The Ultimate Computer Chair? 291
An anonymous reader writes "Check out www.mypce.com. They address the idea
of the computer workspaces by treating the it as an overall environment
instead of the desk and monitor we're all used to. Hopefully, the industry will
start moving in this direction and address more of the physical issues of computing.
No idea on pricing, but very cool nonetheless."
Old... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Old... (Score:3, Funny)
Why is the *computer* at the center of everything? (Score:4, Insightful)
Sure, there is a need for better fixed workstation ergonomics, but very few organizations will spend the capital necessary to deploy this sort of thing on a wide scale.
There's probably a niche market in design and graphics shops for things like this, mostly as a design statement to impress clients.
If innovations like this were cheap, we *might* see them make the residential office markets.
Re:Old... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Old... (Score:2)
Gods below! (Score:5, Funny)
It appears to be a Medieval torture device!
Re:Gods below! (Score:2)
Re:Gods below! (Score:2)
The wires for plugging into the user's brain...
Re:Gods below! (Score:4, Funny)
No Way... (Score:5, Funny)
And it appears... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:And it appears... (Score:5, Informative)
PC World [yahoo.com]
Space.Com [space.com] (Nice big pic of the two chairs if you click on the smaller image)
All it misses... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:All it misses... (Score:2, Funny)
The La-Z-boy Oasis [lazyboy.co.uk] has got the beer covered...
And the colour scheme on this version [lazyboyfootball.co.uk] (middle of the page) should help you vomit it all back up again. It's sort of hypnotic....
must... buy... fat... bastard... chair...
Recaro? (Score:5, Funny)
Oh...and if they really want to sell then where's the fat person version? Cuz I can tell you the only way to squeeze me into something like that would inolve more Crisco than I'd care to contemplate.
Re:Recaro? (Score:2)
Isn't that what they're on about when they talk about Extreme Programing?
Next year's model is going to be built into a street luge.
At least you'll fit on that, but it won't be a very pretty sight.
KFG
Re:Recaro? (Score:3, Informative)
Even my skinny self, being an athletic guy with broad shoulders can't fit in those chairs -
Dear God! (Score:5, Funny)
Comfortable? Maybe, I've never tried one, so I can't say.
Eye-searingly awful looking? You better believe it.
Re:Dear God! (Score:3, Insightful)
I use my computer for working, not just gaming, so ample desk space is a necessity.
I'm also curious about the stability of the hanging monitors -- will the monitors shake every time you move?
Ditto getting in and out of the chair if you need to go to the printer, use the head, or hit the fridge for a shot of caffeine.
Re:Dear God! (Score:2, Insightful)
Amen! It may make a good gaming chair, but it's missing places for a phone, a writing surface, etc. Barely anyone works for a company whose product is purely virtual. Most computer users still use paper and pencil for certain things -- scribbling voicemail messages, writing notes in meetings, etc. What about our dead trees? I have two overhead bins full of dead trees that I need for my work.
It doesn't look like the monitors are all that stable, but at least they're flat screens -- they don't hurt as much a
I want .... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I want .... (Score:2)
Umm (Score:4, Funny)
Actually I keep a laser under my pillow. Because you never know.
No joke.
I was pretty seriously contemplating one of these chairs until I saw the $2,800 - $7,000 price tag
My own personal version... (Score:3, Interesting)
Price (Score:2)
Re:Price (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Price (Score:2)
That's a really good line, especially when it comes to lust objects.
Re:Price (Score:2)
It's very interesting, and you did great research....and perhaps you should submit this to slashdot as an article and see if they print it. If they do, we have no reason to be suspicious....if not, well.....at least an explanation perhaps....Also, this is probably out of CmdrTaco's hands...I mean, he just runs the site, ya know. H
Re:Price (Score:3, Funny)
Too much like a home gym! (Score:5, Insightful)
> The MasterPeace Rocks and Cradles you
I thought... "You can rock, rock, rock! yourself to firmer abs!"... damn those infomercials.
The biggest problem with those is there is no place to put good old fashion pen to paper.
Even when I was in R&D I still liked to use pen and paper beside my superfast machine. I like a big desk with lots of room to scribble.
