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Retro Palm Pilot Case
PsyMaster writes "I found this article over at PalmStation. There's a dude who made a Palm case out of rosewood. There are some great pics and the person even changed his stylus to be wood-covered. I wondered if it was a simulated wood initially, but you can definitely see the real wood scratches. Very cool."
I don't know much about wood, but that Pilot looks like it probably weighs about 10x than it originally did! Looks damn cool though. I'd like one made of plexiglass, but that's prolly a tad bit harder to work with than wood ;)
Esperandi
Upon reading the headline I expected a story about a guy who invented a PalmPilot back in 1963 and was bringing suit.... litigation on the brain
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Nicotine free Amish .sig.
And to think. With but a line in a contract, this is the kind of individual creativity that the software industry would seek to suppress.
Yes, this is hardware, so yes, this guy can do whatever he pleases with it once he owns it. I think the world's a better place because of it--the ingenious and polished nature of this design will hopefully inspire new and fascinating ideas from case designers.
Once you accept the value from such individual achievement in hardware, it is impossible to claim it disappears in software, in music, or even in a DVD video.
And once you allow the right to modify and create anew to slip to a simple stroke of seven point text, you doom everyone to nothing more than derivative boredom.
There's more to the DVD case than technicalities. The sheer beauty of this Palm Pilot is but a whisper of the possibilities.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
*sarcasm* Now when you leave your palm outside in the winter and the LCD explodes you can still use it as a cool wooden door stop. The technology boggles the mind.... it's a two-for-one deal... */sarcasm*
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Nicotine free Amish .sig.
Visit the Signal 11 Shrine to see Signal 11 naked and petrified.
This looks cool, but it's probably rather heavier than the original plastic. Also, what of wood's known tendency to expand/contract/warp/split in response to atmospheric conditions? This wood has to be pretty thin. I vote for a carbon-fiber Palm case. Cool look, lighter, stronger, and much more expensive. Of course, this is all a moot point for me since I don't have one of the beasts, but I can dream...
Don't get me wrong, I admire the construction...I just have no idea why someone would want to do this. It's like those cars in the '50s that were plastered with wood....**shudder**....
did he name his Pilot Rosy Palmer?
;-)
"I got wood for my palm!"
Changes like this could inspire others. I'm sure there are a FEW people out there who would like other designs. I can just imagine some more retro looks:
The fake leopard skin case
The pewter palm (a bit heavy)
The lego palm (can attach lego pieces to it on top & bottom)
The lucite palm (just like those phones you can see inside)
The rubber palm (adds another inch of drop survivability)
The palm float (take it in the pool)
The sandstone palm (look like Fred Flinstone)
Fishtank palm (from the soles of your shoes to the palm of your hand, sure as hell beats a tamaguchi)
The Neon palm.
call now, supplies are limited.
any others?
"You saved 1968." - Ms. Valerie Pringle to the crew of Apollo 8
I bet this "Deluxe Executive Model" Palm Pilot could be sold for three times the price!
Personally, I would rather see a chrome-plated streamlined (think 1950s toaster) computer. I thought at first glance the Apple G4 was like that, but as we all know it's that silly transparent plastic.
Imagine the effect a couple of termites would have on his PalmPilot...hehehehe...
-Ekapshi
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Nicotine free Amish .sig.
VERY impressive woodworking ability. He would do Norm Abrams proud. :-)
A wealthy eccentric who marches to the beat of a different drum. But you may call me "Noodle Noggin."
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
I must commend this industrious gentleman for pioneering the first pda that can double as a bar of soap. Now there's no reason to be without your palm wherever you go, although some have been known to use their palms in the shower before, wink wink, nudge nudge, if you know what I mean.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
The Mushroom top story: fake wood panels making a comeback in the console market.
Check out the home of the cardboard PC. As I recall, someone was asking about cheap rack mount cases, but Martin's Cardboard PC is in a class of it's own.
