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Softening the Edges of Technology
Tired of the generic grey boxes that fill corporate offices? A New York Times piece looks at the efforts by some hardware resellers to soften the edges of the PC with elements from nature. The piece goes over the efforts of places like Suissa Computers, which offers 'desktop computers in cases of oak, walnut, zebrawood, purpleheart, mahogany, maple and leopardwood'. Likewise, Holzkontor of Neustadt and the company Wood Contour offers keyboard and monitor sets that adds a naturalistic touch to the average soulless desktop setup. They don't just touch on commercial options, talking briefly about homebrew case-mods: "Nicholas Falzone, 20, a third-year architectural student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., is just putting the finishing touches on the second computer case he's made. 'It's taken me at least a thousand hours,' he said. The case has an aluminum interior frame to support the computer workings. The outer frame is made of koa and maple. Mr. Falzone did the rough cuts with a table saw; after that, almost all the work was done with hand tools. 'Each joint has multiple mortises and tenons,' he said. 'I didn't use any screws or glue.'" Interesting to see the beautification of PC cases in the pages of the old grey lady.
I prefer my technology to be utilitarian. I like plain old boxen.
I like grey and black computers. I no longer really like beige though. Beige shows dust and nicotine stains too easily.
I respect the fact that some people like for their computers to mesh with the decor of the room in which they are placed but for me, I don't want my computing equipment to be a decorative statement. I just want it to work.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Let's paint all our boxen like this!
My latest computer case, the monitor, the mouse and my chair are made from solid gold. Sure it cost a bit, but at least its hard to steal because of the weight. The only drawback is that I had to reinforce my second story to take the extra load. However, this wasn't difficult--I simply replaced all my wooden infrastructure with custom, moulded titanium and encased the structure in concrete.
All the money you pay for these cases could better be spent on the technology that is inside them. If I was a shareholder and 'my' company wasted money om this I would invest my money elsewhere. Of course people should decide for themselves if they want 'beautiful' computers in their home.
-- Cheers!
It's all about personal preference, really. For me, metal would fit better, though I'd prefer the stainless steel looks (Lian Li anyone?) over the drab "black is the new beige" stock boxes. Anodized finishes look sweet, too. Anyhow, my next case will probably be fabricated from diamond plate. Any excuse to spend a few days in the shop is a good one. ;)
I have to admit, though, I'd be a bit irked about cooling in a wooden case. I hope it's done well.
One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.
"Interesting to see the beautification of PC cases in the pages of the old grey lady."
Interesting to see the stubborn refusal on slashdot.
Part of the reason the outsides are so ugly is because the insides are.
Wood cases for computers have been done many times, starting with the Apple 1. Putting a CRT in a wooden box has usually been a dud idea; the result was a bulky box and overheating problems. Some older bank executives used to get such things, but that's died out. A wooden frame around an LCD panel looks fine, and ought to be a cheap option. You can get LCD panels with wood bezels, sold as "digital picture frames", and those aren't expensive.
The wooden keyboard looks silly. There's a stone mouse, but the plastic scroll wheel ruins the effect.
Also, the company mentioned has a site full of search engine spam keywords in white type on a grey background, not a good sign of legitimacy. No business address on the web site, either.
You can crunch your maths on a computer made of Maple.
You can read your mail on a computer made of Pine.
You can surf the web on a computer made of Driftwood.
Industrialists can punch the numbers on a computer made of Virgin Rainforest.
Grace Hopper: "Ahhh! It seems the program has a 'termite.'"
Microsoft's New AV line: "Look everyone! Bill's got Wood!"
PS. You have my apologies if you read this far.
I prefer my technology to be utilitarian. I like plain old boxen.
If you really wanted "utilitarian", you wouldn't even have boxes. An empty frame is cheaper, simpler, and easier to work with. Computers didn't use to come in cases, you know.
I like grey and black computers.
Bang, there's your preference. It's about as easy to make a wood frame as a metal one -- they're equally "utilitarian". Do you like grey and black for any particular reason, or simply because that's what you're used to?
I respect the fact that some people like for their computers to mesh with the decor of the room in which they are placed but for me, I don't want my computing equipment to be a decorative statement. I just want it to work.
That's kind of irrelevant: I do believe that a computer in a wood case will work as well as one in a steel case.
As much as you may hate to admit it, putting it a grey or black metal box is also a "decorative statement". It may be the computing equivalent of "exposed bricks", but it's a statement, nonetheless.
Cue the 'My computer's on fire!' jokes in 5, 4, 3, 2...
My UID is prime. Is yours?
If you want your PC to look like part of the furniture then you can take a leaf out of the books of those mini-itx modders, the most notable 'furniture' type ones are:
The Clock
Mantle Radio
Cigar Humidor
Gramophone
Pictureframe
Micro TV
Telefunken
and for the geek, the Windows XP box (as in the cardboard box the OS comes in, but with a sly RedHat trick)
To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
I like my technology clever
"3. Fool the Brain
And now the dirty secret: When you push the "3" button, although it feels like only the screen under the "3" moves, in fact the entire phone vibrates--the same as it would if you pushed the "9" or the "1." It's an illusion that plays on the context-specific way your brain processes information. You're expecting a response from the spot you pushed, so your brain classifies the resulting vibration as direct, localized feedback. You feel (and hear) the exact same click of pressing down on an actual button--a ruse that took 12 years to get just right."
Paid Q&A/Research
I think this has been posted previously, but there's always this replica of the computers from Brazil: http://www.ahleman.com/Props/ElectriClerk.html
BTW, the creator is also the director of The Call of Cthulhu, an independent film based on Lovecraft's story, which I highly recommend to Lovecraft fans and people who can deal with low-budget effects.
For the sake of nature, I hope they're all made of sustainably harvested wood...
thank you, may I have my computer in terra-cota with the keyboard in red brick (yes , I mean actual brick)
...which offers 'desktop computers in cases of oak, walnut, zebrawood, purpleheart, mahogany, maple and leopardwood'. Wouldn't it be much easier just to hide the desktop box behind your desk if you really don't want to look at it.As for wood, it is both a saftey hazard and useless as a computer case material, it won't block any EM interference at all, and it's a fire hazard.
I don't want to think what a few year's worth of heat, dust and static will do to your lovely wood panelled box.
Money could be better spent elsewhere...
Read the article:
a 19- inch LCD monitor with a wooden frame -- is $2,950.
The prices for the computers, which include a monitor, keyboard, mouse and some service, start at about $5,740. Needn't say anything to that.
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face - Ben Williams
It's taken me at least a thousand hours,' he said. The case has an aluminum interior frame to support the computer workings. The outer frame is made of oak and maple.
;)
Basically it just amounts to what people want to spend on something that goes with their lifestyle or decor. Kinda like driving a Honda vs a H1 Hummer. Give them a what for.., personal choice works. (kinda like white carpet.. why?)
Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
"The sad fact is personal computers are too big. Build an energy efficent unit inside the flat panel monitor and we won't need huge bulky cases that put out more heat than old tube type televisions"
iMac
Another company that creates wooden cases, mice, keyboards, the stuff:
http://www.woodacus.hu/
.. doing this for years. Grandted its not as stylish but comapred to the average PC. We need to get away from teh big board standard, Im guessing most of those slots are just wasted space. We need more MODULARITY at a smaller scale and more focus on less power usage and heat.
http://www.rense.com/general79/wdx1.htm
...Apple would've done it first.
Thinking of dead trees and rainforest ... given the disposable nature of tech devices in general, it's very questionable to waste hardwood on chassis and casing. It would be a bit different if the system would be upgradeable internally at least 30-50 years to come, but I'm not holding by breath to see it happen in near future.
ac.
Well I think it looks great! I am a sucker for good design though, be it in an innovative beige box makeover, a beautiful website, sunset behind a mountainous forest or stunningly attractive woman ;-)
So not only are we going to use cases that use way too much natural resources, we are going to top it off by putting actual pieces of rainforest on them. Well done, cowboys. I would have thought better from a canadian company.
125 days? 25 weeks? for a box?
No matter how dry it is, wood seems to attract humidity. My wife and I have identical Sony laptops with magnesium cases. We went on vacation. I left mine in a wooden drawer for three weeks and she left hers in a metal drawer in the same room. In only three weeks my laptop grew corrosion patches and the paint started to peel off while hers is as good as new.
