GeekSugar

Erase Mistakes With These Cassette-Shaped Erasers

GeekSugar — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:45:26 PDT

These adorable erasers are a throwback to your grade school days! The Cassette Erasers from geeky-fantastic retailer Urban Outfitters are only $4 each, and are cassette tape-sized erasers with a colorful print on both sides. While I'm usually partial to typing over putting pen to paper (and putting pencil to paper is an even rarer activity), these inexpensive geeky treats are also usable as fun paperweights or just geeky desk decor. Besides, cassette-themed goodies are some of my favorite finds!

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Cassette Deck Shelf: Totally Geeky or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Sat, 08 May 2010 11:00:15 PDT

In case you missed it, the cassette tape is back (did it ever leave?), and if you're a fan of the tape deck, but haven't had one in your car since 1995, you can bring the magic back with this Tape Deck Wall Shelf ($128).

Measuring in at 25 inches wide by nearly 9 inches deep, this shelf could hold your photos, trinkets, or your favorite mixed tapes you spent hours making back in the day, or as a standalone art piece any retro hipster could love. So, what do you think?

Get Your Retro On: Mixed Tape Madness

GeekSugar — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:01:20 PDT

I love a good mixed tape, which is why I love all these retro-inspired goodies that resemble the 80's icon. Who didn't love receiving a good mixed tape from a friend, or even better, a crush? I thought so. Check out some of my favorite mixed tape items right here in this slideshow!

Holy Retro, Batman: Geeky Retro Tech Placemats

GeekSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:40 PDT

Everyone needs to eat, so why not cover up that vintage hand-me-down table you have shoved in your dining room with some geeky placemats like the ones I found on Holy Cool?

For about $16 dollars for a pack of six (plus tax and shipping of course), you can get your own set of record player, cassette, or old-school ghetto blaster placemats and stay totally entertained during dinner. Unfortunately, they don't actually function as working gadgets, so you'll just have to pretend and break your mom's rule of no singing at the table.

Crocheted VHS Tape Bag. . . Enough Said

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:15:48 PDT

I bet your grandma hasn't had you over for a crochet-making session where she uses tape from old VHS tapes?! Now if she has, that's pretty rad, and I guess you can pretty much crochet any material that can be woven into a crocheted masterpiece, right?! As you can probably guess, this bag made entirely from recycled plastics has left me dumbfounded. In order to make this handmade bag, Etsy seller BarkerBell used a trash bag as the plastic liner and fused it to the VHS tape. For $50, it could have been yours. Sadly, it's already flown off the Etsy shelf.

Make a MIXA USB Cassette Tape

GeekSugar — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:00:59 PDT

Now you can take an ordinary looking cassette tape, personalize it to your liking and use it as a USB flash drive! The retro style make-a-MIXA USB cassette tape comes with 1GB of storage and a set of designer stickers for you to decorate it with or you can upload your own images to use. Featured on OhGizmo! the MIXA costs around $40 and includes international shipping. Don't they remind you of the retro-chic cassette wallets? Fun and functional!

Incognito Cassette Tape MP3 Player

GeekSugar — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:00:58 PDT

If you are one of the thousands who has had your iPod snatched unwittingly, here's a mp3 player that is guaranteed to fool the most clever thief. This snazzy cassette mp3 player is literally a standard cassette with a built-in mp3 player. Discussed on technabob, these retro looking cassettes come with a seven button interface, an SD card slot and can be recharged by a USB cable. This product will be available soon. No word on pricing just yet.

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Cassette Wallets by Marcella Foschi

GeekSugar — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:09:44 PDT

These fun neon bright retro cassette wallets made their debut at the Tokyo Designboom 2006 Mart where young design professionals showcased their latest products and showed off their geeky talents. Created by Italian designer Marcella Foschi, these wallets are actually hand made from real (Italian) cassette tapes. Geek chic and Italian - be still my heart.

You can get your own for $36 at Design Boom.

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Download of the Day: AirCassette

Kelly Schwarze — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:49:31 PST

I miss all the quirky tricks of creating a perfect mixtape: timing the perfect pause between songs, watching the tape spin in the player, and deciding which songs are more of an "A Side" fit. Granted, this can still be re-created if I try, but with the new iPhone AirCassette app ($2) I get the look of a cassette with all the re-imagined fun of the digital age.

Choose your favorite familiar blank cassette tape look, then pick songs from your device's library to include in the mix. Skip to the next song or listen to a previous track by tapping on one of the tape's turning spindles. Move on to a different mixtape by swiping through your cassette collection. AirCassette even supports Apple's AirPlay to listen to music via wireless speakers, which is way more than I remember my mixtapes doing.

6 Ways to Enjoy Bookstores Before They Go Extinct

Tara Sharp — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:00:54 PDT

After one last ditch effort to save itself, bookstore chain Borders is officially shutting down and liquidating its remaining stores. With the way we read and buy books evolving thanks to ereaders and online shopping, this latest shuttering is another reminder that now's the time to enjoy the perks of our favorite bookstores before they go the way of the cassette tape. Here are six ways to enjoy bookstores while they're still around.

Close your eyes and choose a book at random from the travel section and plan a trip to whichever destination you land on.
Volunteer to read aloud for children's story time at your local bookstore.
Grab a stack of magazines or books to peruse in the bookstore's coffee shop.
Exchange awkward glances with a cute guy in the self-help section (name that movie!).
Head to the sale section and find a new beach read.
Find a cheesy romance novel about or by someone with the same first name as a girlfriend and give it to her for her birthday.

What will you miss the most if bookstores disappear?