There's a pervasive trend of new technology modeled after the aesthetics of centuries of yore. If anything, living in the future has made us more nostalgic than ever for the past. 

It seems that all of the most iconic analog technology has been rebranded as USB devices. Etsy features a store devoted entirely to custom-made USB typewriters. From what I gather, they've been outfitted to function like your typical plug-and-play keyboard, except they'll set you back the better part of a grand. Some of them even feature a stand to hold your tablet device in the paper feed so that you can almost pretend you're typing away at the next great Beat novel. 

I mean, I get it. Typewriters are sexy; they've been seen at the hands of some of the greatest writers ever to have lived. They represent a writer's rennaissance of sorts, an era when for the first time you could churn out prose at industrial speeds. And looking like a writer is more fashionable than ever. Whether or not you actually produce anything good, it's en vogue to call yourself a writer just because you opened a WordPress account a while back. If you absolutely must write on a typewriter but are too lazy (or too sensible) to express your genius on an actual, mechanical object, a USB typewriter seems like a good method of automatically transcribing your words to the digital world. The written word may not be dead, but ink certainly is. 

The new Yeti USB Mic from Blue Microphones is the audio variant of this trend. Reporters have become bloggers, while DJs are slowly turning into podcasters. A good microphone-equipped stereo headset may be all you need to broadcast your voice to the internet, but that would just feel so 21st century. If you're a webcaster pining for the golden age of radio, Blue has got you covered. The Yeti boasts four recording modes and allegedly great sound quality, but it would seem that the bulk of its $149 price tag comes from its design. Chrome-toned and huge, you might envision Orson Welles overacting into a microphone like this. Apparently it lives up to its name in size; it's a monster of a USB mic, comparable in weight to the originals. It's also the first THX-certified microphone, if that means anything to you audiophiles. Honestly, though, if you're shelling out that much on amateur recording technology, you're probably doing because it looks good. Which it does. You just have to pay for the novelty. 

And people do, predictably. Sky Mall still sells compass barometers. In an age when headphones fit inside of your ear canal, I still see hipsters shelling out for the huge ones that swallow half their head. It's fashionable to combine the old with the new, to pay for cutting-edge technology hidden neatly inside a retro package. It doesn't look like innovative products disguised as antiques are going away anytime soon. Even I'm guilty of this trend. I wear a pocket watch (an analog face with digital insides, of course) despite the fact that it takes no more effort to pull out my cell phone to look at the time. I do it because I enjoy the presence of it, the era it evokes. It's functionally superfluous and peculiar now that even wristwatches are becoming unnecessary, but that's why I like it. Of course, it cost far less than the above novelties, but if you enjoy outfitting your workspace with relics and have the cash to spare, I suppose I can see the appeal.