Interesting side note, since we were in R&D, we weren't allowed any "scrap" paper to work on. All our work had to be in our logbooks, that had all our notes (aparently incase of patent dispute). So I started doing my doodles in that. Then I put things like, "if you are reading this, then I must be dead, the treasure is buried....". Of course, after our head of project died, i stopped doing that.
Re:Too much like a home gym! (Score:3, Insightful)
The biggest problem with those is there is no place to put good old fashion pen to paper.
The extra space in a conventional desk is better for more than just pen and paper. I often have stacks of random cds, cups of soda/orange juice/whatever (depending on the time of day and my mood), handy programming textbooks of whatever languages I'm working on at the moment, a couple of USB gravis game controllers for my various console emulators, and a series of
As with many of the geekier things in life... (Score:2, Informative)
...I take prompts from the fellows at Arstechnica.
The post-sweet chairs [arstechnica.com] they picked out a few months ago are still very cool...
Aeron Chairs, post dot-com era (Score:5, Informative)
10% ers (Score:5, Interesting)
I used to lust after those, until they gave me one. The mesh thing is cool, I could ride my bike in and I'd try up pretty quick. But you can't cross your legs in those things, you have to sit "properly." I like to be able to shift around how I'm sitting every 15 mins or so, there are only so many ways you can do this if sitting yoda like hurts your knees... I knew their days were numbered when they stopped stacking up on nurti-grain bars and juice, which in the long run made me happier than the chair.
Re:10% ers (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:10% ers (Score:2)
I do like it a lot but I think the design could have been more universal, the bucket sides could have curved down rather than up, much like the front edge.
A few of the mesh bands have broken though, on a bare back, the broken ends are a bit abrasive.
Re:10% ers (Score:2)
Re:10% ers (Score:2)
The mesh seat is great for durabilty and cleanabilitiy, but sometimes your bum does get cold (I work at home and don't have air conditioning).
Re:Aeron Chairs, post dot-com era (Score:5, Funny)
Made for quite an embarassing moment in the meeting, that's for sure.
WTF? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want a conversational piece, buy a bonsai kitten or something . . .
Uhmm... (Score:5, Funny)
Devices like this ensure that geeks do not get laid by the cute coworker down the hall.
Re:Uhmm... (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps, but they do ensure that you're the one the cute coworker down the hall comes to when she needs her computer fixed. For a lot of geeks, that's a drastic improvement. Remember when the comic book store guy tried to push through the Vulcan Pon Farr ritual? It's kinda like that.
almost self contained (Score:5, Funny)
Aren't they forgetting about something? (Score:5, Insightful)
Besides, the system is too restrictive. I don't like my box shipping with the device. I want to choose what components I use. Similarily, until the quality on LCD displays matches that of CRTs, I'll keep using those. And unless I'm mistaken there's no switching system to allow you to hang a CRT from there.
I mean, it's an idea we've all had, and cherished for a while (I remember in UF Stef bought one to increase his Quaking skills, we all know how that worked out), but it's just not feasible that way.
As much as we would like to think it is, a Personal Computing Environment isn't 100% PC.
Re:Aren't they forgetting about something? (Score:2)
Yeah, books... (Score:2)
The chair looks comfy to sit in, but not to climb in and out of every fifteen minutes. That's about how often I roll over to my O'Reilly library.
Re:Aren't they forgetting about something? (Score:2)
Duh.
Thank you.
--
mcpkaaos
Re:Aren't they forgetting about something? (Score:4, Funny)
sooo.. you want an adapter to hang a 50+ lbs CRT monitor from a LCD mount two feet above your nuts. Am I the only one thinking this might be a bad idea?
where's the goddam seatbelt? (Score:5, Funny)
Get some fat-bastard playing Grand-Tourismo 4 too into the game, he starts leaning into the turns and WHAMMO!!!
Not to mention the collateral damage if your dog happens to be in the way.
Re:where's the goddam seatbelt? (Score:3, Funny)
Not to mention the collateral damage if your dog happens to be in the way.
"Hey mo i just did winzipped the dowg"
Re:where's the goddam seatbelt? (Score:2)
Where's the... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Where's the... (Score:3, Funny)
Article with pictures (Score:5, Informative)
All this needs now... (Score:2, Funny)
i was able to load the site (Score:2)
what i want to know, is can i get it without the computer?
i mean, i have enoguh of my own machines here, i dont want to spend a butt load of cash for a desk/station and get an extra computer. i want to know what the price is for the unit alone.
this looks great for people with limited space.
