Slashdot Mirror
17" Monitor Case Modding -- The "iMike"
greyrax writes "So what does a Canadian cabinet maker who's a closet techie do during those long winter months? You modify a 17" monitor case to house your computer (think iMac).
The blow-by-blow descriptions and pictures outline this three-month project. The only question that I'm left with is 'What is that antenna for?'"
Completed pictures here.
Also, does anyone else think the green paint looks hideous? IMHO, he would've been much better keeping the factory grey.
Linking to personal web pages full of pictures is just cruel.
The goatse guy for president. Win one for the gaper!
Looks like an 802.11b/g/a wireless unit is in the box too.
Can You Say Linux? I Knew That You Could.
I saw something like this a while ago on Apple Fritter where a guy built his classic iMac into a 21" monitor. He didn't go the easy way and use an LCD screen, though.
"Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Take over the world."
...of Macintosh envy.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
So, he built a regular computer into a 17" CRT monitor. Now, let's build a 17" CRT monitor into a regular computer!
Or better yet, let's build the computer into my scanner. Or my speakers! Ooo oo my printer!!
Erm, I go get some sleep.
- shazow
Just what I wanted! The size of a CRT and the quality of a LCD!
What is that antenna for?
That's the gear shift, you insensitive clod!
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
...but does it come in blueberry?
Now we know what Jean Chretien's /. ID is... greyrax, where's my tax refund?
Ryan T. Sammartino
"Ancora imparo"
But summer is when the sun is out! Think of the poor pasty white complexion...
Actually in North Van, where this guy lives, not single snowflake fell this winter ... well maybe one or too. But it can hardly be considered a long winter.
The conversion is very cool and its one of the most involved mod projects I've seen. Definitely going on the "to-do" list.
I'm sorry. I know he worked really hard on it but jonathan ive he ain't.
I hope shaw just takes the site when he overuns his limit . . .
only its still freezing. frost warning just the other day, and i dont even need a special cup to keep my beer cold outside.
http://www.feep.org/mirrors/members.shaw.ca/northv anmike/page1.html
...from John Deere
NICE! I wish i had the money and/or time to make something like that.. this is the one of the few "cut apart a case and put it back together" case mods that i've seen that doesn't like like that in the end..
Reece,
PS. if anyone knows where i can get one of those neato internal memory card readers that he has tell me...
...nice.
That has got to be the best monitor/case mod I have ever seen. Not my choice for colors, but I am really impressed with the quality that went into this. I'd like to see a company start making cases like this, with the LCD already mounted in the front. I do think there would be a market for it.
-- Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Now of course, he's got an all-in-one monitor that 'll take three times as long to upgrade...and looks just plain ugly.
It may not look like an iMac, but it's just as ugly.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
in a retro setting, with these.
Operator, give me the number for 911!
Exposed hinges, poorly fitted surfaces... I do not think I want to buy his cabinets or his computer cases!
It looks good for lan parties. He put a Radeon in there and a Sound blaster. It doesn't look the prettiest, but it probably works well, just like a Honda Element, which is ugly, but cool because it is just utikitarian.
that's all that I've got to say, just nice
Could he have possibly come up with anything uglier? Looks like some trailer trash redneck's idea of a good looking computer.
kinda creepy.
With all those ports above his screen, he's going to have a hell of a time looking through all the cords plugged into them.
Does anyone else think that it looks like the monitor has cancer? Yech, what a horrible design, but definitely different!
This is the coolest, most complete mod i've ever seen. I'm very impressed. The skill required to put this together was really cool. I wish i had half this guys skills.
Umm, slashbot buzzword of the year... WiFi
Whats with case modders and fans? Seriously, some ventilation is important, but 4 80mm fans venting straight up?
Just a lot of noise for nothing, unless he plans on turning it upside down and using it as a personal hovercraft.
The paint job is pretty disgusting too. Looks like something that fell out of Santas Workshop (by workshop I mean lower colon).
I guess all in all it's a neat mod job. I was thinking of doing something similar with some old 21" vivitrons I "salvaged" from work. Though in my case I could fit a flexATX form factor board (like one of Shuttle's spacewalkers) in there, with a HDTV tuner card with component inputs, and have a little 21" HDTV media doodad.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
but I think he could have done without (and saved space) the floppy drive, the zip drive, and the CF reader(?). Add some lighting under the plexi and it'd be awesome :). Like everyone said the color could've been nicer but this is still a nice looking mod. Had I the courage, the cash, and the skills I'd try to make one myself.
This is pretty nice, but still not as good looking as this one.
if the site does get /.ed go here
read my blog
musings on politics and technol
Submitter asks, "So what does you do if you're a Canadian cabinet maker who's a closet techie do during those long winter months?"
Case modder writes, "Of course I waited for Mrs. Mike to go shopping first..."
I suppose the obvious answer to the submitter's question is, "do your wife". Glad to see the guy came out of the closet to work on his computer...
Why GREEN ???
Don't Panic
Once again I submit that case mods should have their own category.
...does enybody else beside me think, his index page is really cute? GO! GO! Animated GIFs! ...mmmh, I better post this a.c.
iMike? Looks like more like the isGay
Well, never done this before, let's see if I can help take part of the load off of his personal account with his isp. Mirror There needs to be automatic Slashdot mirroring for sites where it's unclear if the owner can handle the bandwidth, or if the owner has to pay for bandwidth. Obviously Slashdot.org can handle it, so they should do it.
I don't think that too many people have the skills to operate the tools or the patience to engineer the details for carrying out a project like this.
Kudos to a fellow Vancouverite. That's an excellent modification.
Gotta go, Good Buddy!
Keep the pedal to the metal - and watch out for Ol'Smokey! ü
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
the design is impressive but i think he should have used an old apple studio display crt. It would have been like a good version of the imac.
read my blog
musings on politics and technol
The antenna must be an 802.11 antenna or something, this person obviously likes doodads and gadgets all over his machine. I mean, damn, look at all the drives, bays, and other assorted crap on the front. Tacky. Look at all those fans! Egads! Blech.
I'm by no means a Mac fan, but one thing they are is quiet. Either no fans or very quiet fans. This machine is old-sk00l, large and loud. Again, blech.
The paint looks like an old boat or something. Hehe. The problem is that it's real hard to paint computer equipment and make it look good. It almost always looks amateurish. I think that's why a lot of people use aluminum, new or original plastic, and/or plexiglass instead of paint. Airbrushing might look OK if you're good.
With that said, this person seems like a good fabricator. I really like the workmanship. Quality work, but the overall design is too clunky and bloated for me.
But they certainly didn't ask for my opinion so I'll STFU now.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
I just don't know what to say. I am rendered speechless. That is the ugliest monstrosity I've seen in a long time. Comparing it to an iMac is a incredible insult to Apple Design.
Drop the iMike moniker, he should name the thing Kollos.
if its "blow-by-blow" did he remember to swallow?
I understand that he's got skills, but the difference between this and an Apple product is that Apple products reek of sex appeal. You know, they have gorgeous curves, feminine touches, and the colors work together really well. When a woman walks into your home office and sees a bunch of Apple gear, she says "Oooo, pretty. You've got great taste." When she sees this, she's speechless, and not in a good way.
This thing is a farm implement. It's a high-quality farm implement, and I admire his work ethic, but it's still a farm implement.
What's your damage, Heather?
if you actually read the page, he says that he did it in the winter, so i guess /. is slow
that has to be the best pun in this entire discussion
What kind of a sick perv would name his cat Giz.
-Bill
-Bill
Something about the tactile feel I guess... or knob envy... ;)
You should NEVER take apart a monitor if you don't know what the hell you are doing. The electrical components in a monitor can hold a deadly charge for a long time.
. . . I must say, this one's pretty cool. You've got to appreciate the craftsmanship if nothing else.
It's only funny until someone gets hurt. Then, it's hilarious.
Don't get the iMike mixed up with the iMic! See also the ThinkGeek site for more information.
