Retro tech for 20-somethings

Forget sleek and minimal. More and more 20-somethings prefer their technology to come in big, bulky and retro packages, the New York Times reports. For example, 21-year-old John Henry Flood said no thanks to PS2. For him, cool is the 1977 Atari 2600, with its wood-grain paneling. And 27-year-old Eugene Auh is psyched that he snagged a Motorola DynaTac, "a 1980s-era 'brick' cellphone that fits more comfortably in a backpack than in a suit pocket" for just $25.95 on eBay. To appeal to such esthetics, two market-savvy teenagers in New York are literally "retrofitting" old toasters and radios by putting computers inside them. A company called Verbatim is making inky-black recordable compact discs that look like miniature 45-r.p.m. vinyl records. Turntables are back too, so are wooden radios, and remember the color avocado? It's chic again too (sigh).