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"Y2k Bug", and Others Proves PCs Can Be Art
the_raptor pointed us to a pretty impressive case mod called the y2k bug. In addition, the site features
several other cases
that will job your jaw. Besides inspiration, the site features practical advice, like why not to window mod hard drives.
that will job your jaw.
At least one part of me will be employeed.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
I'm glad I don't have something this nice. I'd feel so bad every time I kicked it across the room.
At least it'd probably get better distance than normal, what with wings and all.
No trespassing. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
indexhere...
y2k casemod here...
"practical advice, like why not to window mod hard drives."
I can think of a good reason not to window mod your hard drive, lest one not know what RMA stands for... Besides, why risk lessening the life of a drive by breaking the clean room sealed environment? The link was /.ed before I could peep it but I'm a little disturbed that window modding a hard drive and practical advice are in the same sentence here... I'll stick to modding things without 105 million transistor microchips, things that don't have parts that rotate at over thrice my truck's redline, and things that don't convert 550 watts of power.
Apparently he picked the Dung beetle to use as his inspiration...
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
This is the same level of advice as "how to use a toothpick", "How to eat a burger", etc.
Don't open up a clean-room piece of precision hardware. It's stupid.
Sheesh.
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
The cool case gallery is also a good site for impressive cases. To see some sweet ones do a search and just set the rating high. My all time favorite has got to be the Hellraiser case that's modeled after the puzzle box from the Hellraiser movies
A nice case mod show-off site that I Googled into when looking for information on hobbyist usage of acrylic and other plastics for robot parts:
http://www.pimprig.com/
Some of these folks are pretty professional about it, they have some useful tips, and lots of photos.
The MAJORITY of data at data recovery firms is done with simple DOS based utilities like those from here:
www.grc.com
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
No, it whould have to be 42, since "What should my case look like?" is the ultimate question.
they can be a part of the fashion cycle.
In 10 years when there's no such thing as an ugly beige case, someone will start selling marked-up ugly beige cases calling them "retro".
-... ---
is another man's waste of time. Frankly, i find case modding to be a waste of time. Oooh, look, i can put neon lights and a clear window in my case, im so l33t. Please. case modders are the computer equivalent of rice boys.
That said, i think that what this guy does are so far from your average case mod, that the light from case mod will take one million years to reach them.
This guy is doing what apple does, desigining and fabircating a very very good, premium case that looks effing amazing. Is it "art"? eh, maybe. it certainley looks like sculpture. But i dont think this can be anyway contrued as just a case mod.
Look out honey cause I'm usin' technology
Ain't got time to make no apologies
I feel the same way. I hate the "cut a window in the side, stick in neons" case mods, especially since EVERYONE is doing it now. It was fine when it was the one kid at the lan party that had the window, now you go to a lan party and its like "Dude! Awesome computer! When are you putting in a window and neons?" "Im not." "Dude, you HAVE to! It would be SO AWESOME!" "uh..."
These mods are original. Not everyone might like some of them, but at least they are different. I especially like the 1940s radio HTPC case.
/usr/games/fortune
I'm pointing to the second page as it has the first pictures of the case on it. The quality of the work and the attention to detail is just fantastic. This is custom modding at its finest, not just slapping some lights in a case. http://www.bit-tech.net/article/114/2
development.lombardi.com
For idle times, the wings should be low; at full capacity, the wings should be highest. Maybe if you over clock it, the wings flap. :)
~afniv
"Man könnte froh sein, wenn die Luft so rein wäre wie das Bier"
Richard von Weizs
Forget about a bug in the system, this one's got a system in the bug!
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Check out BlingMethod.
Oooh, look, i can put neon lights and a clear window in my case, im so l33t. Please. case modders are the computer equivalent of rice boys.
Yes and No.
if you slap a cheap ass wing on your car, neon, rollerskate wheels and a 3 inch exaust tip on your car is called customized then yes, it's the same as a poser-riceboy.
Now if you are the kind that make your own custom case or mod he hell out of one by creating your own front plate, building a vacu-forming jig to make a part or bowed out window, and or building the whole damned case from scratch....
