The thread about the new Mac cube reminded me of something. I was in my local high end audio/video store on Mon. night buying a boombox for a Xmas present. I was delighted to see the new and artistic ideas the designers have come up with for the stereos. Nakamichi, Bose, and Sony in particular have transformed some of their all-in-one units into very eye catching and intriguing forms.
Why can’t they do something similar with PC’s? I hate these clunky greige boxes everywhere.
A little brushed nickel, wood, clear plastic and some imaginative integration and I’d be jumping all over it!!
Although my ideal computer setup would be wireless keyboard, mouse and wall hung flatscreen,
I’d also really like to be able to have my computer desk in my living area as it is now without having it detract from the rest of the house.
Big problem with an integrated, all-in-one-case system: Lousy flexibility.
You want to upgrade the monitor? Too bad.
The monitor died? Say bye-bye to the whole computer while the CRT’s being replaced at the shop.
Additional storage devices can mean daisychained external boxes, which kind of defeats the choice of a sleek, integrated box in the first place.
One option for a conventional component arrangement is to get extension cables for monitor, mouse and keyboard (or cordless KB & mouse) and hide the box itself. More and more peripherals are now available in that pseudo-Apple motif.
Good points by most:)
I’m hoping that soon there will be secure and reliable enough wireless technology that the boxes can be freed of wired connections- that will make a huge improvement alone
But while you’re waiting. Take things into your own hands and design your own box. That’s what I and a lot of my other colleagues have done. One of us has an oak end-table with everything in it, the wires behind the wall and his flat panel LCD on the wall above his desk with his wireless keyboard and mouse. Speakers above that and sub below. Very classy looking.
Check out Hard OCP’s web site for some great ideas.
You have to laugh pretty loudly over there in Oz for us to hear it here. Even the kookaburas (sp?) don’t keep us up at night.
You’re probably right that in a few years we’ll look at the iMac and think “What were we thinking?”. But computers only have a shelf life of a few years before they’re replaced. So it’s a pretty good fit.
I assume that wood cabinets and brushed aluminum aren’t used for computer cabinets because of cost. Stereo equipment is often the centerpiece of a room, so it has to look nice. Computers are often stuck in the spare bedroom, so there’s not as much demand for spiffy looking cases that add to the price. Not to mention that most computer manufacturers have exactly the sense of style and aesthetic sensibilities that you’d expect from industry that brought you Windows and Bill Gates. Their idea of brash innovation is to do what Apple does. (Don’t believe me? Look at the Compaq towers with the attached translucent plates that come in five delicious flavors…)
I’ve been drooling over two cases, one is aluminium, with orange plastic covering (looks better than it sounds) and Addtronic’s new WTX case.
Tho with two kids, I’m seeing the benifits of having a system I can lock down easy. They already know how to turn off the computer, hit the reset button, mess up the monitor settings…
Check the cases over at http://www.alienware.com (click on “evolve”). I’m partial to the blue one, and these are easy to use cases. Still, I’m wondering if I’d ever regret getting a “trendy” case like that…
And lets not forget that some of us do fancy things like 3-D modeling, rendering, video and sound editing on our computers, and to do that you need to stuff your box full 'o cards and boards and video toasters. My old computer twards the end of it’s life was so crammed full of junk and jury-rigged it looked like something from the movie Brazil.
There are companies that do wood covers for you case, mahogany keyboards, a silver plated mouse etc…if you’re rich enough/mad enough/desperate enough, have a browse around the web…
I haven’t even had the case on my computer since the week I bought it.
Also I once bought a Sony Viao and it was purple. Purple case, purple keyboard, purple mouse. I hate purple now.
What? You bought the executive deluxe all in one hang it on the wall model? Well, the replacement part you need is only made in Japan on weekends. I could order it for you and have it 6 weeks and it will only cost about $3000. Or you could buy a box that looks just like any other computer and have the part right now for $20.
I too laughed when the iMac came out. I felt Apple had returned to the worst design feature of the original. I agree with all the comments about flexibility and the unwise choice of a built in monitor. HP wisely abaondoned similar designs when they dropped the semi-PC compatible 150 and never looked back.
Well, you may have laughed, but they sold oodles of them. People differ in their requirements. The all-in-one system with built-in monitor has a lot to offer some people. It’s not a power-user machine, but they never claimed it was. It is a machine that you drag up to a dorm room in just one trip, or set up in the den without having to trail 5 AC power cords across the rug.
Granted, the bloom is currently off the Apple, but I don’t think that’s the fault of the iMac – it’s mostly because Motorola can’t get their act together enough to build a faster G4, combined with a few other strategic errors on the part of Apple management.
Just for the record, I’m one of those people who laughed at the iMac the first time I saw it. I can just imagine a Mac fanatic sitting at his new iMac thinking “Well, I’ve got a computer that’s not compatible with 90% of the other computers out there – but it sure looks cool!”
[Diceman ducks and runs before the Appleheads flame him to a crisp :D]