"I'll be your huckleberry" - Doc Holliday - Tombstone
Have you noticed lately (actually its been going on since the 60's) the over-proliferation of plastic. Its kind of nice to break up the monotony of life with wood or in some cases just cold hard steel. What really irks me is the look of new cars and trucks where the interior is almost 100% plastic. What happened to the good old rugged Ford's with there steel dashboards and rugged appearance. I mean the trimmin on my new Ford is already starting to fall apart after only a couple of years. Compared with my Grandpa's '78 it looks like a toy.
I think the retro look is nice and in many cases more rugged and functional. I'm sick of these cheap plastic cases that fall apart after a month or two. Take my pager for instance. I'm a pretty physical person so at least once a day I ding the thing into something. Now if it had a tough nylon or metal shell it would be fine but the thing is already starting to come apart at the seams.
You would think with all the advances in material science corporate america would utilize them more.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
So is this guy gonna start doing this professionally? I'd love one... only he might have to do some things different to get the wood to fit around my Visor. Plus, he'd probably have to have it for awhile, huh? Oh well, it'd still be cool... custom wood finishes for Palms.
This is a damn fine effort. The photographs clearly don't do it justice. Real wood has a visual and tactile quality that beats the hell out of plastic.
The only thing I might change would be the buttons; the grey plastic clashes. I'd make carved wood buttons as well, possibly out of maple (for contrast).
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Someone needs to write a detailed article on the similarities between marxism and open-source. In a way, open source is the closest the world has ever come to seeing the views expressed by Marx in his latter writings (specificly Das Capital, as the Communist Manifesto didn't truly express his views - It was commisioned by a radical revolutionary group advocating violant overthrow). The enviroment in which the open source exists today in the world of computers has many similarities to that of the industrial society in which the socialist movement blossomed in the 19th century. Examples to cite- -Similarities between colective and from each-to each production/distribution models -Similerities between the "plus value" economic model layed out in Das Capital and the views held by many programers about the uselessness of the corporations -Similer paths of divergance from the main movement towards unlawful and destructive means by the latter anarchists (led by, among others Bakunin) and the cracker/script kiddies (I shouldn't name a leader here as there are few historicly accepted leaders who would be happy with this distinction- anyway the lack of coherence in the movement means it will be years before a leader is recognized in their historical context (it'll probably be mitnick though) I could go on but I've said to much.
--nsfmc
I mean yeah, it looks cool, but this guy had to have spent a hell of a lot of time doing this! Wouldn't it be a bit cooler to spend this time doing something remotely useful, and getting paid for it? Perhaps this is just my way of thinking... Ace
Actually your idea of a lego palm would be really cool. But what would be even cooler is if the lego palm had an interface so it could interact with the lego motors and other gizmo's (something like the Lego Mindstorm set, except the interface would be your Palm Pilot instead of your PC). I guess I'm just a lego freak but I think this idea has some merit. I don't currently own a palm pilot but I think if it had this additional feature I could then justify the high price and actually purchase one. Of course my wife would still kill me. The only down side is the kids my want to use it more than me and we all know that palm pilots and kids don't mix. (They probably do but most paranoid palm pilot users would disagree.) Anyhow I like the lego idea, somebody needs to do something with it.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
Where are all the other people that like to take their stuff apart and make it look the way that THEY want it to. Like I just started running windowblinds, which seems to end up running either WinAqua or BeOS skins (I really want to use BeOS, but I can't network). There's even a program for palm pilots that allow you to change the look of the OS, it's called Silver.... something or the other, a quick search on palmgear and you'll find it. I truly wish that palm would create an easy way for users to "skin" their pilots. The color cases are just out, but lacking personality. Custom palm cases, there's an idea, that would be quite fun actually, give you some "extra" personality. If Apple gets their palm device out, you Palm could have an Apple skin :) And this one would have a much better OS inside.
That is IT! I am sick of people using MY NAME for their own benefit. Im talking to my lawyer. Oh yeah -- Hemos -- no more using the word rosewood on the front page w/o my permission. }:P
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
He's got too much time on his hands.
But while he's at it, I'd like to see some other old fashions come back in a new tech life:
Tie dyed monitors
Velcro wrist rests
'Pet Rock' Mice
Ergonomic bean bags
Olive Green and Almond colored cases
And lava lamps for the hell of it.
