Softening the Edges of Technology 122
Tired of the generic grey boxes that fill corporate offices? A New York Times piece looks at the efforts by some hardware resellers to soften the edges of the PC with elements from nature. The piece goes over the efforts of places like Suissa Computers, which offers 'desktop computers in cases of oak, walnut, zebrawood, purpleheart, mahogany, maple and leopardwood'. Likewise, Holzkontor of Neustadt and the company Wood Contour offers keyboard and monitor sets that adds a naturalistic touch to the average soulless desktop setup. They don't just touch on commercial options, talking briefly about homebrew case-mods: "Nicholas Falzone, 20, a third-year architectural student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., is just putting the finishing touches on the second computer case he's made. 'It's taken me at least a thousand hours,' he said. The case has an aluminum interior frame to support the computer workings. The outer frame is made of koa and maple. Mr. Falzone did the rough cuts with a table saw; after that, almost all the work was done with hand tools. 'Each joint has multiple mortises and tenons,' he said. 'I didn't use any screws or glue.'" Interesting to see the beautification of PC cases in the pages of the old grey lady.
A matter of style (Score:3, Interesting)
I like grey and black computers. I no longer really like beige though. Beige shows dust and nicotine stains too easily.
I respect the fact that some people like for their computers to mesh with the decor of the room in which they are placed but for me, I don't want my computing equipment to be a decorative statement. I just want it to work.
LK
Waste of money (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:A matter of style (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh well. Some people like a car because it is reliable, sturdy, high quality, powerful, fast and handles well. Others like it because it's shiny and red.
Part of the furniture (Score:5, Interesting)
The Clock [mini-itx.com]
Mantle Radio [mini-itx.com]
Cigar Humidor [mini-itx.com]
Gramophone [mini-itx.com]
Pictureframe [mini-itx.com]
Micro TV [mini-itx.com]
Telefunken [mini-itx.com]
and for the geek, the Windows XP box [mini-itx.com] (as in the cardboard box the OS comes in, but with a sly RedHat trick)
Re:Waste of money (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Waste of money (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Waste of money (Score:2, Interesting)
Don't get me wrong, LCD screens are great in their place like the small one on my Archos AV500 but I'm not yet ready to 'upgrade' my two PC CRTs to LCD because I very much value the even brightness on the screen.
Re:Waste of money (Score:3, Interesting)
Buying an expensive Oak furniture is fine because it's going to be around for probably > 20 years.
A matter of fashion (Score:5, Interesting)
Have you ever noticed that all electronics these days are silver? Yet from the early-1980s to the mid-to-late-1990s, everything was black. When I was a kid I remembered thinking finding those late-70s brushed metal hifis old fashioned, because I associated black with the modern stuff that was in the shops. I remember at some point in the late-1980s my CS teacher came across an early-80s computer that we both laughed at because it was so "space age". Okay, part of that was the styling, but it was also because it was covered in spray-painted silver coating. The exact same style of silver coating that covers a lot of modern electronics.
Nowadays, those mid-80s black-with-flat-panel-buttons-and-red-lettering hifis now look... very 80s. I'd have found a lot of the style-conscious brushed-metal digital cameras around now very dated-looking if I'd seen them in the 80s. I saw an Agfa camera from the 1960s recently and briefly had trouble telling if it was really old or really new; but I liked it. And yet 20 years ago, I'd have hated it and thought it looked old-fashioned.
Similar arguments could apply to wood. Sure, wood looks old-fashioned and is less likely to make a comeback for that reason, but that's not really the issue here.
In short, never underestimate the effect long-term technological fashion trends will have on you.
Correlation between asthetics and seriousness (Score:4, Interesting)
There are actually merits to having a computer look like a piece of equipment and not an office ornamant which seem to escape the media these days. There are also several examples of where a piece of equipment made "too friendly" has been to the detriment of the person using it.
When a computer looks like equipment it's taken more seriously. If a computer makes noise when it's on, demands interaction with a prompt and has a consistent, unornamented interface it adds a level of seriousness to the business of using it. It says take me seriously because performing operations with me is serious business.
When a computer looks like candy it's "played", not "worked" with. It's left in a corner showing something flashy and useless on the screen. It's an expensive DVD player. According to the Apple ads, this is the direction we "want" to go. I disagree.
A computer can call the people you have appointments with and tell them you will be there. A computer can operate your entire home's systems. A computer can allow an intruder into your home if you are careless with it. This is a piece of equipment, not a video gaming conduit. It ought to be taken seriously.
I believe this because of an existing counterexample of candy-coated machines gone wrong: The automobile. Interactive video, cell phones, leather interiors, a million and one shapes and sizes - these are strongly correlated to the careless nature with which we see people driving. Driving into schoolbusses, driving into other drivers, and driving drunk are easy cases to cite. A group of people who treat their cars like toys is the same group that drives their cars like children, not adults. These people get hurt with their cars because the mindset that makes them want candy coatings is the mindset that makes them drive outside the limits on the environment they are in. If your car is plain, stiff and hurts to sit in for to long, you take it seriously.
A computer can do damage to you just like your car can. Take it seriously.
Time Better Spent on Other Projects (Score:5, Interesting)
For me, woodworking projects fall into two types: "quick and dirty" and "furniture".
The "quick and dirty" are things that don't need to last more than a day, a week, a month or even a year. They aren't pretty, they are fast, and they are only as sturdy as they need to be to get the job done. They are generally made from plywood, and other cheap, strong, leftover scrap wood.
"Furniture" projects are things that should last Decades. If I did my job well, they will outlast me. Tables, chairs, and cabinetry fall into this category. Pretty woods, weeks of effort, and lovely finishes highlighting the natural colors and grains of the woods. These projects honor the trees that gave their life so I could have pretty things. Not always sustainable forest-grown, but that's getting better over time.
Back to computers... They have an average life-span of 1 to 5 years... Maybe they'll last 10, but seriously, how many of us have a computer around that is more than 5 years old? So why build "furniture" for Today's Computer. The shapes and sizes and plugs and interfaces and monitors and power needs change every few years. Why would you expect that to not continue? Think about it from this perspective: if you has spend 3 months building the perfect computer case (out of rare Koa and Ebony) for your Commodore 64 twenty years ago, would it still be occupying deskspace in your home? Probably not.
So building "furniture" that fits today's computers is just short-sighted. Beautiful and rare hardwoods should be used and enjoyed in artistic creations whose lifetimes should be measured in decades, not months.
This goes for computer cases and furniture custom built around technology (stereos, home entertainment systems, computers, monitors, etc.) How well does that 50" Plasma screen fit in the "entertainment center" you bought 10 years ago?