While the computer is running, humidity stays away. When the computer is off the humidity accumulates.
In addition a running computer in a wooden case is a fire hazard.
There are three basic panel technologies these days: TN, VA, and IPS.
TN (Twisted Nematic) are the original LCDs. They are cheap and thus common but have the worst image in terms of viewing angle and colour.
VA (Vertical Alignment) panels aren't as common as TN, but still pretty easy to find. New ones (usually called P-MVA or S-PVA) have very wide viewing angles, though you do notice a little colour shift off axis. They also have the best block point of any LCD technology and vastly improved colour over TN.
IPS (In Plane Switching) seems to have kinda fallen out of favor, but you can still find plenty. The S-IPS variants (all you find anymore) have the best viewing angle of all technologies. Their colour is very angle invariant. Their colour is also very natural, though they don't have all that good a black point.
Basically, you just need to get a better LCD and you'll probably be happy. Though no LCD can get as deep a black as a CRT, they do have advantages CRTs don't such as being able to get much brighter with no bleed, no convergence issues, never needing calibration, razor sharp text, etc.
I agree that cheapie LCDs don't cut it but I dumped my CRT for a high quality LCD some time ago and I'm rather happy.
I think impressive........will make my own.
... an iMac 3rd gen. Selling like hotcakes.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
... then your stock will make a lot of money, but of course it won't be your stock anymore because your presumed it all a waste. In which case your fellow stockholders will be very glad you weren't the CEO.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
IIRC, the 'beige box' was conceived to give more humane look to early sharp-edged, industrial-style computers. Then sometime around the 1990s we realized the beige box was ugly and the more technological design was cool. So I for one don't welcome our new wooden beige box overlords.
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
On the site the company stresses the point they use FSC wood exclusively and have no stock but order pieces of wood when they get an order. So the rainforests are not damaged by these products.
What person will donate an airborne act of love?
What was that architecture student designing? A computer even Ted Kazynski would love? Or ?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Have you ever noticed that all electronics these days are silver? Yet from the early-1980s to the mid-to-late-1990s, everything was black. When I was a kid I remembered thinking finding those late-70s brushed metal hifis old fashioned, because I associated black with the modern stuff that was in the shops. I remember at some point in the late-1980s my CS teacher came across an early-80s computer that we both laughed at because it was so "space age". Okay, part of that was the styling, but it was also because it was covered in spray-painted silver coating. The exact same style of silver coating that covers a lot of modern electronics.
Nowadays, those mid-80s black-with-flat-panel-buttons-and-red-lettering hifis now look... very 80s. I'd have found a lot of the style-conscious brushed-metal digital cameras around now very dated-looking if I'd seen them in the 80s. I saw an Agfa camera from the 1960s recently and briefly had trouble telling if it was really old or really new; but I liked it. And yet 20 years ago, I'd have hated it and thought it looked old-fashioned.
Similar arguments could apply to wood. Sure, wood looks old-fashioned and is less likely to make a comeback for that reason, but that's not really the issue here.
In short, never underestimate the effect long-term technological fashion trends will have on you. A wooden computer might fit in well in a cottage, but why would you want a computer in a cottage anyways? If we ever needed confirmation of your blinkered closed-mindedness, here it is. Do you think that someone living in a cottage wants to live in some sort of 19th-century Beatrix Potter lala land, cut off from modern technology and society? I suspect they'd want a computer for the same reasons that 99% of the population do. Why the hell wouldn't they?
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Now there's a very un-PC PC.
There are actually merits to having a computer look like a piece of equipment and not an office ornamant which seem to escape the media these days. There are also several examples of where a piece of equipment made "too friendly" has been to the detriment of the person using it.
When a computer looks like equipment it's taken more seriously. If a computer makes noise when it's on, demands interaction with a prompt and has a consistent, unornamented interface it adds a level of seriousness to the business of using it. It says take me seriously because performing operations with me is serious business.
When a computer looks like candy it's "played", not "worked" with. It's left in a corner showing something flashy and useless on the screen. It's an expensive DVD player. According to the Apple ads, this is the direction we "want" to go. I disagree.
