Case designs (was: New Definiton REQUIRED)

From: starling_at_umr.edu <(starling_at_umr.edu)>
Date: Mon Nov 17 20:38:23 1997

> I have to agree about the Lisa - there is just something about her lines
> which really appeals to me. :) The Atari 400 is also a faviourite, as it
> has the weird science-fiction look. But the best (apart from the Lisa)
> would have to be the Mac 128 and Apple IIc - both are very much Steve Jobs'
> concept of what a computer should be, and although I don't agree with him
> they nevertheless have a fine design concept.


I like the Lisa's INTERNAL design more than it's external appearance. It
has to be one of the easiest computers to take appart! Two thumb-screws
to pop open the back panel and then you pull out the entire
backplane-cage assembly. Nice-n-easy.

I'd also have to nominate almost every IBM PS/2 for having sweet case
design. Especially the model 35SX (a desktop that can be taken appart with
the monitor still sitting on top of the case) and the model 80 (they're
just nifty inside). But they also get nominated for the Proprietary
Standards from Hell award, with the grand prize going to whoever thought
up the Microchannel Hard Drive. Mmm... lets hook a hard drive directly
into the BUS! Maybe other non-PC machines have done this, but it just
seems like a really wonky thing to do with a quasi-PC machine.

Anyway... my main reason for posting was to say that I do believe that
the case and externals for the Apple //c was designed by an engineer that
designed bodies for Porsche. Hence, it gets the award for sleekest case.

The Apple //c also gets Starling's Liquid Fault Tolerance Award...
there's no telling how many times I (as a kid) spilled water or soda down
the keyboard, only to have it safely run out those little vents at the
bottom of the case, no damage done.


> If only I have a NextCube - that is one of the two computers I most want in
> the world (the other being a Sinclair ZX81).

www.deepspacetech.com frequently has good deals on NeXT hardware. You
might look there. I've never bought anything from them, but I've never
heard anything bad about them. But, of course, nothing beats buying the
machine you want at an auction for $10.00. :)

chris starling
starling_at_umr.edu
Received on Mon Nov 17 1997 - 20:38:23 GMT