won top-three placement in a design contest, according to SchultzeWorks. It was designed with Rhino modeling software.

The Philco Predicta was revolutionary for its time but suffered from poor picture quality. It featured a sculpted CRT separated from the receiver chassis and was marketed under the slogan "TV today from the world of tomorrow." Predictas sold well when launched in 1958, but color sets outsold them, and by 1962 Philco was bankrupt. Today, Telstar Electronics makes replica Predictas with color screens.

In styling his Eisenhower computer, Dave Schultze also drew upon antique typewriters for the keyboard design, as well as steampunk objects. He also seems to have been motivated by bland PC design in general, remarking that "most computers are engineered eyesores."

There's no word yet on whether anyone will actually make the Philco PC. For a closeup look at the concept, check out the promo video after the jump. … Read more

If you're under 40, you might think TVs always had remotes. The early ones were called "clickers," "channel changers," or "selectors."

Sure, there were TV remotes as early as 1956, notably the Zenith Space Command, but remote-controlled TVs didn't really enter the mainstream until the 1970s.

It's true that there weren't many channels from which to choose at that time, but changing channels or volume without a remote was a matter of getting up from the sofa, walking over to the set, and turning big, clunky knobs on the TV.… Read more