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PC in a.... Sphere?
clemens writes "A Japanese manufacturer has come up with this spherical PC." I love the concept of your PC accidentally rolling off your desk. Doesn't that lime green one remind anyone else of Gundam?
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and http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=6830
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This sig is inoffensive.
Thank Mr. Babel Fish.
There's a very short description of this at theinquirer.net found through mini-itx.com where this is old news.
Just because you dont appreciate a tiolet that washes and blow dries your ass, doesnt make us Japanese obsessed.
Allright, I was impressed by the whole sphere thing. I've been thinking about buying myself aocuple of those mini-itx mobos to play with, see where I can stick 'em. But then I started clicking around on links, and I found this. It leaves that ball mod in the dust. A full PC inside a shiny chrome GE toaster from the 60's. It's even got a cold cathode light, and an LCD screen! I particularly love how the CD tray pops up out of the toaster's slot. :D
"Two things are infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the first one." - Albert Einstein
Quick translation of the link...
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It looks just like a soccerball? Display of spherical PC sample has begun.
Sculpting technology used to form aluminium into sphere; utilizes Mini-ITX motherboard
It seems that a shocking new type of PC is about to be released, the first for a while. This time, it's a spherical PC, named the "Sphere PC (ZxL Artemis series)".
Leading up to its release, it is on display at PC-Shop Wakamatsu (Translator's note: A shop in Akihabara that often deals in slightly unusual items) from the 20th to the 22nd.
- Formed using sculpting technology
The "Sphere PC" is a product developed jointly by Rupo, a company selling PC cases and parts, and Jion, a company specializing in planning, designing and creating peripherals. The shop is displaying two types, a green model and a silver model. The silver model, in particular, bears a striking resemblance to the mysterious sphere in the movie "Sphere". If you didn't know what it is, you'd almost certainly never guess that it's a PC.
By the way, Jion is a company formed by several members of Technobird's development staff, responsible for the TB-2000 early aluminium case. They have been in charge of development and design of Lupo's other custom cases.
The sphere is made entirely of aluminium. As it is an unusual shape, it was handmade by craftsmen using "spatula squeezing" (Translator's note: Really!), a traditional Japanese method of crafting metal. The unusual shape stands out, but on top of that, the textured surface resulting from it being handmade is also unique.
- It splits into an upper and lower half
Its main specifications are: an EPIA Mini-ITX mother board made by VIA, a 40GB hard drive, and an external 200W power supply. However, these made be subject to change. It also includes a slim optical drive. Pressing a button on the side of the case causes the upper half to rise, allowing access to the drive tray.
The case contains the motherboard and hard drive in the lower half, with the optical drive located in the middle. The upper half is empty.
The price is yet to be decided, but the shop says that, as a barebone kit, it is likely to be priced at around 50,000 yen (Translator: ~$US400). It is scheduled to be shipped in January 2003.
- Gullwing PC also in development
Rupo is planning on releaseing a range of other unique products after this. An announced item is a gullwing PC containing a 400W power supply, also planned to be released in january 2003.
... Someonen needs to create computers shaped like double, inverted half spheres so you wouldnt be wasting space :
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and then we could imagine a beowulf cluster of these with out so much waste:
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Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni