Thinking "out of the box" when building a PC

Thomas Wendell writes:

Pragmatic? Like this one built into a sofa.. (article is in finnish, but
there are a few pics...)

All of these are very cool, but I was thinking more along the lines of
PCs that are integrated into furniture in a business or home-office
environment, so that they don't take up space on the desk. Maybe
something in a discreet cabinet at the workstation.

I was also thinking of something that is highly maintainable. On
large commercial computer systems, for example, traditionally
everything has been in racks or bays that you can just pull out when
you need to upgrade or replace hardware. (Tandem used to be famous
for its ability to tolerate hardware changes even on a running
system.) So some sort of custom arrangement that actually allows you
to plug and unplug components would be cool. Ideally this would
include even the motherboard. Ultimately you could unsnap and replace
any individual part of the PC without building a new enclosure or
dealing with fastenings that aren't designed to be undone.

John Effty writes:

Quiet, unobtrusive, elegant, easy to work on, etc. etc. I'm not sure
exactly what folks have in mind when they design PCs, but I can tell you
that it certainly isn't any of those things.

That's what I was thinking. I personally don't mind having computers
whirring on both sides of me--I've been working with computers for
years--but I know a lot of people who don't particularly care for
computer hardware and might be much more willing to use computers if
the hardware itself were unobtrusive.

The current state of computer cases is rather like having only one
type of light to put in a home or office, a huge streetlamp in
battleship gray. Of course, in reality, we have an endless variety of
lighting fixtures that one can buy for home and office; nobody needs
to buy a giant streetlight to light something. But we have very
little variety in computer cases: they all tend to be big gray or
beige boxes.

The designs I've been looking at on sites pointed to by people here
move in the wrong direction: they make the PC a center of attention.
I'm looking for people who have designed PCs that blend into the room,
like a lighting fixture. Sure, there's a PC in the room, but you
don't really notice it because it fits so well with everything else.
The PC hardware could be tucked away in a cabinet or drawer, with
modular construction so pieces could just be unplugged and replaced as
necessary. All a computer-phobic user would actually see would be the
screen, keyboard, and mouse--and even these could be customized to
fold out of the way when not in use.

The time for such design considerations is well overdue.

I agree ... and I think there's a huge market for it. I don't have
the skills to do it myself, but someone out there does, and it's money
waiting to be made. Plus, it will help more people to use computers,
since they won't be put off by big gray cases on their desks.

The Mac has occasionally moved in this direction, but it still has the
defect of making the computer a center of attention, instead of an
invisible servant. For non-geeks, PCs should be silent and invisible,
with only the necessary human interfaces being noticeable (screen,
keyboard, etc.).

DL writes:

Ya mean like this?

http://www.squidly.com/php-cgi/Table-PC

Definitely a move in the right direction.

But still better would be a PC integrated into other furniture that
people already use, such as a nice desk in the office or home. The PC
should be no more obvious in the room than a power strip or discreet
room lighting.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 12:29:48 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:


I'm looking for people who have designed PCs that blend into the room,
like a lighting fixture.

Err, ok but then again there's probably someone out there
thinking "I want my lighting fixtures to blend into the
room", for them that too is another object to hide.

Stoves, refridgerators, etc- also appliances that don't need
hidden. If all you want is to just tuck it into a desk,
that's really not a big deal though, just a matter of taking
the time to do it. Get some sheet aluminum, a metal brake,
and a ruler. Fab some brackets and plates to screw down the
parts. Cut a hole or two for fans. You might save some
time making brackets and plates if you took an old ATX case
and sawed it up to use as templates.

Mxsmanic wrote:
Thomas Wendell writes:


Pragmatic? Like this one built into a sofa.. (article is in finnish, but
there are a few pics...)


All of these are very cool, but I was thinking more along the lines of
PCs that are integrated into furniture in a business or home-office
environment, so that they don't take up space on the desk. Maybe
something in a discreet cabinet at the workstation.

I was also thinking of something that is highly maintainable. On
large commercial computer systems, for example, traditionally
everything has been in racks or bays that you can just pull out when
you need to upgrade or replace hardware. (Tandem used to be famous
for its ability to tolerate hardware changes even on a running
system.) So some sort of custom arrangement that actually allows you
to plug and unplug components would be cool. Ideally this would
include even the motherboard. Ultimately you could unsnap and replace
any individual part of the PC without building a new enclosure or
dealing with fastenings that aren't designed to be undone.

So... Do it! What's stopping you?

Clyde

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
DL writes:

Ya mean like this?

http://www.squidly.com/php-cgi/Table-PC

Definitely a move in the right direction.

But still better would be a PC integrated into other furniture that
people already use, such as a nice desk in the office or home. The PC
should be no more obvious in the room than a power strip or discreet
room lighting.

I really like your design and effort DL. I have a "end table" one, but it's
not nearly as polished as yours. It looks like you have a much nicer
workshop!

This new one is more of a large writing desk with the PC where the middle
drawers would commonly be. My obsession has been to hide everything, power
strips, wallwarts, et al., and to make the thing quiet as ****.

You are working with wood. Have you had any problems with EMI? Any visits
from the FCC?
What do you call yours? Just Table-PC?

-John

Bob Adkins writes:

When I have to work on my current personal machine, it causes me to get a
real high pucker factor. I hate climbing under my desk to unplug stuff, and
hate diving into all those cables.

Same here. I don't understand why I have to struggle to put
components in place or remove them, or why everything is crammed into
such small spaces with such unruly connectors. Everything seems to
require snaking one's fingers around a corner and looking at connector
sockets through a dental mirror.

