Once upon a time you put a carefully selected list of tracks on a magnetic cassette and give to you girlfriend, now you just send them a a playlist on spoptify. MakerBot is trying to bring back the personal touch, not by creating a physical tape for you, but by letting you create it.

If you thought mixtapes died with the MP3 era, you’re wrong. Sure, they’ve become niche, and it’s perhaps cloyingly retro to break out your Walkman, but it’s hard to deny the appeal. There are already USB drives and DAPs made to look like an old-school magnetic cassette, but if you want something a little more DIY, MakerBot has a kit that you purchase and assemble your own MP3-playing “tape.” For $25 you get a package with all the essential internals plus plans for your Replicator to print out the snap together casing. If you’re not lucky enough to have a Replicator of your own, you can upload tracks and have the company print one out for you for $40.

http://www.makerbot.com/mixtape/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/25/makerbot-brings-back-the-mixtape-as-a-printable-mp3-player-vi/