Do you think this could take off?
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ECO Friendly PCs 1
- Thread starter TomKane
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #3
Wooden computer equipment has been around for a while, it's just a very niche market. I remember seeing a wooden keyboard a while ago, and I quite fancied it. Price was about £200 though, not really worth it for me.
That said, some people buy things for the look alone.
Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.
That said, some people buy things for the look alone.
Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.
lionelhill
Technical User
It rather misses the point. It doesn't matter what your PC is made of, if you keep throwing it away to buy a new one, the process is not very ecologically friendly.
I often wonder how many office PCs are used (work-only! Not including non-work fun activities) to type letters, send e-mails that would work adequately in plain text, and do the odd bit of spreadsheet stuff. All this was quite within the range of a PC 14 years ago. But I doubt many people are still using their 14-year-old PC.
Incidentally, the Apple I was in a nice wooden case.
I often wonder how many office PCs are used (work-only! Not including non-work fun activities) to type letters, send e-mails that would work adequately in plain text, and do the odd bit of spreadsheet stuff. All this was quite within the range of a PC 14 years ago. But I doubt many people are still using their 14-year-old PC.
Incidentally, the Apple I was in a nice wooden case.
All the prices are £Call for Price
Which means they're so high they're embarassed to post them in public.
Chip H.
____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first
Which means they're so high they're embarassed to post them in public.
Chip H.
____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first
I don't think it'll ever take off for two reasons : indeed it's obvious that the price is horrendous, but also wood is a heat insulator, and that does not work well with today's CPUs that can fry eggs.
As for using a 14-year-old PC, well I don't think anyone in their right mind would actually like to wait four minutes on boot, then watch their mouse trundle ponderously across the screen every time they move it. Come on, we upgrade our PCs because we want everything to happen in the blink of an eye.
Speed and power, we never have enough of it. If you think about it, 60hp for a car is quite enough for the use most people get out of them. Do you want a 60hp car ? Of course not ! You want the most powerful engine you can afford - it's more comfortable.
Well in PCs it's the same - and it's a lot more affordable than a car.
Which is why this infernal upgrade cycle will only end when the most basic model can do more than anyone can personally expect to use. Like stereo sound at 44Mhz. We had that for the longest time because it was good enough. This, of course, did not please the makers of sound equipment, and they invented Surround Sound to make us all upgrade. That path is almost already a dead-end though, because I doubt anyone can make a difference between 5.1 and 7.1 sound setups. We won't be getting a 12.2 either. For PCs, it'll be the same. There's a barrier of use somewhere, whether it is at 4 cores or 400 does not matter. When we get there, people will no longer need to upgrade, and that will be that.
In the meantime, of course, some companies are making fortunes. That's commerce for you !
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
As for using a 14-year-old PC, well I don't think anyone in their right mind would actually like to wait four minutes on boot, then watch their mouse trundle ponderously across the screen every time they move it. Come on, we upgrade our PCs because we want everything to happen in the blink of an eye.
Speed and power, we never have enough of it. If you think about it, 60hp for a car is quite enough for the use most people get out of them. Do you want a 60hp car ? Of course not ! You want the most powerful engine you can afford - it's more comfortable.
Well in PCs it's the same - and it's a lot more affordable than a car.
Which is why this infernal upgrade cycle will only end when the most basic model can do more than anyone can personally expect to use. Like stereo sound at 44Mhz. We had that for the longest time because it was good enough. This, of course, did not please the makers of sound equipment, and they invented Surround Sound to make us all upgrade. That path is almost already a dead-end though, because I doubt anyone can make a difference between 5.1 and 7.1 sound setups. We won't be getting a 12.2 either. For PCs, it'll be the same. There's a barrier of use somewhere, whether it is at 4 cores or 400 does not matter. When we get there, people will no longer need to upgrade, and that will be that.
In the meantime, of course, some companies are making fortunes. That's commerce for you !
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
lionelhill
Technical User
... hey, don't malign my 14-year old PC! The mouse moved across the screen quite as zippily as a modern mouse, but it was just a boring pointer, not an animated picture of a dinosaur. And of course it didn't have to share processor-time with that paper-clip thing either.
And my nice new PC does take 4 minutes to boot.
The point is that the old PCs didn't try to do very much, so they actually did it in about the same time as a new PC takes to do the same job. The upgrade-cycle is because we keep expecting more. Frankly, some of what we expect is sheer unnecessary luxury, or solving problems we wouldn't know we had if no one had told us.
And my nice new PC does take 4 minutes to boot.
The point is that the old PCs didn't try to do very much, so they actually did it in about the same time as a new PC takes to do the same job. The upgrade-cycle is because we keep expecting more. Frankly, some of what we expect is sheer unnecessary luxury, or solving problems we wouldn't know we had if no one had told us.
lionelhill
Technical User
... But I should add I'm just as keen on pretty effects, and appreciate ridiculously over-ambitious graphics packages just as much as anyone. So you're quite right, pmonett, I'm unlikely to return to my ancient PC either.