All this and a catheter... (Score:4, Funny)
Slashdotted, (incomplete) mirror (Score:2)
http://0wn.de/masterpeace
I think it's time slashdot provides mirroring itself, but then again, that idea isn't new...
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these... (Score:3, Funny)
That chair is a freak. (Score:2)
How I got to see it after it was Slashdotted?
1) click on link from slashdot - darn already Slashdotted
2) Google(TM) it and view cache - darn no pics and info is old.
3) Go to next item on Google. - darn it is slashdotted too.
4) Repeat 3
Stokke (Score:2)
IMHO most chair designs seem to begin with stiff 90 degree angles and then make only slight adjustments for the human body. On the other hand, Stokke designs look and feel like they're made for the human body, instead of the usual rectangular styles. They let your body find a comfortable balance almost magically, you don't have to force yourself into a good position, or correct your position all the
Okay, smartypants... (Score:2)
Re:Okay, smartypants... (Score:2)
like a frickin rollercoaster (Score:5, Funny)
[/joke]
I don't know about you... (Score:2)
I'll stick with my Humanscale Freedom chair (Score:2)
Wired has an interesting superchair article [wired.com] that led me to the Freedom chair.
Gotta wonder what the Humanscale folks think about PCE calling their chair "Freedom" as well. Methinks somebody didn't do the obligator
Toilet (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Toilet (Score:3, Funny)
And my iMac goes where? (Score:2)
I think I will pass. I did however enter the drawing, that thing should at least generate a dollar or two on ebay.
Oh, yeah! (Score:2)
Re:Oh, yeah! (Score:5, Funny)
Well, not everybody is a whipped-up husband. Some of us are hopelessly single losers who can't get any unless it involves a financial transaction so we get plenty of space to fill as we see fit.
Now, all we need to find is a way to smuggle this monster into the basement without mom finding out.
Very expensive gaming system (Score:3, Insightful)
The only time I would need a computer environment that did not include open desk area, book shelves, CD/DVD racks, and filing drawers is when I game.
$7000 is just too damn expensive for a gaming rig; especially one I don't build the system myself. Screw that. A comfy La-Z-Boy recliner, surround sound system, and custom built desk I designed myself would cost me so much less I'd have $4000 left for my dream system. Hmmmmm...
All I have to say is.. (Score:2)
Remember that ST:TNG episode where Reginald Barclay designs that ultimate computer interface in the holodeck and takes over enterprise?
Hmmm.. they perhaps skipped the holodeck part. Yes, in fact, upon further thought, they need to scrap this chair and not put the carriage in front of the horse.
Holodecks First! Ship Dominating Chairs Second!
No thanks... (Score:3, Funny)
Whaddya mean it'll feel "WEIRD"?
ugh. (Score:2)
The Chair, after countless ages, has probably had all the necessary innovations applied. Maybe this work could be put into something else...
Mistaken! (Score:5, Insightful)
When will someone get it?
OMG its mine! (Score:2)
It's worth waiting 'till their server calms down to have a look folks.
Re:OMG its mine! (Score:2)
The best workstation ever... (Score:4, Funny)
Drool gutter optional.
Lay-Z-boy (Score:2, Interesting)
Anonymous? Probably for a reason. (Score:2)
I think slashdot should have a new policy- no more product reviews?
Ahahahahahaahahahaha. Sorry, I tried so hard to say that with a straight face.
Seriously, I never bother reading about a product toted in a slashdot story, because unlike slashdot readers who can poke a whole in just about anything, these "product mentions" seem to always be all 'aint-that-cool' to the core.
Not saying slashdot editors conspire, but they'd probably be lying if they didn't admit at least some of the stories are just vira
Re:Anonymous? Probably for a reason. (Score:2)
Re:Anonymous? Probably for a reason. (Score:2)
Kinda of a crappy plan... you pay to lure thousands of hits to your site, and your server weeps like a young shaved boy with gynecomastia [virtualave.net] on his way to prision.
Davak
google cache (Score:3, Informative)
racing seat (Score:3, Interesting)
This is how the Matrix got started! (Score:2)
A video on TechTV (Score:2)
and here is a text clippet from the FreshGear section where I found the video:
You've got all the gadgets to make the perfect home office, but it still has to look cool. If you're willing to pay the premium, a company called Personal Computing Environments in Los Angeles will customize a look that's just your fit.
