Slashdot Mirror
The Ultimate Computer Chair?
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."
Ads for these chairs were in Wired Magazine already some months ago. Nifty stuff, though
It appears to be a Medieval torture device!
The ultimate computer chair is self-cleaning...pr0n!
...to be running its own built-in server... which is now slashdotted.
is a fridge for cold beer and toilet paper dispenser...
IANAL, but imagine a beowulf cluster of in Soviet Russia all your belong are base to us welcoming the new SCO overlords.
Can someone explain to me WHY I'd need a sport bucket seat to use the computer? I mean does this thing come with neon and Type R stickers? Yeah, I've got a nice force feedback wheel for playing Colin McRae 3 but I don't think it's *that* good.
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.
"Where quality is like a dead stinking rat - you just can't miss it."
I took one look at those chairs and the first thing I thought was "These look like the design of a dentist on a bad acid trip."
Comfortable? Maybe, I've never tried one, so I can't say.
Eye-searingly awful looking? You better believe it.
"I won't mod you down - I feel the need to call you a twit explicitly, rather than by implication."
a computer chair with frikkin LASER
Since the site is already /.'d, i'll just dream a little:
Laz-e-boy recliner installed with:
1. monitor swing-arm
2. keyboard split across arm rests
3. speaker surrounding head, woofer under seat
4. vertical-load cd tray in left armrest
5. mouse pad on right armrest
6. Linux inside ...sweeeet....
Don't use the Troll mod just because you disagree with me.
It looks just like one of those home gyms. And then when the marketing speak said:
> 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.
I use to have a funny sig, but slash cut it off, and I forgot what the punchline was.
...I take prompts from the fellows at Arstechnica.
The post-sweet chairs they picked out a few months ago are still very cool...
Of all dot-bomb employees polled, 90% preferred the Herman-Miller Aeron. According to rumor, these chairs are easily obtained. :-)
Do you like German cars?
OK, seriously, how many of the Slashdot crowd would actually buy this? I mean we're the kind of people they must be aiming for, but I can't see it sitting in the corner of my room. It'd give me nightmares. It looks like a cross between a psychotic gaenacologists favourite torture implement and one of the Machines from the Matrix. Either way, not something I'd want in my house.
If you want a conversational piece, buy a bonsai kitten or something . . .
"If being a geek means being passionate about something, then I pity those who aren't geeks." - Pike65
Devices like this ensure that geeks do not get laid by the cute coworker down the hall.
just needs a caff IV and a cath, and half the folks here would never leave :)
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
Not mentioning the fact that this idea is old, I see a few problems. Some of us don't exclusively work with computers. Sure, a good half/two thirds of my desk is dedicated to computing space, but I also do stuff with paper and I need space to do that. Or, more importantly, store CD cases, Star Wars action figures, and pile empty pizza boxes. A work/computing environment without a foot of assorted junk piled on top isn't a true environment.
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.
That thing looks like if you lean too far to the left or right, you're rollin' (At least for those fat bastards that really need a reclining chair to complement their sedentary work-style.
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.
In the press release section of the site, there was an article from a mainstream magazine that quoted prices from $7,000 and up. I believe these prices included the computer. I didn't see a mention of the OS...I want mine with Linux.
Those who trade freedom for security will lose both, and deserve neither" -- Ben Franklin
..holder for the box of tissues???
Space has an article with pictures on a server that isn't slash dotted... yet.
Is to be combined with barstool racing technology!
... and you're all set. Is this straight out of Dilbert or what? How more anti-social can you get? Yout Personal Space is now guarded by 120VAC and large poles of steel. Great. This is a one-stop divorce mill.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
... oh, sorry, right. don't need to imagine - they already have this - the towers full of red caged humans lulled into behavior by their own personal fantasy - in the Matrix.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
"you must be THIS TALL to ride"
[/joke]
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
A real ultimate computer chair has a toilet... It also wipes.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
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...
I was taking one day at a time, but then several days got together and ambushed me. (from a Rhymes with Orange comic)
The last time I tried to sit in one of those someone tried to stick things in the back of my skull...
Whaddya mean it'll feel "WEIRD"?
There is no sig...
Clearly these people have not talked to the developer community in designing these chairs. I see no Dr. Pepper / Red Bull holders nor any place to set your half-eaten bag of Cheetos.
When will someone get it?
jack's bicycle is music to my ears
Oh, Yeah! My wife is going to let me bring one of those into the house!
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.
No sig
was built from a hospital gurney. There was a cutout for your head, much like a massage table, and the monitor screen waas facing up. The keyboard was a split-design, which was the one difficult part to get used to, and your arms would just hang straight down. The mouse was a trackball mounted horizontally.
Drool gutter optional.
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
*Mobility* is the name of the game from here on. Design focus should be more on technology usability issues, rather than how to make human beings adapt to the 1980-90's version of fixed workststions. Thank goodness, the latter are goin away.
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.