Given the current love affair between hardware and software vendors with Hollywood, RIAA and MPAA, resulting in insultingly restrictive DRM for everyone, and potential security nightmares for most, there may come a time when we all regret our good old PCs that did what they were told to do without talking back or saying "sorry, you can't do that".
Personally, I have some very fond memories of Lemmings on a 286, and none of today's games have managed to do any better than that one as far as the excitement of discovery and sense of accomplishment are concerned. Plus they were really cute, those little pixellated things. Ah, Lemmings. Those were the days.
;-)
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
Personally, I have some very fond memories of Lemmings on a 286, and none of today's games have managed to do any better than that one as far as the excitement of discovery and sense of accomplishment are concerned. Plus they were really cute, those little pixellated things. Ah, Lemmings. Those were the days.
;-)
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
- Thread starter
- #12
HI,
I was at an expo yesterday and these guys had a stand. I was curious so I went over and had a look at what they were demonstrating.
It appears that you buy the internals of the PC (encased in some kind of metallic looking box) and you then slot it into the wooden exterior. The internal parts and the wooden parts are priced seperately.
I have to say it looked cool!
I would have been tempted, except I'd already bought a new PC a couple of weeks before I saw the details about this.
A company called Micropro is behind it.
I was at an expo yesterday and these guys had a stand. I was curious so I went over and had a look at what they were demonstrating.
It appears that you buy the internals of the PC (encased in some kind of metallic looking box) and you then slot it into the wooden exterior. The internal parts and the wooden parts are priced seperately.
I have to say it looked cool!
I would have been tempted, except I'd already bought a new PC a couple of weeks before I saw the details about this.
A company called Micropro is behind it.
LadySlinger
IS-IT--Management
Pascal - I Had the same thought when I looked at the site.
Wood case + horrendously hot materials = computer on fire.
wood mouse + clicking a lot = splinters (?)
Although I am sure the last is polish down enough to avoid splinters. I hope..
They sure are purty though
Wood case + horrendously hot materials = computer on fire.
wood mouse + clicking a lot = splinters (?)
Although I am sure the last is polish down enough to avoid splinters. I hope..
They sure are purty though
Grenage :
Ah, a fellow addict ! An evil herder, perhaps ? Much fun, wasn't it ?
Actually, it was not only the game mechanics, it was the whole environment. The half-dozen tunes made for that game (in 8-bit Adlib quality !) were nothing short of mesmerizing. I remember having actually hooked my PC to the living room amplifier to record the tunes on my tape recorder (a sure offence against DCMA and DRM nowadays).
Hmm . . now where did I put that tape ?
:-D
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
Ah, a fellow addict ! An evil herder, perhaps ? Much fun, wasn't it ?
Actually, it was not only the game mechanics, it was the whole environment. The half-dozen tunes made for that game (in 8-bit Adlib quality !) were nothing short of mesmerizing. I remember having actually hooked my PC to the living room amplifier to record the tunes on my tape recorder (a sure offence against DCMA and DRM nowadays).
Hmm . . now where did I put that tape ?
:-D
Pascal.
I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.
Ah I had almost forgotten about the music. I'm not sure how you'd fare against DCMA and DRM now, but I'm sure someone would complain if you started playing it again. /wink
Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.
Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.
Lets face it the protection is only any good over a embedded system. Analogue and optical outputs usually have no problems.
I had a slanging match with Sony & Philips when a protected CD wouldn't play on my HiFi CD Recorder. Sony said, it was Philips fault. Philps said it was Sony's (and they were right as protected CD's cannot carry the CD logo as they are not Red Book!).
How I got round it would be naughty to mention, but involved CD recorder, CD player, Auto Sync and digital ports (ironic Sony Philips interface!)
Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004
I had a slanging match with Sony & Philips when a protected CD wouldn't play on my HiFi CD Recorder. Sony said, it was Philips fault. Philps said it was Sony's (and they were right as protected CD's cannot carry the CD logo as they are not Red Book!).
How I got round it would be naughty to mention, but involved CD recorder, CD player, Auto Sync and digital ports (ironic Sony Philips interface!)
Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004
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- #19
monkeylizard
MIS
Those cases are absolutely beautiful. I'd like to see some real benchmark testing to see if the wood makes a difference in heat dispersion over metals. Tom's had a test several years back that found virtually no difference between steel and aluminum in the heat area (despite persistent claims by OC'ers to the contrary), they were just heavier in steel form. ISTM that airflow issues from case design and layout would have a greater impact on temps than case materials. That case that suspends on those two curved arms would open up some new possibilities for bottom mounted fans or even basic vents to pull more fresh air in and direct it up through the case and out a top or upper back blow-hole.
Then again, anyone shelling out this kind of coin probably isn't going to be OC'ing or attacking it with a Dremel.
Monkeylizard
Sometimes just a few hours of trial and error debugging can save minutes of reading manuals.
Then again, anyone shelling out this kind of coin probably isn't going to be OC'ing or attacking it with a Dremel.
Monkeylizard
Sometimes just a few hours of trial and error debugging can save minutes of reading manuals.
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