"Fresh Gear" took a look at PCE's flagship MasterPeace. Here's
Don't you just love it ... (Score:2)
How realistic is that ? my pc has at least 10 cables shooting out of it and my monitor has at least 4 (it has a usb hub built into its base). They look like spaghetti.
Looking at this chair just made it even funnier
Bad for RSI...? (Score:5, Insightful)
For a while I thought my keyboard (Kinesis Ergo) was to thank (and perhaps the MS Trackball Explorer, which you click with your thumb). I still like my keyboard -- RSI aside, it's a great input device -- but I think there's a limit to what they can do.
What really helped me was the armless chair I got, and the posture that has encouraged me to take. Which is actually no posture at all -- I shift positions on the chair at least twice an hour, sometimes leaning sideways, sometimes forward, and reclined in different ways. There's no real stability to the chair. None of the postures I take are ergonomically correct postures, which is why I think it's good -- no posture is right for too long a period.
The problem with a fancy system like this is that it's all about the Right Posture. It creates a whole frame around some "perfect" position, and from the look of it you'd have a hard time taking any other position. It's the same with a lot of the ergonomic devices, which advertise the relaxed and supported position you take, but you are locked into a single position, so even if there's less damage you have to worry that eventually it will accumulate since it's always the same damage.
Sweet. (Score:5, Insightful)
The idea of supporting your back and neck is a very good one if you're concerned about your long term health and you spend a lot of time behind a terminal.
There is a significant problem here. It needs to be able to be reclined. You need to be lying down for this design to do your back some good. Otherwise, this is just a raised chair.
Good start though.
Sigh (Score:2, Insightful)
Ummmm...no thanks. (Score:2)
I like them (Score:2)
I would love to try one for a month.
Internet users expect internet pricing (Score:2, Insightful)
Why do websites list anything buyable without pricing? On this site, BUY NOW asks the user to email Paul. Don't they know how much they want for it? Even if the price changes daily, they can update the website. And they can have that "plus shipping" that could double the price. A little effort and they can allow the chair to be customized online.
Or they can do the random price thing like Amazon.com. Check a product from multiple browsers and you get multiple prices. This is great
Rank Amateurs... (Score:2, Informative)
Hoo!Yah! "...120-degrees of rotation in 15 seconds," under my control! WOOT!
Seriosly, these guys "designed, developed, manufactured, and installed a modular trading pit system for the CHIC [poetictech.com]
Screenshot while it's Slashdotted (Score:2)
I highly recommend this style of web design.
Other Ergonomics (and cheaper too) (Score:2)
Cheaper than a new chair, and keeps the arm in a more relaxed position. Anybody with any other ergo tricks?
Racing seat... ouch! (Score:3, Informative)
Racing seats are designed for safety. They are designed to keep a driver in place and secure in the event of a wreck. Any company who would build a product such as this deserves to have their heads beat in with a baseball bat. My office chair is 1000 times more comfortable and it costs 40 bucks. I can see if perhaps they were desigining some sort of chair for a racing sim or game, but for everyday use... I'm sorry but any fucker who orders one of these deserves the back pain they develop!
BTW, for any naysayer: you can tell they are regular (cheap) racing seats by simply looking at them -- the holes right below the headreast are for the four or five point shoulder harnesses to go through to secure a driver into the chair.
Again, in case the people who posted this advertorial are reading, I hope you don't sell a single one of these piece of shit chairs. Any comment refuting this argument is most likely someone from this enterprise posting some bullshit about how great their complete crap idea is...
~GoRK
Re:Price Justification (Score:5, Funny)
Vendor Name: Personal Computing Environments
Ship To Name: Mindragon
Purchase Request:(1) MasterPeace Personal Computing Environment
Price: $7,000.00
Purchase Reason: An ergonomically designed space will reduce the risk of repeatitive strain injury (RSI) and increase my overall productivity while I'm in the office thereby decreasing expenses and generating additional revenues for the company.
Real Reason: This looks way cool!!!
From the Mind...of a Dragon...
Re:New Moderation System (Score:2)
I'm referencing stories about "glowing balls" or "making the GPL easier to swallow", things like that.