My favourate computer chair is the lay-z-boy. You can kick out the foot rest and rest your laptop on it. You can sit the laptop on your lap (not the best idea if your ripping your mp3 collection and you wish to have kids (assuming that your male)) and rock backwards and fowards (also not the best idea for the laptop hd). Or you can lean back go read /. , watch your favourate discovery channel documenatry about hackers (and there green hair) and become highely amused at all the websites that for some reason disappear when on the /. home page :p .
"You win again Gravity!" -Futurama (Zapp)
Slashdotted
The thing looks like it's built around a $100 racing seat from Summit. Those are definitely not very comfortable, and I can't imagine they're ergonimically correct for typing.
47% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
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.
Purchase Order Request #15398
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...
Just add {In Space!} to anything.
Seems like it would be a few grand cheaper to just mod a Real Doll. The ultimate intersection of computing and....*ahem* comfort.
If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten. -George Carlin
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.
I've got arthritis in my spine from being behind a computer for too long. This type of design with the monitor suspended over my head is what the same design I've come up with but haven't been able to build.
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.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
If this ever catches on, we can say good bye to team work
No idea on pricing
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 for finding the price point that maximizes profit.
And why didn't the slashdot editor request the price? Write a post that will be seen by thousands about a product, realize the price is unknown, and not take the time to write an email before approving the story. Aargh!
Did everybody send Paul an email? A million emails from slashdot users saying "So how much is it?" should make him happy. Maybe you should send the request a few times in case the first one gets lost in the crowd.
---
I am currently researching T1 and Fractional T1 prices. Everybody except MegaPath requires a form be filled out. I do not want to give my email address to 20+ providers. I definitely do not want to give my name and physical address. Ask for my ZIP+4 if location is very important to the price, then give me the price on the web page before I lose interest and check the next website. Add a short-term Cookie so when I return to buy, you already know my city and state. (Why do they ask for City, State, and Zip, and then complain when my City does not match the spelling in their database? I really like the sites that make you guess that their City field is truncated to 12 characters.)
These are companies that are building the internet. I assume they want to make money. I assume that more customers means more money. Don't they know that most customers will expect to make their decision quickly without waiting for an email response? Another company may provide better service and better pricing, but we will probably go with the company that has a clue.
I spend my life entertaining my brain.
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 CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE ," and, if you've ever been there, much more difficult, IMHO, the exceptional indirect lighting system for the MERC. They're known for quality of materials and effort.
Remember guys, this is Amerika. Just because you have the most votes, doesn't mean you get to win.--Fox Mulder
These things are built around racing seats... If you've ever sat in a racing seat for more than about 15 minutes, you'll know that they aren't exactly designed for comfort.
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
>instead of ..in bed! it's with a laser!...
... chyea, right. For $7,000 I better be sitting on Claudia Schiffer's lap for 8 hours a day.
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
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
I'm a geek. I program network apps. I'm an "apprentice" Unix admin. I sit in front of the computer 16+ hours a day. But then again, sometimes I just stay there for a few days working ahead of the curve.
But before I got here I use to pour concrete and shuffle packages at UPS. I'm tired of listening to a bunch of piss ant nerds whine about how sore thier ass is from sitting on it all day. Ergonomics my ass! Lay bricks for a few days then come back to the office and tell me how much those keyboards make your fingers hurt.
Yeah, I know, this post is slightly off topic, but this article seemed like a good place to blow off some steam.
Next time I hear one of the network guys complain about how hard changing a network cable is on his back, I'm gonna stuff his fat ass into one of those UPS receptacles.
Okay, back your regularly scheduled Slashdoting.
McDoobie
1) I'd buy a reclining chair from the Relax The Back store. $1500 gets you a mid-grade model, so let's say $1500 as conservative.
:) Let's budget $1500 for this, too, for round numbers, but it shouldn't cost that much. (Note that it need not look like a museum piece; more like curved truss.)
2) I'd hire a sculpture student, a metal shop or a custom furniture designer to create a large metal arch with support points built in in order to support one or more largish LCD panels. The arch should be tall enough that one could sit on the chair in its fully reclined position, facing up at the monitors. It would have to be dis-assemble-able for transport
3) So, vs. a budget for the featured compu-chari thing of $7800, this approach leaves us with about $5000. Two VIA EPIA systems with 512MB RAM, DVD+CDRW drives and 120GB hard drives in small cases could be assembled for $500 apiece, so there's another thousand. Down to $4000 for displays and input. One of these systems should have a video capture card, and one could be equipped with a dual-out PCI video card.
4) Buy two decent but budget-friendly 19" LCDs (Samsung look decent, so do some Mitsubishis). $1500 is generous for a pair. Mount to the metal arc.
5) Put $2500 in the bank. Get into the spaceship thus created, work, play etc.
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
... I can build a Thrustmaster HOTAS/Cougar into it. And then I need the thing to pitch, yaw, and roll based on the movements of my stick, throttle and pedals. Of course none of this has to do with work, but it would make for one hell of a PC Gaming/Piloting experience. :)
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