A computer can call the people you have appointments with and tell them you will be there. A computer can operate your entire home's systems. A computer can allow an intruder into your home if you are careless with it. This is a piece of equipment, not a video gaming conduit. It ought to be taken seriously.
I believe this because of an existing counterexample of candy-coated machines gone wrong: The automobile. Interactive video, cell phones, leather interiors, a million and one shapes and sizes - these are strongly correlated to the careless nature with which we see people driving. Driving into schoolbusses, driving into other drivers, and driving drunk are easy cases to cite. A group of people who treat their cars like toys is the same group that drives their cars like children, not adults. These people get hurt with their cars because the mindset that makes them want candy coatings is the mindset that makes them drive outside the limits on the environment they are in. If your car is plain, stiff and hurts to sit in for to long, you take it seriously.
A computer can do damage to you just like your car can. Take it seriously.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
Ztree!
My roots are lost in the midnight
commander
I am part tree, part computer,
compartmentalized by nature
Water me, Smoke me
Drink me, Enjoy me
Hacked out of an old wooden stump
Just keep the leaves out of my fans
You might not have a cat
but please don't use a real mouse
Sounds of nature,
You'll want high bit
(thanks for reading the stupid fuckin poem of the day)
The Internet - Serious Business
Check out this old-fashion keyboard modification with early 1900s brass features.
Why bother.
Ok, I thought the computer would cause us to use less paper and hence use fewer fossil fuels and chemicals to process the wood from the tree farms. But No!!!! Someone has to decide to build the entire case out of exotic wood - if this is not stopped what's next "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria."
Next week on Slashdot... a PC case made of elephant tusk, monitor trimmed in baby white fur seal skin, overclocked CPU cooled with whale oil, and the mouse will be an actual mouse.
Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch.
Well I prefer my TV, microwave oven, steering wheel, phone, clock, desk, etc. to be in a natural looking simulated wood grain as to be labeled as such so I don't forget.
For me, woodworking projects fall into two types: "quick and dirty" and "furniture".
The "quick and dirty" are things that don't need to last more than a day, a week, a month or even a year. They aren't pretty, they are fast, and they are only as sturdy as they need to be to get the job done. They are generally made from plywood, and other cheap, strong, leftover scrap wood.
"Furniture" projects are things that should last Decades. If I did my job well, they will outlast me. Tables, chairs, and cabinetry fall into this category. Pretty woods, weeks of effort, and lovely finishes highlighting the natural colors and grains of the woods. These projects honor the trees that gave their life so I could have pretty things. Not always sustainable forest-grown, but that's getting better over time.
Back to computers... They have an average life-span of 1 to 5 years... Maybe they'll last 10, but seriously, how many of us have a computer around that is more than 5 years old? So why build "furniture" for Today's Computer. The shapes and sizes and plugs and interfaces and monitors and power needs change every few years. Why would you expect that to not continue? Think about it from this perspective: if you has spend 3 months building the perfect computer case (out of rare Koa and Ebony) for your Commodore 64 twenty years ago, would it still be occupying deskspace in your home? Probably not.
So building "furniture" that fits today's computers is just short-sighted. Beautiful and rare hardwoods should be used and enjoyed in artistic creations whose lifetimes should be measured in decades, not months.
This goes for computer cases and furniture custom built around technology (stereos, home entertainment systems, computers, monitors, etc.) How well does that 50" Plasma screen fit in the "entertainment center" you bought 10 years ago?
If Apple has taught us anything in the last few years, it's that people are not happy with just a plain old engine block computer sitting under the desk. They made their salt from designs that made everyone else's efforts look like ... *ahem* ... 'merde de torro'.
Personally, I hope more people with such obvious skill would take up the case design calling. I know that I have dreamed of building a system into a desk, and the thought of having it built right into the infrastructure of the house has crossed my mind more than once.
We have achieved competence and we have achieved usefulness, perhaps it's time we achieved elegance.
In B.C., our fascism is green.
And of course if this trend catches on what impact to the already dwindling forests will this have?
I am no tree hugger but wooden PC's are a bad idea.
What a waste of beautiful wood. If corporations are going to pay for walnut, use it on the desk or furnishings, not on a piece of equipment with an inherent 2-year lifespan. If you're concerned about PC ugliness, put the thing under the desk and buy some longer cables.