Man, this must be the noisiest computer ever. What the hell does it have 8 fans for?
Oh well, what the hell...
Shiiiiit.
Lets see him do that with a regular CRT. This mod ranks up there with the guy that encased his mboard in foam insulation.
Seriously though, he may as well put it in a lunch box or something original. Maybe I'd be more impressed if he put a CRT in his old PC-AT case.
Go ahead. Mod me down. You know you want to.
wtf. Anyway, I agree -- the grey was much nicer.
i'm impressed.. it's one of the coolest mods i've ever :) besides, if you think retro, :)
seen.. some might think it looks ugly, but.. this thing's
not meant to be a sissie; it's a big, green motherfucker,
and it's a MAN'S computer
it looks pretty sweet as well.. although again, not for
sissies
Apple should take note of this. The use of lcd screens in their imac would resolve the following issues...
1. Extra heat your monitor. Let's face it CRTs and computers don't mix.
2. Degausing doesn't just demagnatize the screen but anything and everything. let's face it, CRTs and magnetic media don't mix
----
Now the obvious question... is there a market for this sorta design? Personaly i'd say yes. I wouldn't nessicarly go with a traditional monitor layout, but there is a sorta apeal with lugables. Anyold joe can hookup a keyboard and mouse and plug it in the wall.
Something like this could in theory house batteries, a fuck of alot more then your average laptop. Also I like the idea of a cable run for my keyboard and mouse from my monitor. If i'm not mistaken Xerox did this in their workstations way back when.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Not necessarily the color of the case, or the weird drives and knobs built around the lcd, but... Windows XP!!! THe HoRror!!! I think I'm going blind!
I've had to explain to people more times than I would like to have had to that opening up a monitor without understanding which parts can hurt you has the potential to hurt you. I'd like to say this is common sense, but it really isn't.
So PLEASE warn visitors on any monitor modding site you build. Its an extra two seconds and might save someone a trip to the emergency room.
And manafacturers, how about a sticker warning "DEATH MAY BE IMMENENT IF OPENED," instead of "No user servicable parts?" :)
Bored with karma, be a fan/freak
what does you do if you're a Canadian cabinet maker who's a closet techie do during those long winter months
Take grammar classes?
First, it looks horrible.
:)
Couldn't disagree more. He managed to get all those various components in there and looking like a truly professional job. Maybe you just don't like green or something. Heck, after seeing this post I've been starting into an evil glare at the 19" monitor across the way from me.
Second, he's running Windows XP.
Ohh. Ummm.... okay, got me there. So the guy has no taste or class. Great googly moogly, are there still people who run that junk?
The line must be drawn here. This far. No further.
lay off Glen Beck you troll
Support Israeli punk bands. Man Alive.
The whole thing is really cool, but what about a keybaord? He shows two mice but no keyboard, I guess you can just paste stuff from the character map.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it dissolve.
(My personal fave was the foam blob from a few months back).
This thing is a farm implement. It's a high-quality farm implement, and I admire his work ethic, but it's still a farm implement.
;-)
I think that this compares to (in appearance anyways) to those silly rice boys who take a honda civic and lower it and put on a big wing and muffler and wacky paint job.
The term to describe this look is the "angry kitchen appliance" look.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
I think I have to vomit so ugly is that thing,
or is it that I just came home from a party?
propably both
in a related matter, my party notes:
been at private party - oh its been long since
talked to 2 girls named like my two sisters - can it get any stranger
missed cute girl that was the first person to talk to me when i came to the party - i didnt respond to her and later she was gone,
however i know she likes me and my friend knows who she is, i'll figure it out
bored by people, on other hand happy to just have young people around
exitement gone without girl id like to fuck, girlfriend of friend is following me around, got to watch out not to piss him off by attracting his girlfriend
jogged home, slightly acting it
so long world.
Its pretty cool...but all that effort for an AOpen motherboard and windows XP?
Ouch.
Still, I am very impressed.
... but a real pity he's running winblows :p
I wouldn't mind a case like that though.