Those people I am impressed with. they are engineers.
any moron can go buy things, a real engineer makes things completely on their own, things you CANT buy.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
A case is more than just a box holding your computer components in. Apple has known this for years. The compact G4 Cube was designed in such a way as to allow natural air convection to eliminate the need for a fan. The G5 is designed literally inside and out to maximize cooling through individual parts of the interior. Some components must be close together, others far apart, and at all times cooling must be kept in mind if you want it to run more than three days.
Cool cases look like regular cases with windows and neon. Cooler ones look like insects with glowing eyes. Really cool cases combine form and function, in the same way the best architecture does. Why not integrate a water-cooled case with a small Zen water bubbler outside? Or a super-slim case that can be mounted on the wall with an LCD monitor attached? Or a true "media PC" that looks, acts and works like just another stereo component? Or a kids' PC with rounded and rubberized edges and a color-changing chameleon skin?
These are the sort of mods that really show a person's skill -- both technically and artistically imaginative. You don't have to be as radical as the above suggestions to be a great case modder, but you should know that it takes more than neon and windows to make a case mod into art.
Well, it really isn't art, in the "fine art" sense, as it's really design. While design is often taught in the art department, art to design is a lot like math to engineering, IMO.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
Yup. Several people HAVE, however, successfully windowed old junker drives. And they still work as well as they can be expected for old drives.
Maybe I'm under or oversexed, but those does anybody else notice that the two glowing harddrives look like breasts?
My money's on 'under'.
What's so bad about having a window modded hard drive fail?
Well, there is that whole loss of data thing.
Yes, I know that one should have 15 backups of all their data, stored in seperate climate controlled locations, along with multiple hard drive images. But why do something that is going to have minimal positive effect (who cares what your hard drive looks like?) and is going to cost you time, money, and posibly data?
I have blog like everyone else
case modders are the computer equivalent of rice boys.
Yeah, except for two minor points:
1) Case modders don't ride "their $10k car with $8k worth of mods and a ear-splitting fart can" through your neighborhood, wishing that Ricing was a capital offense, and
2) There is a big difference between "ooh, I put in a light and clear window" and doing a real theme.
I built someone a custom red "Mustang" PC with a clearcoat paint job, red neon interior, logo decals, and customized OS theme. Everyone who comes over and sees it on his desk compliments the uniqueness/snazziness of the box. There is no derision deserved for people who invest time to do case mods like the bug; it's functional, it's unique, and it's art. And, by the way, it sits on their desk, so it's for their enjoyment, not yours.
If you have no imagination, that's YOUR problem.
I think some of these case mods are really nifty, and I've even ordered my new machine with a few glowing cables and other non-utilitarian visual stuff.
,and imagine the fun you will have when they show up at your door if you are jamming their system! Same if you show up on an operational military frequency!
But there is one concern when people are doing this: RF Interference. Modern computers generate a lot of radio frequency interference. If not properly contained (and any computer sold must meet FCC Part 15 emissions rules), that radiation can cause problems ranging from a nuisance to a hazard.
It can interfere with your AM radio, your FM radio, your TV, your satellite, MY HAM RADIO, etc. If it has a small amount of power on 121.5MHz, 243 MHz or 406 MHZ it can literally interfere with search and rescure, because the satellites that pick up emergency beacons are very sensitive (as those of us in Civil Air Patrol who track them down can testify - we have found computers interfering with SAR satellites in the past). It can interfere with police radio repeaters
So I would suggest that case modders keep all this in mind. The best approach for RFI would be to put the real computer in a conventional case (maybe a shuttle or other little bitty one) and then put the art on the outside.
In any case, if you find you can't listen to your favorite radio station any more, look around for a neighborhood kid with a case mod!
The only good weather is bad weather.
Basically, a hard drive has built in error correction, so small bits of the disk surface can "fail" and the drive can continue operating.
What probably happened here is that the dust that got into the drives slowly started damaging the platters until enough bits were "damaged" such that the errors were uncorrectable. At that point the drives become doorstops.
It would be neat if drive manufacturers started selling drives with clear covers; I have actually SEEN such drives used for promotional purposes... I bet case mod geeks would pay a good percentage more for such a drive!