Lisa
[grrl.org]
When I saw that subject heading, I thought
that someone had figured out how to squeeze
one of the new goofy looking streamlined
palms back into the good old rectangular
plastic boxes.
The look is not what I would call "retro" its more like "Fortune 500 exec" if you ask me. Not to say that retro doesn't look good. I think retro is good up to the point that we take what was good from the past and leave the rest where it belongs, in the past. Wood has always had an appeal to the classier and wealthy or at least has that image. I mean would you want to put vinyl banasters in your 2.5 million dollar mansion? Of course not, it would look "cheap". Of course the look can always be overdone. Take the case of the '70s station wagons with their retro (simulated) wood panels. It no wonder that never caught on it was fake to begin with.
This is switching topics a little. But what I would do with the Palm Pilot is put on of those rubber inserts over it to make it more shock resistant. Something like the design of the Fluke Multimeters Holster.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
This guy's probably a master woodworker. I suppose selling one for $1600 might be worth it. But considering the skill of the craftsman, I doubt 3 * 200 would even be worth it for him to do...
Amber Yuan (--ell7)
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
I've delt with his maintainer personaly, and let me tell you, the guy is an ass.
I don't know how practical a wood case would be, but it's certainly the most beautiful case I've seen.
I mean yeah, it looks cool, but this guy had to have spent a hell of a lot of time doing this! Wouldn't it be a bit cooler to spend this time doing something remotely useful, and getting paid for it?
Yeh, god forbid us if we ever were to do anything fun with our free time!! we should be working 100% of the time! Laziness is what brought down Russia!
Perhaps this is just my way of thinking... obviously, idiot.
Amber Yuan (--ell7)
"and dear god does this website suck now." -- CmdrTaco
Imagine a whole line of case covers.. similar to the posts on Slashdot before about cases... wherein you had just about anything you wanted. Want Matrix code all over it? you got it. Want it to be blacklight responsive? there ya go. What about glittery and glow-in-the-dark? We've got that. Or, better yet, how about with some shiny chrome look to it? Or, Picasso? Camouflage? Iridescent?.........
Insert mind here.
This strike anyone as fairly similar to what the Sandbenders do in the Gibson novels? Take the guts otu of the cheap, knockoff shell, and put them into a handcrafted work of art... gotta like it. :)
Does bring up the question though of why technology seems limited by certain forms. Why do PCs all have to be oatmeal boxes? Why do stereo components all come in black boxes?
Anybody remember Sandbenders in Gibson's Idoru? Computers cased in sandcast silver and turquoise.
Or the decadent medievalism of Herbert's Dune?
Or the pizza-box Linux server?
As long as it can hold the circuitry, there's no reason for it to be a beige box. So, yeah, Apple's little gumdrops are rather too cute to stand near without an insulin shot, but at least they tried. After all, you're going to be staring at that thing sitting on the desk long enough, might as well enjoy it.
Of course it was worth the time! The value of time spent on something is in what the person doing it gets out of it. It doesn't matter if it is useful to him or anybody else unless that was part of the goal.
If I gave up reading books that weren't useful, I'd have to throw out most of my fiction. Of course, I wouldn't miss some of the non-fiction that should be thrown out as useless.
As for getting paid for your time, as we become wealthier, time quickly becomes the most valuable commodity we have. An hour spent can never be reclaimed. I spent the last hour reading to my son. I had a good day today. I gave my employer good value for my salary. But that last hour, for which I wasn't paid a penny, is the one I will remember longest and treasure most.
Wouldn't it be a bit cooler to spend this time doing something remotely useful, and getting paid for it? Perhaps this is just my way of thinking...
What he did may not be valuable to you. Enjoy the diversity of the world. It is part of the reason that the world needs you as well as him. I could try to say something deep and profound here, but the point is too obvious.
Chorus of thousands of massed followers under a window: "We are all individuals!"