I can't see this selling too much. I can't see anyone who values mahogany, oak, and walnut wasting precious wood like that. There are always a few of the wallpaper-with-money type folks looking for a new way to shock and awe, but I can't see this being anything more than a CEO's office thing.
- It is currently out-of-stock (or unavailable - see catch #2)
- Both keyboards that I received needed modification to work.
The defect is that the left SHIFT key prints a greater than or less than character. The easy solution is to pry off the left shift key and remove the contact bumper from the right-most contact hole. This restores the keyboard to full functionality. The solution is simple, but because both kbds had the same fault, it wouldn't surprise me if they pulled them from the shelves.Interestingly, the customer service manager said that out of the ~1500 they sold, I was the only customer who called to complain about this. Do most folks just put up with or discard malfunctioning devices? Or did I get the only two defective products?
There a technical reason that computer enclosures are metal: radio frequency emissions. That's why it would be impossible to build those in volume (to where the FCC would notice) without a metal inner shell. Did anyone ever wonder why the designer cases (clear panels, etc.) aren't built by Dell and others?
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
When a computer looks like equipment it's taken more seriously.
"Equipment" has been built out of wood for millenia. What you're really saying is "When a computer looks like the crappy 1970's computer equipment I learned on, it feels more natural to me".
If a computer makes noise when it's on, demands interaction with a prompt and has a consistent, unornamented interface it adds a level of seriousness to the business of using it.
You must love the Ferrari laptop that makes engine noises when you turn it on. You can run MS-DOS on it for that "consistent unoramented interface". Nothing says serious like a laptop that thinks it's a car. Vroom vroom! C:\>
It says take me seriously because performing operations with me is serious business.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Is "serious" the end goal of using a computer? I've been using them all my life, and it's news to me. I've never met anyone whose purpose for a computer was "seriousness". Even us hardcore geeks who spend double-digit hours a day writing code for work have fun with it. People who have done usability studies (like Jakob Nielsen and Jared Spool) find that people get more work done if they're having fun.
Maybe you're a regular Mister Spock, and having fun is physically painful for you. I assure you that you are in the minority.
A computer can do damage to you just like your car can.
Can do damage, maybe, but not "just like" a car. I got drunk last night and tried to write some code. Nobody died. Even if I had managed to delete something important, I have the old copy in version control. Computers aren't great, but we were smart enough to make it virtually impossible to kill people with them, even if you're drunk.
BTW, can you point me to some of the "easy cases to cite" of people driving cars with "leather interiors" are more likely to be "driving into schoolbusses, driving into other drivers, and driving drunk"?
I'm not saying that the waste of making the reggular cases does not contaminates. BuT why do people think that wooden furniture is a good thing??
I fiNd it the most anti-ecological thing.
Read Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things and you'll understand why this story constantly comes up.
I used a tree branch that was about three inches in diameter, cut a long piece to attach to the metal connector in the middle back and hold it at the right angle. Then I cut two cylinders from the same branch to rest the bottom of the monitor on, they were about two inches tall. I would have just rested the monitor on the desk, but the monitor buttons were on the bottom on the back of the monitor, and at least this way I can reach under it to get at them.
In my case it was functional, and it does look pretty good. It also didn't take any 1000 hours to build.
i want marble computers in cathedral designs, with gargoyles and stained glass windows that flicker when the drive or network is in I/O, and heavy-metal organ music
It's my dick in a box!
I'm a sysadmin at a fortune 500 company. We just rolled out 500 of these computers last week and found that productivity went up 39%. Little wonder - aesthetics are known to boost morale and worker efficiency.
God what a waste.
The year - 1984 -- I was a freshly minted Electronics Technician - with a job earning money !! But still pretty broke -- came across a deal for a Franklin motherboard ( Apple II rip-off) --- I built a nice box out of pine (hinged lid !!) kluged a power supply together and we had our first family computer --- Amber screen and all. Damn thing lasted several years even had a modem going ........
.... its not just for bread boxes anymore !
Wood
Its not the years, its the mileage
"Interesting to see the beautification of PC cases in the pages of the old grey lady." PC cases haven't been boring since the mid 90's. Ever heard of Lian Li (and about a dozen other companies making cases)? Ever hear of case modding?
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!