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Hardware

Bubble-Plexi Case Mod 193

Posted by CmdrTaco from the isn't-that-special dept.
sandv!per writes: "If you want to spruce up the front of your case a bit, and those lighted case badges don't seem like enough, check out Matt's guide on making a "bubble-plexi" mod." There are disclaimers and warnings all over the place about injuring yourself while attempting this mod, so have fun but don't bitch if you lose a thumb ;)
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Bubble-Plexi Case Mod More

Bubble-Plexi Case Mod

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  • /.ed already (Score:1, Informative)

    by ruiner13 ( 527499 )
    I see one post and I already can't get at the site. Anyone care to make a mirror who has it in their cache?

  • Not there (Score:1, Informative)

    by Hanzie ( 16075 )
    I wonder if the article was taken down in anticipation of their server getting smashed flat by /.

  • Case Mod Category (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tyler Eaves ( 344284 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:36PM (#3472418)
    Could we please get a category for casemods....so those of us who think the whole thing has been done to death can filter...

    • Re:Case Mod Category (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Kizzle ( 555439 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:48PM (#3472520)
      I agree. There are many categories that we don't need anymore. Beanies, Compaq, linuxcare, and all the misc apple ones that could be lumped together, just to name a few. These could definitely be replaced with better ones.
    • We have seperate topics for IE, Mozilla, and Netscape. We have a quake topic that's not just under "games". Star wars has it's own topic and it's not just "movies". There is even a seperate topic for benies with only one post by Cowboy Neal. Topics here [slashdot.org]. Hardware is too general for a topic and could be broken down. 75% of the case mod links are usually /.'ed within the first 20 posts anyway.

  • Case mods... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Cmdr Taco (luser) ( 578089 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:37PM (#3472429)
    ...strike me as a bit, hmmm, useless. Unless, of course, it's for something necessary, like piping cooling water (or liquid N) for cooling. Sure, some of the blinking/neon lights are kinda cool to impress the friends and all, but my techno friends are generally more impressed by cool hardware/software implementations (real hacking) and generally consider the other trappings to be a bit frilly. The most impressive 'case mod' I've ever done was to actually install all the panels and properly close up the case on my wife's computer so it looked presentable. My own computers, on the other hand... hell, I can't even find the side panels, musta thrown'm out. I've got too much external hardware, ribbon cables, protoboards, etc, dandling out of most of them that I couldn't possibly even button up the case, let alone fancy it up with super-cool visual effects. oh, well, too each their own.
    • Agreed, I'd much rather have a computer that just works (or my iBook, which is cool already), and spend my time and money making my truck or house look better.

    • I can't even find the side panels, musta thrown'm out. I've got too much external hardware, ribbon cables, protoboards, etc, dandling out of most of them

      He's not lying either. I saw him typing that on channel 6.

    • How exactly is someone who is imitating cmdr taco 'informative'? or worthy of a +4.
      I can understand replying to an imitator, but moding one up as anything (except funny) is just plain insane, and most of the time they don't even qualify as funny. Ah well...
      • I don't know, maybe they actually looked at the content and not the author.

        Just a guess.
      • Actually, my post was factual, expressed a real opinion and, perhaps, a differing view on the topic. It was not in any way a troll, flamebait or off-topic.

        As for the nick, what is it they say about "the most sincere form of flattery"?

        In fact, having reached the karma cap with only 94 posts under another name, I decided to try again, this time with a self-imposed, specific (presumed) handicap. I do not intend to troll under this nom de plume, but I eagerly anticipate reactions, such as yours, which are targeted not at the content of my posts, but at the nickname alone.

    • the shown method of shaping plasics is not very good, in industry we either use a wooden mold (in this case it would be a hemi sphere, and a flat board with a circle cut out as the 'key', you oven the plexiglass before it bubbles, using gloves place it on the mould(hemisphere), the press they key over the mould slowly, clamp it, it'll cool off pretty quickly, spounging it with water helps. hazzah, one clear hemisphere, the best part, you are accurate with the size... on larger scales they simply have a mould and secure a piece of plexi to it, then blow on it with hot air until it forfills the mould piece. both these methods are better, because they are repeatable, and you know what you're getting before you spend 20 minutes trying to hand craft some little bubble that you could have gotten for 20c out of a cracker jack machine.

  • well... (Score:2, Informative)

    by klocwerk ( 48514 )
    I managed to get the first 3 pages up before it conked out.
    Basically it's a mostly standard case mod, but he took a piece of plexiglas and melted it either over something or by cutting a hole in something and letting it sag down through it while warm. (Hadn't gotten to his description, just the pictures.)
    A neat idea, but nothing totally amazing.