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
The entire PC (not an iMac) is enclosed in a monitor case. The fact that he did this by himself and made it quite professionally I might add is equally impressive.
The number of fans is something else I like too. Typically monitor cases are well vented but the almost overkill on fans makes sense and actually adds something (for me at least).
Needless to say, Oaf likely.
The fact is you HAVEN'T which is exactly why you're mod log isn't getting /.ed and his is. It might be ugly but atleast he did it, rather than sitting around talking about it like the rest of us.
Can we say eMac, fucktard?
Now the 17" powerbook small and compact by comparison.
...that his site hasn't gone down yet. I'm with the same ISP (Shaw), and this guy is just using his free webspace included with every domestic account.
If it's still up tommorrow, I'm redirecting traffic from my site to my Shaw member site - it's only the right thing to do.
Now that we have the internet, we just find out what the hell we're doing. Even for those of us almost too eager to put on our goggles, finding a website doesn't strain patience. For example:
http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_captest.html
I was expecting the monitor to house the CPU etc, and the case to have an LCD panel pasted on it. Guess he couldnt get an LCD monitor .. but that would be cool. Art. Too.
ok, so computers have been made smaller, and they have been made faster. But what mde this so cool was how it all came together in the end. The final product was quite well refined. I am impressed :D I like the choice of colours too.
Well what did I do with a 17" monitor case? Why, hog it out and install a catcher for airsoft bb's. Then I get to shoot 'osama or anyone else I don't like all day!, eyes need a break? blam! pissed off? balm! booring day? BLAM!.
I think it's sexy and new! Personally, i like the antenna, heck, i like it all! Add a few case lights and it would be the hit of any lan party. oh, and immagin : Dual-Monitors! >:)
You are confusing me with someone who cares.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!!
;-)
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
if you actually read the page, he says that he did it in the winter, so i guess /. is slow
You dumbass. This guy is from Canada! It's always winter there!.... I think?
...a Beowulf cluster of these babies!
Shit, somebody had to say it...
It's kinda strange looking in the end but I was rewarded with a rather funny picture on page 6 where you see the finished monitor, but in the background you see one of his speakers sitting on top of a monitor swing arm. ie. something else to use your monitor stand for?
Let's not forget that the CRT tube itself is a big high-potential capacitor.
It sure looks like the quality is there, but the thing looks, well, like Frankenmonitor. I would bet the odds are 10 to 1 he doesn't live with a female to complain about ugly green things laying around the house.
... the old "Dinosaurs" muppet show, in the school science lab:
"Oh well, I guess we're going to need another little Timmy!"
Couldn't you acheive the same effect, by sticking an LCD monitor on the side of a 17" case?
0110100100100000011000010110110100100000011000100
You know, I gotta say - when it comes to things like modding cases, I am as hardcore staunch luddite as they come. In this case (no pun intended, of course), my usual "punk kids, get off my lawn" attitude towards mod-builders and their ilk has been replaced with more of a "That is so cool - oh, how I wish I wasn't horribly inept with tools" attitude.
If the builder succeeded in eliciting that kind of a response from me, I can only imagine what the people who are actually into this whole gig are saying. The collective drool is probably enough to unleash a biblical flood on a small country.
"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it." - G.B. Shaw
What is the deal with fanbuses? All of this automatic this and that. I see two options that are much, much cooler. First is to have a parallel port interface with some C program running in the background to adjust fan speed. Nice geek appeal. Much simpler, and at least as effective as twisting the knob when you 'think it's getting warming' is a damned thermistor. Attach the temp sensitive parts to things you want to keep cool. Run in series with the fan. Is it so freaking hard?
Otherwise, a nifty mod. I would have painted the covers to the removable media drives. But nice.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
if you look at traysout2.jpg on page 6 you can clearly see the terminal windows open.
_______________________________
the Spiders are coming
With appologies to Joe Diffie...J /johndeeregreen.html
http://members.ispwest.com/queenaggravain/lyrics/
So what does a Canadian cabinet maker who's a closet techie do during those long winter months?
