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Beautiful Wooden PC Cases
mrbill submitted linkage to a site offering to sell what appear to be very beautiful wood PC cases combining wood, glass and silicon into something a hell of a lot prettier than that beige box. Something tells me these wouldn't win the recent Intel sexy case contest, but they sure are sharp.
Says the man with the cardboard shipping box used as a case. I just won't leave it on overnight.
God spoke to me.
Wow... some amazing work.
Back before I had a couple little kids, I pulled in my dad and his milling machine to make the Fossil computer. It's brass and wood, with a neat fossil as a badge.
It's now my daughter's computer, so it plays more Dora the Explorer than the latest high-end games. When I replace my main computer, I'll gut it and put in fancy new components. The main draw is that it's silent, with the main issue being heat (I have some big, slow fans to help with that).
I call it "Taco Lazy" myself, but one of my friends prefer to call it "Taco Classic." Thoughts?
Anyway, wooden cases are hardly new. Slashdot's had stories on them a couple times. From a quick Googling of this company they appear to be new, as their link was just posted a number of places the last few days.
I depend on my case to radiate heat; Wood is exceptionally bad at this.
So while it's pretty, it's not worth it in my opinion.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
The modern world can bite my splintery wooden ass!
There's no Google cache, Mirrordot doesn't have it yet, but there's still a Coral Cache of it.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
If you're using an Exploding Dell laptop, you might want to use brick and masonry to handle the heat and battery acid. Or, better yet, install the laptop into your fireplace since it's a safe place, the fireworks would be entertaining, and the resulting fire would enough to cozy up with your significant other (assuming that you're an abbey-normal slashdotter who's not a basement dweller).
"Glazed laquer finish ensures longevity and a quick, surface burn should your beauty happen to catch fire. Of course, fire happens in only 5 in 8 computers, so don't be alarmed
A tall tower box is "Well appointed from $6635 in Maple"
There is also a media box selling for $35,000. It's nice work, but I think the guy overestimates the financial worth of his craft.
Suissa House!
These are whole computers, I personally would be a lot more interested if I could just buy the ATX compliant cases and put my own components in, paying inflated prices for a cool case is one thing, paying uber inflated prices for a "custom" pc is not my thing.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Already done here and specially here.
[alk]
The 70's called, they want their wood graine electronics back! But seriously 6 thousand dollars?
These are for the CEO's of the world who would pay $6K for the chance to stand out from the crowd of beige boxes, black laptops and under-powered tablets.
It would be a status symbol. Nothing else.
From Win95 days... probably the first wooden computer... http://lapage.com/kunst/ (Archive of the original site.) The designer was http://blaisegaston.com/ who is still very active, doing high-end furniture, not computers!
...though I still prefer the all-transparent cases. Still: w00d!
The downgrade is complete! Bite my splintery wooden ass!
As I have pondered doing this, I had concerns about the humidity level of the wood going up and down as the case got hot, then cold, then hot again. I wondered if this would eventually crack or split the wood. What is the longevity? Is his choice of woods helpful in this regard? My chioce would have been ceder, what a great smelling computer, but it is very prone to splitting, and covering that wood on both sides with laquer would be pointless if you wanted to enjoy the smell. Maybe my fears were unfounded.....
Wooden eels!
I once built a wooden computer. It had a wooden psu, a wooden HD, wooden everything.
It wooden work!
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
My Computer is not in the same room as me, so I never see it. It's in a little room next to my room. I drilled a hole in the wall where all the cables go through, because I couldn't stand the noise the thing makes.
"Only a computer that isn't there is a good computer.
I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to get one for my Dell laptop.
That is seriously sexy. :)
See, even before Jonathan Ive, the Woz knew how to build a non-beige-box design! Apple truly was ahead of its time when it came to industrial design! *fapfapfap*
ShortFormBlog: Writing a little. Saying a lot.
People will always pay stupid prices for luxury items. Manufacturers will charge what they can in the market place. How much do you pay for a coffee in Starbucks? does the hot water and coffee beans *really* cost that much? how about those designer jeans that have the fashionable label? are they actually worth much more than Wal-Mart jeans? and why do the latest mobile phones cost so much then drop price so rapidly 18 months later? the transistors cost the same amount to produce...
It's all about consumerism, and how much people are prepared to pay.
How much it's worth might be closer to thinking about the craftsman's hourly rate and thinking about how many hours work is in there, and double whatever you come up with to allow for workshop costs etc.