The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
I saw these wooden Palm covers for sale a few months ago, they had 10+ different types of wood to choose from. Unfortunately I can not recall the address of the company. I am sure someone on Slashdot can use their skills to find it. They also sell wood cases and laptop covers.
i made a palm pilot case out of an empty grits box. thank you.
And, gee, the old T-bird was such the paragon of beauty, wasn't it? I suppose if you're a 19 yr old gangbanger or old lady.
I DON'T SEE NATALIE PORTAMAN ANYWHERE IN THAT PICTURE!!!1!
If I were to make a "retro" case for my palm, it'd have to be something with a more "electrical-type" retro style. Remember what old phones were made out of? Imagine a bakelite palm. Now THAT's retro.
It was the '70's when we were inundated with sexy personal luxury coupes with acres of fake wood veneer on every possible surface.
If you wanna see sex on a dashboard, look at a '60 Jag Mark X. Oh baby.
I would like to see your skin on my garage wall.
item than these...safety goggles.
Lips fill screen, and utter cryptic phrase:
"Rosewood..."
- Richie
*shakes head* Geeks & cars..they just don't mix.
What kind of finish did he put on it? I ask because many polyester and polyurethane finishes reduce heat dissipation (a serious problem for any handheld computing device). It looks like he put a pretty thick coat on, too.
"Even genius needs a competent technique."--Robert Fripp
see this American University Page as a start
Bring on the GIMP!!!!
Haha!!!
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"I shake the Devil's hand all the time!! He's my personal bitch!"
- They Might Be Losers
I know people who take HOURS to craft a background image for their Window manager. -- Why do we do it??
What good is life without beauty? Bare white (or grey) walls are completely functionial, yet people INSIST on cluttering them up with pictures and posters. Other people will go out and spend a day's wages to listen to a good musician for an evening.
Yes, we can make it through life without beauty. A better question, however, is: Can we truely LIVE without random acts of beauty?
A sunset; a beautiful person; a rainbow; an interesting picture or painting; a kind word from a friend (a stranger even!) -- all of these things have no, obvious, utilitarian value. All of them can make someone's life that much better.
To say that something with no utilitarian use isn't "remotely useful" is to argue for the life of a souleless drudge with no other purpose in life beyond working -- eating, and sleeping only in support of accomplishing your boss' wishes. It's not a life that I would willing ly lead, and it's not one that I would suggest to my worst enemy.
I am a proud They Might Be Giants, and I declare that you get GUN for that blasphemy in your .sig file. Hang your head in shame, you sad demented person.
-"thatdog"
an (insert hot media-personality here) naked-and-petrified statue with a PalmPilot embedded in it?
Of course, you could just take that rosewood case and leave it for a thousand years, and then it would be petrified wood! Sweet...
Notice that this isn't a troll: it's on topic, and does not deal with specific people.
--
Talon Karrde
What I want to see is an iMac strapped to the top of a new Beatle. They look like they're made for each other. (How about an AOL cd in the back window? Or a whole window made out of them?)
I nearly took the shell off my monitor and spray-painted it black while I was home over Christmas break. I probably should have. Too many things came up, though, like staying up all night long coding like crazy.
Thought this was a really cool idea so I hit the site. Turns out it IS a cool idea. The product might even be worth it if I could get a snazzy case for my Palm SEVEN!! The company's cases are apparently only compatible with the Pale III series. Didn't those become obsolete quite awile ago? Granted there are many folks still using them as it's hard (and expensive) to stay on top of the current gadgets, but I still think palmcolors is going to need to keep up with the Palm people if they're going to stay in the game.
Yeah, I thought the sandbenders were a bitchin' idea--heavier, but oh so real.
None of this plastic fantastic crap for me, thankyouverymuch. I'll pay the weight penalty any day.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Not Palm devices, but there are some wicked
customized PowerBook G3 pics here:
http://www.powerbook.org/soberay/Gallery.html
(Mostly in Japanese, but the pix are cool)
--Kevin
=-=-=-=-=-=
"...You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals/
so let's do it like they do on the Discovery channel..."
