Mad-Mike said:
I look at IBM Compatables as being more like collecting cars. IBM has had X86 based machines on the market for 24.25 years now based of the one they made in 81 in a more or less different degree. The IBM PC 5150 is more akin to a Ford Model T, while an HP/Compaq Presario runnning Windows X-Pee is more like a Honda Civic. You don't see too many 81' IBM's running around in use anymore outside museums, people's computer collections, and vintage computer shows. You see those Presarios running 95-XP just about everywhere, with teenagers usually pimping out the old ones with blinking lights and various overclocking enhancements (eg. PC Ricers and Tuners), while the other half buy the new ones, use them a few years, and junk them or give them to the kids to "pimp-out".
The essensce of collecting IBM's being akin to old cars goes by that old saying "they just don't make them like they used to". In the early IBM days, nothing was standardized, then the Xt came along, everybody copied it, soon we had clones out the wazoo, but even the clones white-box and non all had their own interesting characteristics that made them what they were. I kind of feel like a car collector looking at a current lineup when I see today's pc's, nobody is willing to put something extra into their computers to make them stand out. You know a Compaq Deskpro 386 when you see it in a stack of other computers, but looking at a stack of modern machines, and only the industry insider can teel the difference. Heck, you could even tell the hard disk by what big black rectangle was in front!
Well Put!
They do try to stand out but for all the wrong reasons now days it's how
can we make this a inch smaller and how can we had 2 inchs of curvey plastic
that makes it look modern or futuristic but serves no point but take up space.
Im all for "pimping-out" (as you put it) theres nothing wrong with that.
But let me try and do it my self, I hate flashy box's that come that way.
I think the reason why the spend more on the outside is because as you
said they are all the same on the inside, I try to tell people they're all the same.
Dell don't make shit!. Last time i was inside one it was a damn foxconn case
Same goes for everyone else.
The hardware is so cheap now days that to the only way they can make
there product stand out is on the outside because it cost way to much to
design your own stuff. If they did they would not be able to keep up with
the prices everyone else is putting out there.
Every once in a while someone ask's me to built them a system but i do it
less and less because unless they want a gamming rig i can't build a cheaper
system then dell or what ever even if i charge nothing for doing the work
and using "oem" ("white-box") parts. There is some problems with the way things are however.
see my posting on "eviroment friendly computers" in rants.