This is great stuff. I have plenty of cliental that will love this stuff and gladly pay the premium.
Wooden computers are not new. Luddite computers has had them since 1979. Check out:
http://www.luddite.com/luddite/html/history2.html
This is a quality product.
"Our alliance with the nation's top hi-tech pest control company, Termite Tech(TM) guarantees service on any models for up to five years after your purchase."
http://www.luddite.com/luddite/html/product.html
Until a couple of decades ago, it was very common for televisions to have elaborate wooden cases. My grandmother had one; when she upgraded to color we got her old set for the basement playroom.
Old-style radios also came in elaborate wooden cases.
These olde beasts had vacuum tubes, which used high voltage and put off substantial amounts of heat. They didn't have (or need) cooling fans.
Worries about fire are overblown. Or maybe overheated? Ehhh, sorry.
Stefan
- Open Office version 2.0.3
- Firefox Web Browser Version 1.5
- Thunderbird Mail Version 1.5
Of course it also includes a trial of WinRAR, but it is progress.Tasteless imitation of imitation of furniture.
Still, that's allowed in ads.
Sincerely yours,
Bad Bad Troll
In one of William Gibson's novels, there's a company called Sandbenders which makes super-artsy laptop cases. The cases are intended to be permenant; you buy (and periodically replace as technology progresses) the silicon guts of the machine.
And they can be yours for the low, low price of SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS.
I'm thinkin' Home Depot + Pine + Minwax.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
If you live somewhere with easy access to cheap and skillful carpenters(e.g Egypt), you can kick the collective bottom of these cases. $35000? I'm in Egypt at the moment, and for $35000 I could buy a beautiful Arabesque case and the carpenter and his dog.
1) Go with carpenter to select wood from source provider
2) Agree on external chassis specs
3) Argue for 15 min on price
4) $200, and you're robbing yourself
5) hammers and splinters and...
6) Profit!
Building a case out of a garbage can would be more appropriate given the very limited lifespan of the average PC.
That's a very fair point, and I guess in the same way a well made sports car might be constructed in a way that the components combine better than if you or I bought the components and bolted them together, perhaps improving with age.
I think the expensive computer case is in the very nebulous (but valid) territory of being worth as much as you want it to be worth, once the workers' and components costs are covered. Limited edition also gives it scarcity (therefore attractiveness) value. I'm sure they'd sell like hot cakes if some uber-cool media personality bought one and told the world it was the most desirable object they'd ever purchased...
It'd look nicer, as well.
I don't find the case on the front page particularly attractive. The USB/headphone slot looks ugly to me, the drives on the left contrast too much, the metal and glass on top wouldn't complement any monitor that I've seen. Furthermore, why is the front page shot taken on a freaking sidewalk with grass behind it? Why not take a picture in context? I think the answer is that with any real peripherals attached, this thing looks ugly.
Unless, of course, you can find a mouse with a wood grain wire, a monitor with appropriate chrome/glass, etc. WTF?
Did they give you a woody?
FRA: STFU GTFO
...they're tacky. Sorry, but the designs are gross and dated, and not in a fun retro way. If I'm paying $5000+ for a computer case, I expect the company to at least hire a good designer. You could probably hire a designer and a good local woodshop to make a much better looking case for the the same price.
evisceration by a thousand branches of a mighty oak!
I've seen something like this before, in a cigar humidor. I think I like it much better than these monstrosities.
u midor_description.html
here's a picture of the humidor: http://images10.newegg.com/UploadFilesForNewegg/h
- James
Smelled better, too. With powerful fans, entire house will smell like gargabe can.
I'm not insane. My mother had me tested.
"Then all I have to do is some Slashdotvertising.."
Then we'd tear apart your hopes and dreams like we did this guy.
"...and why do the latest mobile phones cost so much then drop price so rapidly 18 months later? the transistors cost the same amount to produce"
Um, no they don't. Your argument leaves out a couple things. First there are one-time start-up costs that needs to be dispensed with, and the manufacturer is going to try to get rid of them as soon as possible. Second there's process improvements over the lifecycle of a product. The product gets made cheaper and better maybe by using a new injection molding technique on the cases for example. Or the circuit board layout is improved through consolidation, or a more efficient design. The materials can change. The outside appearance and fuctionality can stay the same, but not the insides or the process used to create them.
"How much it's worth might be closer to thinking about the craftsman's hourly rate and thinking about how many hours work is in there, and double whatever you come up with to allow for workshop costs etc."