Then I would like to point out to a different fact:
At a local university (in Germany) they are seeming to get interested into the PalmPilot and now offer classes about that. I think that's great news for all Pilot users as it seems Palms are no longer treated as toys or geek-stuff.
I'm pretty sure I saw a Mac magazine with exactly that on the
front cover...No idea which magazine, but I think it was a month or a two after the iWack introduction...
--Kevin
=-=-=-=-=-=
"...You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals/
so let's do it like they do on the Discovery channel..."
Why it's a 'Cardboard Box'!
(Ay'up. That was a bad pun.)
Anyone ever see that skin for winamp called "woodamp?" It looks just like this guy's palm pilot.
I guess wood paneling isn't just for dentist waiting rooms and station wagons anymore.
OK, I can't resist..."I have wood on my palm!!"
Sorry
Wow - I know I feel my machines are outdated quickly. NOW I can just get a cardboard/disposable PC! Weeeh.
Isnt rosewood an endangered/rare species of exotic wood... (It might actually be a multitude of species)
// Fraxinus
Wow, what a cool case. Good craftmanship. Now the deeper question, how does this case relate to computing as a whole? Can this type of craftsmanship take foothold in the world of computing? Would be great. And with the ugly crap I see out there now, I can only hope so...
So.. 5 months after placing my order, I miraculously saw a charge against my Visa for $40. I call the #, and get what sounds like a noisy suburban New York kitchen. Is Your Mom running this place? Oh, and of course they shipped it UPS, which means it got lost. I'll never be cool now..
...are probably real pissed that a coupla witty stoners from NY stole their name.. "Don't Try to Cure Yourself"
Why stop here? You could plasticize the entire case and add a virtual pet. Dumb down the OS and make it dependable on the virtual pet for navigation. Then you could market it to kids, as some hybrid of the Nano/Tama-whatever. Look out IMac, here comes IFriend.
Seriously though, alot of people ask "why did he do this?". Why don't people know the answer? It is simple...because he could, because he wanted to, because it is different! Followers ask "why?", Leaders/Dreamers/Thinkers ask "why not?"
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
I used to make tons of things out of duct tape with a friend of mine. I think I feel another project coming on. :)
Disk boxes, toy boats...now a computer case...
Hey it'd be flame retardant!
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
Good woodworking is cool, craftmanship's a beautiful meditation, but please don't attach any status to rare wood -- those tropical hardwoods serve us best planted and growing, not dressing up our lifestyle. If he had used oak, he'd deserve the kudos.
I would like to see computers made with beautiful cases, mice, keyboards and monitors. Let's have retro 50's looking stuff, like many of the new appliances you see at Williams Sonoma. Let's have wood, or for the more budget minded they make a plastic that looks pretty close to a burled wood (it's already used in Nokia phone covers and Nissan Altima dashboards). How about brushed stainless steel! The trick would be to design the functional components so that they could be replaced or upgraded.
I would especially love a sturdy keyboard made with stainless steel or chrome with wood accents and leather wristrests. The keyboard should have the touch and feel of an IBM Thinkpad, and be replaceable. Are you listening, Lou?
for it. So I made one, using plexiglass and leather. Basically I
wanted a hard case with some padding inside, so I bevelled edges
onto the plexiglass, epoxied it into a box with no top, and used
felt to pad the insides. Then I covered the whole thing in black
leather, and attached a triangular belt loop so I could hang the
case at odd angles -- the Palm VII is a bit tall to fit with any
comfort on my hip if it's lying straight up and down.
Cleverly, I haven't scanned in any pictures of it yet, but I can
do that and update this comment...
TMH I have a Palm VII, which has a notorious lack of cases available
for it. So I made one, using plexiglass and leather. Basically I
wanted a hard case with some padding inside, so I bevelled edges
onto the plexiglass, epoxied it into a box with no top, and used
felt to pad the insides. Then I covered the whole thing in black
leather, and attached a triangular belt loop so I could hang the
case at odd angles -- the Palm VII is a bit tall to fit with any
comfort on my hip if it's lying straight up and down.
Cleverly, I haven't scanned in any pictures of it yet, but I can
do that and update this comment...
TMH