:-)
For most geeks it probably does not make much difference
Table-ized A.I.
A great place for that audio gear is, you know, right in the top middle of the display. That way, if I plug something into it, like headphones, the cable hangs right down the middle of the.. oh wait.. maybe this is not a good idea.
So THAT's why apple puts the audio connectors on the side/bottom of the machines! Ingenious!
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
http://www.narrowgauge.org/4x4/cw_pages/lyrics/rea l/convoy.html
Great song, just bought it via iTunes. "C W McCall" had some great music, I loved the one about the Willys Jeep. Bill Fries did the singing and Chip Davis composed the music (Davis is also the fellow behind Manheim Steamroller).
"When a woman, walks into your home office"
See?...
It's actually pretty cool, probably almost as fast as a keyboard with practice too.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
I just think many people would not like to try it out and get the same result, but the issue holding them back would be of disassembling a new 500 dollar LCD.
Such a beautiful case mod! As I was scrolling through the proccess, this person seemed like a cool guy. However, he lost all credibility with many nerds(including myself) when he booted the computer.
Not only is he using Windows, he using Windows XP!! A truly shameful waste. Someone rescue that poor case.
Did you count the # of fans? Two on each side, FOUR on top. EIGHT FANS total!
So much for the "silent" part. It's a shame he couldn't have just gone for one large 120MM fan- they can move a lot of air, and in terms of dB per CFM, they do so more quietly than 80+90MM fans.
Please help metamoderate.
Am I the only person who when first looking at that page, their first thought was, "geez, this guy modded his CATS to be cases?"?
jX [ Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Einstein ]
Because he LIKED that color. Sheesh. Not like it's your mod to bitch about. I actually think it's kind of cool. Sure, I don't care much for the green myself, but oh well. Personal preference.
The thing is so ugly it makes your eyes burn.
Its not like he broke any technical ground, so the goal of something like this should be to make it aesthetically pleasing.
This is just masturbation.
WoW! Those colors, hell the box itself, makes me think of Veritechs and the other big robots in Robotech.
The guy did a lot of work and he ended up with something that isn't fit to be displayed except in a hidden closet somewhere.
Too many different openings and buttons on the front and its *just* *damned* *ugly*.
I use shaw, less than 100km from this guy, and as an fyi, the site is hosted from shaw, and is faster than all the mirrors that everyone posted, but a few posts up there was a good idea, slashdot should asses the bandwidth of the site and create their own mirror of it.
You're worse than an overprotective mother.
"So PLEASE warn visitors on any monitor modding site you build. Its an extra two seconds and might save someone a trip to the emergency room."
Puhleeze.
Poking around is only a little dangerous, and why this guy has to put up a warning that you can get hurt with electricity is a question for people who want ths world fuzzy, warm and safe.
Well, its not. You can get killed plugging in an electric can-opener.
And I like it that life is full of risks.
Too bad for you that it is. Must drive you crazy.
& confuse the troops as it flies away
A blog I run for the wealth
That PC is fucking hideous. It looks like one of those shitty overdesigned chinese boomboxes with the lights that mean nothing and the knobs that do nothing.
OMG I laughed so hard I squirted breast milk out my nose. Yes, that's it exactly.
Why in the world did he install no less than 8 fans? I didn't see a whole lot in there that really needed heavy duty cooling. I realize he has them all speed-controled so most likely they aren't all on, but still. Why install 8 small 80mm fans, when two or three larger sized fans would move as much or more air with a lot less volume? Those small case fans are hardly efficient in terms of moving air, as far as fans in general go.
That aside, it's certainly a good display of great craftsmanship.
> It's a high-quality farm implement, and I admire his work ethic, but it's still a farm implement.
I wouldn't even go that far. At first I was impressed that he got everything stuffed in there and working, but then again he's using NINE (or more) fans. That's just cheating; in a way.
This is a nick hack, but that's it, a hack. Its a dirty "shove it all in a box" job. I would think a project like the PC in a picture frame would be more deserving of world-wide geek attention.