Apparently your market doesn't have the concept of R&D. Nor the idea that a company needs a certain amount to even out the bumps in it's market. e.g. savings. Let alone it's future obligations. e.g. employee retirement. Being in business isn't about break-even.
I wonder if they'd give me a wooden case if I redid their website =P.
All I can say is: Yabbadabbadoooo!
Table-ized A.I.
They used to use wood a lot in the products in the past. Take a look at this synthesizer! Prophet-5. It looks really good and it looks like it's built to last. I really miss well made products like they used to built them in the past. Now we get chinese plastic piece of ...
1. these are ugly
2. i had my Amiga 1200 cased up in a wooden box by a friend some 10 years ago for the cost of the wood & some beers...
I would like to add some accessories:-
Wooden Monitor
Wooden Keyboard
Wooden Mouse
But then I think the final computer Wooden work!
My main workstation has a wooden component for the optical drives, lights/switches, etc. I built it to fit into my desk: http://www.logicwire.net/desk_mod/
Benefits of this type of installation are many; including convenience of location, no dust sucked into drives, lower noise, and it looks nice.
The current design is a pain to work on though....I usually only upgrade this machine every few years because of this.
I was thrilled till I saw the back of it. they still have so much to learn
-m10
...it gives ME wood!
wood it run linux?
The Gospel according to lolcat
Debian Woody?
..money I wonder what kind of computer I would get... $6000 for a CASE is ridiculous comparing to the value of the parts inside.
These guys make some pretty nice cases. http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?producti d=201&cat=1&page=1
Also there were some nice wood cases at PDXLans 5,6,7. Might have to dig through the pictures a bit, but they're in there. http://38.100.208.58/photo/
Remember the Suissa slogan... Wood is good!
I like how they bundle open source stuff with their systems, Open Office, Thunderbird and firefox.
Read my short stories - You won't regret it.
I know it's an unlikely occurrence, but if you get too close to your computer after building up a charge in your body (say from walking across the carpet in slippers), you can destroy your computer if you get close enough to discharge to it. I assume a metal case provides some sort of protection from this, as the charge would remain on the surface of the metal. My question is, would the wooden case be a better (or worse) protection from this? I don't know what the resistivity of wood is, but it must provide some degree of protection from static discharge.
I guess in either case the most likely way to damage the computer is via a peripheral (such as the keyboard) that's not entirely enclosed (and thus doesn't offer the same protection), but I'm just curious as to whether some slashdotter here knows which type of case might be better in this context...
They must be either kidding, or stoned.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
This is a case you'd like upgrade rather than throw away, but then again, it'll probably get tossed out periodically due to constant redecorating.
Anyone who'd buy this isn't sensitive to cost so lifespan probably won't matter either.
Why?
... may be they can be used for heating in third world countries after usage!
This shows up every year or two. There is a russian furniture company that does exquisite work, for example. and there are several others. For example:
Wooden Computer Accessories
On March 23rd, 2004 with 467 comments
polyp2000 writes "It's always interesting to read about case-mods, but this company has a novel twist, for nature loving geeks. Maybe even the perfect...
Wooden-Cased Computers, Small and Extra-Large
On March 21st, 2005 with 282 comments
DCPete writes "Some guy made a pretty nice mahogany computer table; apparently he does this as a hobby. I've seen lots of stuff like this before, but this one...
Ask Slashdot: Wooden Chasis and EMF?a>
On June 16th, 1999 with 196 comments
Red Leader asks: "Hi. I'm writing in the hope that some electrical people will be able to help me out with the nitty gritty aspects of shielding a computer...
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
People seem to drool over wooden monitors, keyboards and cases while for me it is just a mismatch somehow.
...
:)
Same with cars. I was car shopping on the weekend, and sat into a wooden steering wheel BMW with some parts of the dash also being wooden and I just felt it did not belong there. Oh well, I am the one who would ask for the bigger engine without the leather seats, nicer rims without the wooden dash, sport wheel instead of the wooden crap
but hey, some people like it. Even in furniture I choose whatever else, and in my new house I have an overall plan to eliminate wood totally
well, on the gallery anyways. i would love a wooden computer case. it would really fit the decor in my home. howevers... the gallery design was soooo bad, i wouldn't even ask what their prices were and just do it myself. i mean shit, have they not EVER been to a freakin thumb gallery or XxX site? i wanna show a lot of pictures to potential buyers. MAKE THAT PART NOT SHIT!
I see Windows, I see Mac. I see Linux on the rack.
these are awful... :|
My Athlon 650 is still partying like it's 1999.