    That said, I very well may take this new concept into consideration when I attempt my first real mod this summer. Try it again later when it's less slashdotted if you're into case mods.

    Otherwise, just suffice it to say that he made a little dome out of plexiglas.
  • howabout we play with the name "Bubble-plexi mod"?

    I'll take first pass, I scramble it up and I get:

    I pled, "Lux me, Bobbi!"

  • looks great (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:40PM (#3472452)
    ididthesamethingandmademyowncaseusingBubble-Plexib ut
    nowicantusethespacebarsenceilostmythumbs

  • Google cache (Score:3, Informative)

    by anno1602 ( 320047 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:42PM (#3472471)
    Here's Google's cache [google.com].
  • Case mods can get a little immature. I am all for being able to put the most air through my computer, and OC it alot, but really- isn't it just easier sometimes to just buy something a little faster? No that isn't the creative way, but the lights and all just get to me after a while. At first they are cool, but then I think that you should really be working on keeping you box(es) running fast in the first place. Think about expandabilty and useablity of lights and stickers. Now some case mods (like switchable fans) are acutally useable.

    I would like to know what ./ers in general think about case mods.. Do you have any? Are for for/against them? Think they are a waste of time? Good use of creativty?
    • Case mods are good for the "look at that, geeky, cool" factor, but I would never think about doing anything like that myself. As you said, work I do on my computer is for the purpose of upgrading/repair, other than that I don't even want to shut down most of the time, much less open the case!

    • I saw some people in college do a case mod. It just don't get it. It's like the kid in high school that puts neon lights and a loud muffler on his car. Aside from spend a lot of time and money you have not done a whole lot to improve the functionality of the car. I would rather put the money into a new component and the time into making Windows not crash. Of course I never have enough money, and the latter is the impossible dream, so what the heck, get out the spray paint!
    • I agree that there are far too many frilly and silly case mods out there, but at the same time as I recently found out mods are required.

      I run an athlon sytem (1.4GHz DDR FSB) and it runs very hot not so much because of the proc as the hard drives. I have 4x80GB drives crammed in a standard atx minitower. Every pci slot is filled. Space is tight. Heat can build up so fast that the entire system just dies -- very hard. I had to apply some case mods that really increased air circulation and heat transfer efficiency. As a side effect, the case also looks cool :).
    • They are, they are totally useless and I wasn't going to do it.

      Then my girlfriend said "oh, cool." ..and I understood that sometimes I have to put away my higher education seeking prudishness and say "oh, pretty lights."
    • Even the major vendors realize that there is some value in aesthetics. Some Compaq and Dell servers now come with a pretty (photon light style) blue LED (sure it serves the purpose of helping you find the system in a crowded Rack, but they could have used any kind of LED for that.) A number of Suns also come with a nice iridescant sun logo compliments of frosted plexiglass and white LED's. If it doesn't damage the system, I see nothing wrong with making it look nice. It's the same reason people don't like to drive beat up cars, even if they do run well.
  • Does anybody know where you might find those case LEDs (the ones with the pair of wires and the motherboard connector) for sale without having to buy the whole case (or a lot of 10,000)? I looked forever for those (I have a case with a few ATA cards in it and I wanted to connect up the LEDs to so I can see which chains are busy and what card is causing the occasional problems).

    You'd think those LEDs would be everywhere, but so far all the ones I've managed to find have been scrounged from old cases. Even Radio Shack doesn't carry them (and I even looked through the catalog).

  • Creative mod (Score:4, Interesting)

    by delphin42 ( 556929 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @03:48PM (#3472516) Homepage
    The most creative case I've seen was made out of one of those tupperware storage bins you can get at walmart. Holes were cut out for all the connectors as well as intake and exhaust vents.

    Take a look!

    Go here [rit.edu]

  • Amazing (Score:2, Funny)

    by Mikoca ( 577135 )

    It is amazing how much /.ers can say without even having read the article...

    • This was not a troll, it was pointing out that people seem to post at the same rate whether or not the site is actually reachable. Please correct, moderators, the above should be market "Underrated," thanks.
  • so it can withstand the power of the /. effect.
  • I think he needs a beowulf cluster of these bubble mods and maybe his site wont get slashdotted so quick.
  • I've read alot of PC case mod stories linked to from here, and I've enjoyed them. But one question keeps popping into my head: why do PC cases continue to be so generally difficult to work with?