I used to be a TV Broadcast Engineer -- fancy words for "I fix everything in this station." I probably took a good shock from something, something like a cap, once a week. After a few years of that, I've got this to say: it's painful, but if it's not plugged in, you guys are largely making this out to be more dangerous than it really is. (Pacemaker-laiden folks aside. :-)
:-) They came equipped with a thing we called a "Jesus stick", a plexiglass rod with a copper thingy on the end and a big braided cable that ran to ground. You'd open up the rack, then go around and touch everything with this gizmo. When you hit something live, there was a big noise, a big spark, and you said ...
What put it in perspective for me was that I also worked on giant godzilla-sized tube-based 25kW RCA transmitters out of the 70's, and oh by the way those things DID carry enough charge to shock you into the next world.
Those were fun times!
Brian
Is that what happens when an iMac gets assimilated by the Borg? :::shudder:::
Indirectly, I've gotten my SUN GDM 20D10 monitor working (which was given to me for free from a former employer). I figured if I can't get the picture to stop rolling and only working on 1/2 the screen, I'll gut it and do something like this. I had previously disassembled it so I put it back together, connected it to my Sparc Classic, same rolling screen. So I spent about 20 minutes reading old usenet threads on this model and I walked around to the front and just as I did that, the screen started expanding to the edges, the keystone went away and the rolling stopped. Now it works perfectly. (I could have swore I left it on for a period of time before and it didn't help). So thanks to the submitter and author for getting me motivated and my free 20" CRT working.
He/She is talking directly about the bloody article!
I have to agree with the parent; it is one butt ugly case. Technically though, I was totally impressed with the amount of skill and effort that went into it.
If it wasn't green, it would look a hell of a lot better!
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
After seeing the side view, another image sprang to mind... there is another object that would seem to be capable of extended hovering.
Coincidence, or inspiration?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It is pretty cool. Has anyone tried it yet? If this thing can go faster than 40 words per minute, I'll download it.
Did anyone else read that as "A Canadian Cabinet Minuxter?" At least he's not the iraqi one...
Patent: from Latin patere, to be open
That thing must sound like a vacuum cleaner.
Maybe he can install some air filters and then it can be a computer/monitor/air cleaner combo unit.
Or run all the fans as exhaust and fly a hot air baloon over it.
It simply amazes me what we do with our "spare time".
You'd think all those fans would make for a bunch of noise. Can't help wondering why he placed the audio/video interface ports *above* the display ... when you plug anything in there you have to fold the wires back down and around or they'll be dangling down in front obscuring the screen. I'd have settled for one drive for such a device (you need a second drive, hook up something on firewire externally). Fan control shoulda been fully automatic.
I thought they already had the green apple flavor
If you dont mod this up then you are obviously a member of the Taliban.
Outstanding craftsmanship, horrible taste, eh?
But does it run Linux???
Canada! Do they have computers there?
If he just wanted to do us the favour of reducing download times, he could have used thumbnails.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
It's pretty good yes, even though the plethora of ports, drives, buttons, temperature displays, memory stick readers etc. isn't really to my taste. On the front of a computer I'd expect a power switch, cd/r drive, perhaps a USB port, but not much more. Also, the color green he picked would not be my first choice either. It's too dark: computer manufacturers make their equipment white or beige (unless you're Dell) for a reason: it'll blend better into the environment.
The one thing that really stands out are those awful dinky top-mounted hinges that he used for the top lid. This kind of hinge screams "half-baked hobby effort" and a cabinet maker worth his salt really should know better.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
What a waste of a TFT! He should of left his stuff in its original case on the floor and saved lots of room on his desk with the TFT. If he had spaced it out right he could of probably left space for the cathode ray tube.
"Pushing little children, with their fully automatics, they like to push the weak around"
No one seems to question the purpose of the neat handle on the iMac do they?
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
complaining that he's running XP, at least he's it to play what appears to be nethack or some other rogue variant.
Why not fork?
blah
My case is just the boring beige box. I liked his mod and apparently am one of the few people who have no trouble with green, in fact, I even like green. Green to me means living plants. Guess some of you are a bit to used to concrete to feel comfortable with green.
nice try, but where's the neon lighting?