There are only a few things that I really need a faster processor for, and I do them elsewhere.
I remember when I worked at Digital Review that we got a "concept" VAX for testing that had a wood case. Actually it was a combination of forest green metal on the sides and a dark stained wood front and top. It was quite attractive. The idea was that it could be put into an office environment and blend in. Obviously, they never saw the light of day, but it was an interesting concept.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
.... having the whole thing hidden away in a desk drawer is better still. A wireless mouse, keybord, and flat screen monitor that is easily tucked away - much better in my opinion.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Echoing that, why not just get/make a nice piece of furniture (table/stand for a lamp or your Enterprise model)? Add a fan, power strip, and plugboard from Radio Shack, and toss your cheap metal-boxed computer in there.
It took all of 5 seconds on Google to find a really sweet garbage can PC.
. casemodgod.com/Recycle_33.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www .casemodgod.com/bewize_ryc_(8).htm&h=800&w=600&sz= 69&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=sOmZPMGK1HU_KM:&tbnh=143&tb nw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgarbage%2Bcan%2BPC%2Bcas e%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa %3DN
http://www.casemodgod.com/bewize_ryc_(8).htm
Google Cache
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair
Sorry, but the designs are gross and dated, and not in a fun retro way.
Well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't call these wooden cases in particualar "gross and dated"--it looks apparent to me that they are made by professional craftsmen and don't at all evoke memories of the amateur/hobbyist cases of the 1970s (and earlier) with the curved-sheetmetal-plywood-end-cap design. There isn't any tin painted gaudy blue either. Certainly they are a step up from the putrid putty boxes we've had to live with for years.
That said, making a PC look better than the standard putrid putty box isn't setting the barrier very high, and while I think these cases are far from "gross and dated" they certainly look like oddities to me as well. I think the problem is that they basically look like lumps beautifully finished wood with computery bits peeking through. The mere fact that they are identifiable as desktop PCs makes the material of choice look odd by default. These systems don't look ugly as much as they look FUNNY. It's like they came off the set of a cheesy comedy movie about a group of Amish hackers, riding around in their buggies toting wooden computers.
You could probably hire a designer and a good local woodshop to make a much better looking case for the the same price.
Well, considering that these enclosures house fairly high-end PCs you have to keep in mind the acutal price of the case is far less than the $5000+ price. I agree that they are overpriced as they are "mass produced" and not completely unique form one to the next. However, the time and skill to design and build one of these boxes is most certainly as much (or perhaps more) than the cost of these units, considering design probably takes at least as long as building when you are only building a one-off custom unit.
I think the problem with these machines is that they are trying to market them as serious, high-end hardware and that they simply look FUNNY. They could be made with plywood-and-veneer to be cost competitive and be sold as novelty designs, along side towers that look like transformer heads and penguins. Sure when you get close up you'd notice the cheapness, but from 10 feet away you wouldn't tell. All in all it just looks FUNNY.
I think wood is a good idea, however please don't build a wood PC as a PC-shaped blob of wood. At best it'll look funny, at worst it'll look tacky. Some posters said you don't use wood to enclose electronics--you use it to make furniture. SO, make your wooden PC a PIECE OF FURNITURE that just so happens to house a PC. Put a nice door on the front that opens to reveal the computery bits. Put another door that opens to reveal...a shelf for CDs or books or on/out trays or something. Don't expose fans and cooling grates if at all possible--have venting discreetly located and not "grill-shaped". Put the rear panel (I/O connections, back plates of PCI cards, etc) covered completely by an attractive wood door, with the cables routing out from underneath the door. There should be ABSOLUTELY NO "computery bits" exposed--if it looks computery in any way when it is made of wood it'll look odd. Just like if you made a PC enclosure out of granite--apart from being very heavy it would also look like it came off the set of a Flintstones movie.
So, I'd have to say it's great to do new and different things and it shouldn't be discouraged, however in this case it isn't new and different enough. How about a mahogany filing cabinet with a PC completely hidden inside? Or a computer desk that is actually a desk-shaped computer? I realise in some of these cases we aren't that far removed from just plain old furniture that has shelf space for hiding a standard putrid putty box, however we could do beter than standard office furniture. For one thing, having some degree of "system integration" with elegant wooden furniture and PCs would help immensely with such things as cable management and would open up more possibilites in system cooling since we wouldn't be restricted to standard-sized cases. Besides that, whenit comes to unconventional materials "stealth" is much "cooler" than "stand out".