Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Refrigerator colors (and cynical geeks)
Author: Dan Lyke Posted: 1/8/1999; 12:57:24 PM Topic: How Frontier Changed My Life Msg #: 1919 (In response to 1899) Prev/Next: 1918 / 1920
"any color you want as long as it's black" didn't last because cynical geeks are not a market sample.I do, however, wish that if they're going to change the cosmetics of computing, they'd do some things to change the way I use the computers. I posted a quick note (http://www.flutterby.com/archives/1999_Jan/08_KoolAidcoloredboxes.html) on my website about some of the major changes I'd like to see, but it seems to me that there are some simple but radically different things they could be doing with the exact same technology that would help us see computing in a whole different light.
If anything, the iMac (much like the Performa we've got in my household) is tied tighter to the desk than most computers. Working elsewhere means not just moving a monitor and keyboard, but dragging it and all the attached peripherals elsewhere...
...but I no longer do most of my home computing at a desk. I have a living room. It's for living. A good place to cuddle up and read in the evenings. In many households the television is there, and the kids lie on the floor and play video games. Change the ergonomics of the computer so that it's more at home in that environment and I'd even consider another Mac (something I've completely sworn off).
My computers have several components of my stereo. Put a 5 disk CD changer in it and make it rack mount and it belongs in my living room with the rest of my stereo components, not in the den (ignoring a DVD drive and video out).
My laptop is my current evening computing environment of choice, but if you gave me a computer hooked into my ethernet and a detachable keyboard with a form factor that lent itself to slouching on the couch, that'd be preferable. And a step closer to making web servers in the kitchen appliances useful. With the advent of cable modems ordinary folks are starting to put in routers and private subnets, not just us geeks.
An LCD screen, or something less emissive and power hungry than a CRT, and all of a sudden that thing taking up space in the room becomes something I want to leave the screen saver running a slideshow of my favorite photography on. Stereo components are black and appliances are white because they're out of place in the design of the home, and therefore try to be unobtrusive. If you want to think different, make the computer something I want there because I want it to be a part of my environment.
The vases on my end-tables aren't blue plastic. The frames on my pictures are unobtrusive maple or oak or similar, not baroque gilt monstrocities. The iMac still isn't something I'd display in my living room, but the content on it may well be. Solve that problem, and I'll roll over and beg for one rather than trying to build it myself out of Linux based hardware.
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