...You could be a redneck.
(Apologies to Jeff Foxworthy) (??)
Lump lingered last in line for brains, and the ones she got were sorta rotten and insane.
I don't know what the going rate for Canadian cabinet makers is these days, but, suffice to say, an iMac is probably much less than three months of this guy's labor. Add to that the cost of the flat panel monitor, and a Windows Xp license (see screenshots ;-). Would have been better off with an iMac off of eBay + YellowDog.
s pa ir/32c9/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/posters/de
You won't mind me telling you to suck some ass.
Suck it, pal.
It took three months to assemble, and lets assume 10 hours a week. This guy is a carpenter with some IT skills, so we can assume a wage of around $15 / hour. Ten hours per week is forty hours per month. Three months of forty hours is 120 hours of work. 120 hours at $15 / hour is $1800.
Assume $500 for the flat panel display and we are up to $2300. At this point, we are better off buying a 15" combo drive powerbook.
Assume $300 for a fast Athlon and motherboard, bringing the totoal to $2600. We are not price equivelant to a superdrive 15" powerbook.
Drop in a 120 GB HD for $150 and a fast video card (Radeon or GeForce, you pick) for another $150. Adding $300 brings our total to $2900.
Drop in a Wi-Fi card and 512MB of memory, adding $100 bringing our total to $3000.
Now we are $300 shy of a 17" powerbook. We have taken three months of our time to build our machine, while Apple's shipping delays have decreased to the point where you can pick up your new PowerBook at an Apple Store right now. The PowerBook also includes a warranty, battery power, and will kind of fit on your lap.
For a more "apples" to "apples" comparison, consider the EMac which can be purchased for $799 to $1698, less than the cost of labor to assemble the iMike!
<soapbox>
The great thing about OpenSource efforts is that once you create a piece of OpenSource code, you can share it with everyone at almost no cost. The code then goes through a global QA process and that effort is again shared with everyone.
The iMike device demonstrates excellent effort, design and execution, but its existence does not benefit anyone else. If you want one, you have to either build it yourself or convince Mike to spend another three months building one for you. Mass producing this device requires a huge re-engineering effort. In that case, the new manufacturered device will have little in common with the iMike due to the differences between human and machine assembly.
</soapbox>
ha, I get it - that antenna-looking thing is what you wrap your headphone cord around so the damn thing doesn't dangle in front of the monitor (the headphone jack being OVER the screen and all that)
He never gets any sex, does he? :)
Very cool though...
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
and this is 1997 for you:
http://tam.axon.net/pamona1.htm
Why? Why?
Actually, I think 2000 is pretty darned good stuff, if not a little bit over-featured. As long as one is working for someone who pays the bills, there's a lot to be said for it. If it were my company, though, I think I'd be looking at Open Source for the long-term strategy. I think MS still gets way too much money for what it delivers. Where I work, it's predominantly Win2K, with a sprinkling of Linux. But the CEO seems more and more interested in Open Source with every passing financial quarter. I know we're not alone in that respect. Keep those *nix skills honed, my brother!
It's only funny until someone gets hurt. Then, it's hilarious.
here's a picture of a model of it
Just raise the taxes on crack.
see you on revscene ^_^
I wonder if SGI sells the cases seperately. I have a feeling they charge an arm and a leg like they normally do.
I have been pipe dreaming of getting a case to one of their very expensives servers. I could put the irix them on kde and kdm and impress my friends when I tell them its a guinine 128 cpu irix server.
http://saveie6.com/
Comment removed based on user account deletion
LAN parties?
You do know it's an LCD, right?
there is nothing wrong with running winxp
True... but this is Slashdot. Usually ripping on anything Microsoft related is an instant +5 Insightful
Just curious.
Don't worry, I meta-modded it unfair.
"Derp de derp."
Counting by the RIAA method? (must be that new math)
Personally, I think it would've looked cleaner had he placed the floppy drive and the CF reader along the side of the monitor case.