I think we are ahead of our time. I think the industry is very slowly moving
in the direction of very accessible cases and very easy maintenance. Already
we are seeing nice roomy cases, more friendly mounting, nicer cables, etc.

They are better than they used to be, and big cases have a fair amount
of room. Still, even a nice case ends up being a rat's nest of cables
and millimeter clearances after everything is installed.

Who knows what 5-10 years will bring? All these thoughts may be moot.

Well, cases don't look that much different from the way they looked 25
years ago, so I wouldn't be too optimistic.

Perhaps the entire computer will be the size of a cigarette pack, and the
monitor can be unrolled like a big roll of wax paper and hung on the wall.

I'm not a big fan of miniaturization. I can see the value for
something that must be carried around, but one doesn't carry around
desktops.

In television, you have small portable TV sets, and large big-screen
TV sets that are not intended to be moved. But in PC-land, everything
is built as though you have to be able to pick it up and move it at a
moment's notice. Some computers aren't going anywhere, so they don't
necessarily have to be compact.

Mxsmanic wrote:

Bob Adkins writes:


When I have to work on my current personal machine, it causes me to get a
real high pucker factor. I hate climbing under my desk to unplug stuff, and
hate diving into all those cables.


Same here. I don't understand why I have to struggle to put
components in place or remove them, or why everything is crammed into
such small spaces with such unruly connectors. Everything seems to
require snaking one's fingers around a corner and looking at connector
sockets through a dental mirror.

Because the vast majority of people never even open a case, much less move
things in and out of it, so they're designed to be assembled and used, not
re-designed every two weeks.

And people like their 'never going to open it' whatever, be it a stereo,
VCR, DVD player, toaster, microwave oven, or PC, in a nice looking compact
package that will fit in the least objectionable space rather than a desk
or room sized monster that's 'easy to work on' when they aren't ever going
to because "we got lots of other stuff to get in here too, ya know."

Now no explanation would be complete without some 'big bad business'
conspiracy theory so... uh... ah... besides, large cases take up too much
store shelf space.

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 08:07:19 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

Bob Adkins writes:

When I have to work on my current personal machine, it causes me to get a
real high pucker factor. I hate climbing under my desk to unplug stuff, and
hate diving into all those cables.

Same here. I don't understand why I have to struggle to put
components in place or remove them, or why everything is crammed into
such small spaces with such unruly connectors. Everything seems to
require snaking one's fingers around a corner and looking at connector
sockets through a dental mirror.

It's quite simple. Smaller cases cost a little less, and
there are people who like smaller cases too. The ideal for
a case maker is not to market towards the end of selling a
case here, a case there to enthusiasts but selling bulk
through OEMs. Most people aren't changing around their
systems much.

While I agree that easy access would be nice, I find the
larger problem with modern systems to be cable management.
Cases need come with more mounts for cable ties, channels to
restrain wires, general allowances to provide free/unused
space such that when cables are tied down they don't
interfere with other device addition or removal.





I think we are ahead of our time. I think the industry is very slowly moving
in the direction of very accessible cases and very easy maintenance. Already
we are seeing nice roomy cases, more friendly mounting, nicer cables, etc.

They are better than they used to be, and big cases have a fair amount
of room. Still, even a nice case ends up being a rat's nest of cables
and millimeter clearances after everything is installed.

Who knows what 5-10 years will bring? All these thoughts may be moot.

Well, cases don't look that much different from the way they looked 25
years ago, so I wouldn't be too optimistic.

I"m not quite sure what your ideal is then. You mentioned
unobtrusive cases that blend into their environement, but
that's hardly obtainable, universally, because environments
differ. There are a lot of people, myself included, that
aren't looking for a way to permanently mount a system
inside their desk drawers, nor make it larger than necessary
for "reasonable" access. One problem with larger cases is
also cable length, as it becomes a real PITA to have to
start hand-making cable extensions, and it's ridiculously
expensive how much aftermarket specialty cables cost for a
length of wire with connectors on both ends.




Perhaps the entire computer will be the size of a cigarette pack, and the
monitor can be unrolled like a big roll of wax paper and hung on the wall.

I'm not a big fan of miniaturization. I can see the value for
something that must be carried around, but one doesn't carry around
desktops.

.... and yet, making things smaller means you could have more
free space in the same sized chassis. You are certainly
free to buy a small mATX board and put it in a full tower
case if you choose to. That will result in a lot more free
space to work, with the primary problem being IDE cable
routing from the bottom of a board (or RAID/etc controllers)
to the top drive bays. Howver, we make our own problems to
a certain extent, as a computer doesn't really care how
"pretty" it's cables are routed, and poorly routed cables
would have to be REALLY poorly routed to interfere
significantly with airflow. It simply isn't necessary to
have the rear of a drive as unrestricted as the intake or
exhaust areas in a case.



In television, you have small portable TV sets, and large big-screen
TV sets that are not intended to be moved. But in PC-land, everything
is built as though you have to be able to pick it up and move it at a
moment's notice. Some computers aren't going anywhere, so they don't
necessarily have to be compact.

I disagree. You can buy larger cases, but due to the lower
sales and more metal plus more elaborate design, they cost
significantly more. Cheap stuff sells best, if really good
cases cost no more then of course they'd be more popular.

David Maynard writes:

And people like their 'never going to open it' whatever, be it a stereo,
VCR, DVD player, toaster, microwave oven, or PC, in a nice looking compact
package that will fit in the least objectionable space rather than a desk
or room sized monster that's 'easy to work on' when they aren't ever going
to because "we got lots of other stuff to get in here too, ya know."

That's not how component audio systems work; audiophiles can easily
cobble together complex systems from individual components. But there
are no component computer systems.