    I have a B&W G3. When I want to add something, I pull the ring and swing the side down. Everything is open and easy to access. 2 seconds. A child could do it. And my G3 is over 3 years old.

    I have yet to see a PC case out there that approaches the ease of access that Apple had 3 years ago. Am I just not up the market? I know that alot of manufacturers were adding colorful plastic sections to their cases. I've seen the neon additions and clear windows from the modders. Why hasn't even one manufacturer tried to make the case an easy thing to work with?

    • I pull the ring and swing the side down. Everything is open and easy to access I can do that with my Dell L800r. I just unplug the power, move the slider, and have access to the inside of my case. My other computer (one I put together myself) is just as easy and simple. I simply unplug the power and slide the side off now how difficult is that to work with? Heck, I don't even need to remove the power plug generally.

    • Re:Why do PC cases continue to be "difficult"? (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Dell's have been this way for around 5 years now - especially their Optiplex business desktops. Press two tabs and the top flips off. No untidy wires inside and even the PCI bus pulls out in one block so you can add/remvoe cards. Very sweet.

      The irony is that a PC company was there before Apple. The reason? Dell needed to make the PCs more accessible when building them, to cut time needed and hence increase profit margins. Their Optiplex desktops still win awards for business desktops, with ease of accessibility for techies being cited repeatedly as a good thing.

    • For a PC case, I go with a 'screwless' case every time. I shop around and get the current year's highest quality -- usually around $75 USD.

      There is a single thumbscrew in the back that takes about 1 turn. Then the side panel drops down. Drives are in neat little holders -- just pop them into the frame, or pull them out with a thumb and index finger. So far all of my boxes have compatable drive holders, which is cool. Of course it would be easier to replace the thumbscrew with a spring-loaded little pull ring, but Apple already did that. A screw is goo to keep it from falling open while I'm moving the box.

      You still gotta deal with the screws on cards, but I seldom do more than just shove the card in since I KNOW I will be pulling it out again someday, so why bother? On the very rare occasion that a card slips out far enough to lose contact, it only takes about 10 seconds to open the case, jab at all the cards, and boot the machine. If it works, just pop the top back on and twist the thumbscrew. If it doesn't work then it probably wasn't that anyway and I'll be ripping things out...

      What I want to do (no, I don't, it would just be fun to see) would be a screwless case with the side panel replaced with plexi and neon lights lighting up the innards, and maybe a few mirrors in good places to help see into corners when I'm working on it. Then you get quick access and high visibility. Of course you still have the generally ugly box, but old habits die hard.

      • Eh, I think it's probably a good idea they still use screws to hold the PC cards in place. Sometimes they've used alternatives. Again, Dell, for a prime example, often uses a strange little clip type of device on their Poweredge servers. You put the card in and then rotate the clip so it pressed down firmly on the top of the card, where you'd normally screw in the screw.

        Problem is, those things take a little fighting with to engage/disengage and tend to bust up your fingers. It's worse if you have a card where the metal bracket is a little bit bent-up.

        When you're dealing with cards with ports on the back (SCSI, etc.), you really want to be sure the card is locked down tight. Otherwise, you might push it partially out of the socket when you attach the cable and fry it when you power up.

        I'd rather just take the extra 30 seconds and screw the stuff in.
    • Because you don't demand it. Almost everyone, including half the 'geeks' out there just want something that looks cool.

      There ARE some (well actually only seen 2) cases retailers stock that allow easy installation (sorta, the drive bays still can't be taken out).

      But the really good ones always look plan and also need to be ordered in.

      So next time you go to a shop and ask for a case, remember to WALK AWAY when they don't show you an easy to use one. You can come back later for a crappy one, but at least they'll think a bit about stocking some quality cases next time.
    • I've got a Compudyne case that had a P133 when it was new. 2 tabs & a metal clip are all it takes to get the case off. The rack the hard drives are in swing out for easy removal. This case is probably 7-8 years old.

      Jaysyn
    • There are a number of toolless PC cases. If you know enough to buy a case (presumably you're going to put a motherboard in it) then it's up to you to buy a quality case instead of a $20 "today's special" no-name case. I personally like Enlight cases - they have 300W power supplies standard, pull out drive bays, a rack system for CD-ROMs and most of it can be disassembled without so much as a Phillips head (obviously you will need a single screwdriver to do heavier work - say, a mobo install). It's actually MUCH easier to work with than a G4. Sure you can pull that ring and open the case but actually installing anything can be a trick since they're usually packed in there pretty tight.

      alex

  • noseless smiley...thank you (Score:5, Funny)

    by tps12 ( 105590 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @04:10PM (#3472714) Homepage Journal
    From the description:

    ;)

    Thank you for not wasting bandwidth by equipping this smiley with a nose. FYI, a web page should be up within the next few days for the Denoser script, that automates the process of denosing smileys.

