C3PX said:
It is a movie, a work of fiction. It is filled with props and sets, actors and puppets. None of it is real. So what, the prop guys used a cassette player to add flare to the cockpit. Why should that bother you or distract you in anyway while watching the film?

The best purpose it serves is to make the SW universe look like it is taking massive leaps backwards in science and technology, when twenty years ago the standard were holo display screens, and in the future they are knobs and lights.

....but it just doesn't feel like a Star Wars ship to me.

Finally - the voice of reason.

And I agree, the "technology" in the prequel trilogy doesn't fit at all with the original trilogy. It's one of several things that make it impossible (for me) to buy the story. The two universes - Original & prequel - don't feel even remotely connected.

Back on topic; I haven't seen Empire in about 12 years, but in the scene where everyone is evacuating the cloud city, is there someone running with an ice cream maker? A friend of mine always tried to point it out, but I never got a good look at it.