    This little perl script has already been making the rounds in the hacker community, and there is a lot of excitement about it. Be sure to keep an eye on the Denoser project page [sourceforge.net], as activity is going to really pick up once the word gets out.

  • function vs image (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Cheetahfeathers ( 93473 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @04:11PM (#3472718)
    WTF don't we see some cases that go for function mods, rather than these ugly image mods? Something as nicely built as Apple's G4 towers, or as quiet and small as the cube of theirs. Most computers totally suck when it comes to easy of putting it together and taking it apart. Look at an SGI O2 as a hugely high standard when it comes to case design. You can take the thing apart and put it back together in under a minute.

    Of course most of these are beyond the ability of a typical case modder, who is just out to make their ugly PC even uglier.

    Oh well, a geek can dream, right?
    • How about this for an awesome PC case? http://www.frozencase.com/
      • Uhm... that looks all image to me. Have you ever actually used a G4 tower? you just pull one lever and you have complete and easy access to all your cards, and to the drives themselves (which are sitting on the panel you just folded out.)
        This one looks just short of completely impossible to add or remove cards/drives.

  • Mirror Here. (Score:5, Informative)

    by SlashChick ( 544252 ) <erica@eri[ ]biz ['ca.' in gap]> on Monday May 06, 2002 @04:11PM (#3472724) Homepage Journal
    I happened to be bored, so I grabbed all 6 pages and posted them here:

    http://pages.simpli.biz/casemod [simpli.biz]

    The "Next" and "Previous" links have been changed to point to my server, but everything else remains identical.

    I am collecting browser statistics on this page. I'll post them in my journal within 24 hours. I'm donating my bandwidth because I'm really interested in what browsers Slashdot users use. If you don't want your statistics collected, don't click on the link.
  • A l33t c4s3 m0d would be to trick out your system with lots of armored cable and black shit so it looks like the Borg. Then you could run Windows on it and it would feel like home.

  • this? impressive? i think not. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by GutBomb ( 541585 ) on Monday May 06, 2002 @04:44PM (#3472974) Homepage
    It looks like an interesting way to burn yourself. Seriously. The bubble looks kind of warped, and the hole he cut out cetainly looks home made, especially with the bubble on because they are not exactly the same size. He should have just taken a dell case that has a similar bubble already made that actually looks nice, and modify the bubble instead of making a half-assed crappy looking bubble himself

    I like case mods, but to make it onto slashdot, i would expect it to be somewhat impressive, not a "why the hell did this make it to slashdot" kinda thing.
  • http://66.34.96.9/bubmod/bubmod.htm

    I'll keep it up for a few hours.
  • HAIKU:
    Case mods on slashdot
    Blinkenlights, doodads, plexi:
    Does anyone care?

    LIMERICK:
    There once was some plexiglass from Ace
    that was decked out with white frilly lace
    tossed a mobo in there
    and athlons, a pair
    and when finished we'll call it a case!

    DOUBLE DACTYL:
    Bubbly Bobbly
    Slashdotter Sandv!per
    "Gee this is ugly"
    lamented the klutz

    "Uber-Case Moddery,
    surely impressed me, but...
    pseudo-geometry
    is driving me nuts!"

    SONNET:
    To be continued.
  • "credit to Davzing for his l337 modeling tekniq"

  • OMG! (Score:1)

    by prmths ( 325452 )
    i cant believe it! a machine more l33t looking than mine!
    MUST GET BUBBLE WINDOW, DO SOME CUTOUTS AND GET MULTICOLORED LIGHTING!
    (i thought a blue LED, a few backlit lcd screens and a nice paint job would be sufficient!)

    time to bust out some tools and get to work!

    Is it just me? or is half the fun of having a pimp machine making it that way? ;)
  • This article is useless. The mod doesn't look good when finished and is a really silly way to accomplish the objective they had (which was trivial in any case).

    Why are you reading this anyway?

    :)
  • Slow news day. Rumors (not news) about James Doohan, and now this.
    Anyway, have you seen some of the other "articles" on that site? "How to clean your mouse" ...

    Give me a break.

  • yah (Score:1)

    by Yosik ( 578207 )
    yeah

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