Microsoft pushing for designer PCs?

Now that Macs are PCs -- we mean really real PCs that run Windows n' stuff -- the beige box world is having a harder time than ever keeping peoples' interest when their inner John Hodgman longs to walk on the wild side and snap up a Macintel. Re-enter Microsoft: the company's latest kick is, of course, vertical integration (see: Zune), so it should come as no surprise that Redmond's supposedly been issuing a strict aesthetic best-practices kit, called the Windows Vista Industrial Design Toolkit, to PC OEMs like HP and Gateway; apparently Microsoft's got a team of twenty some-odd designers working to guarantee the first round of Vista boxes are "objects of pure desire," sure to re-obsess jejune PC-buyers like it was Win95 all over again, even in spite of Cupertino's best laid plans. The claim is that Microsoft is in no way enforcing these guidelines or requiring PC manufacturers to pretty up their boxes, but even if they were, well, given how often Windows boxes tend to get hit with the fugly stick it might not be such a bad thing.

[Thanks, CoreyTheGent]

[Kevin @ Jul 30th 2006 1:47PM]

First a proprietary player and store, and now "suggestions" for PC case designs? Microsoft is one keynote address away from becoming Apple...

[Mark Rich @ Jul 30th 2006 1:49PM]

"we mean really real PCs that run Windows n' stuff"..

hahahaha...real PC's run Windows...LOL!.....

[Bosco @ Jul 30th 2006 2:09PM]

PC makers are in it for the money, and if it requires an ounce or more of effort, that may cut into their razor thin profit margin.

Not gonna happen.

[Jacob Varghese @ Jul 30th 2006 2:25PM]

I actually think the Dell PC you used in the picture above is a pretty good looking box.

[Spyvie @ Jul 30th 2006 2:31PM]

IT’s really just a matter of Chinese case manufactures smartening up there designs a little. Companies like Lian Lee or Silverstone already make some really nice looking and functional cases. Maybe the MS guidelines will help others, maybe not…

My Atlon64, DFI, G.Skill, OCZ, nVidia rig in an Antec Sonata piano black case looks pretty good to me.

[SPIN @ Jul 30th 2006 2:34PM]

I have pushed this for YEARS! Ever since I was in Micron's PC Division. I kept trying to convince them to build aesthetic designs... Nike attitude, Mac Feel was my motto. I got shut down at every turn... "no one will ever buy a PC for its looks." I was told over and over and over. FINALLY... PC makers may get a clue... design matters.. it does.

[Spyvie @ Jul 30th 2006 2:34PM]

It's their design me thinks!

Registered comments with an edit function please…

[martin @ Jul 30th 2006 2:43PM]

There are so many butt ugly cases out there that just telling the big name OEMs to fix their designs isn't enough. Almost every whitebox PC is so blah. I wish I knew how to design cases, maybe that'll be my new year's resolution or something.

[Jacob @ Jul 30th 2006 2:46PM]

PC's have def been looking nicer lately. The Dell box I'm using right now looks pretty good IMHO (not the one pictured above, a Dimension e510).

High end PC manufacturers have had nice looking cases for some time now, good to see the big manufacturers following suite.

[MegaMe @ Jul 30th 2006 2:47PM]

Dull little boxes doing dull little tasks.

If your pc is just sitting in a closet running as a server, who cares what it looks like.

I gladly pay 10% more for a well thought out machine made by people who take pride in their work.

At work, I buy a lot of dells and Macs (a lot, I save every body and stack them up in warehouse, it looks impressive to see a wall of computer boxes 30 feet high x 130 feet).

The macs have a longer life span. I average 3 hours a week on dell tech support ordering replacement parts. I have to reinstall everything fresh atleast once a year on our dell boxes. The macs do have problems, but not near as many. I don't mind paying more upfront if it saves me money in the long run.

I take pride in my work. I like to buy things from companies that take pride intheir work too. I take pride in my car. I could buy a ford fiesta to get from point a to point b, but I don't mind buying quality. So I buy hondas. They have the lowest repair cost over the life span of the car.

[themoose @ Jul 30th 2006 2:49PM]

well, however true it is that PC makers are only in it of the money, the same can be said about EVERYONE in the Buisness feild.

Really "Buisness" is just an 8 letter word for $$$$

But that aside, you have to admit that these days computers, desktop and lap, have come a long way since the days of the big monstourus tan box.

though still not the most beautiful, atleast theres progress, and hopefully in years to come the looks will be come more refined, simple and elegent.

hopefully...

[Raider @ Jul 30th 2006 2:59PM]

Well you can always leave it to M$ to take someone's idea or ethos and make it there own. No doubt they will be successful at it anyways, they have the clout and resources to throw at anything.

[treetrunk @ Jul 30th 2006 3:48PM]

Bosco - you're correct that PC makers are "in it for the money", much like every other business in existence. However, no good business bases it's decisions on the amount of "effort" involved! Where profits are concerned, surely this would allow firms to demand a higher price for a better looking model, a bit like, well, Apple. That said, looking at Apple's performance with this sort of business model would suggest it to be a bad idea, especially now that Apple effectively make middle-of-the-road PCs in fancy boxes, with an OS which is nice to look at, but in my opinion functionally very poor - I have had the x86 version installed on my laptop, but found it messy and unproductive compared to XP when running multiple applications at once. I also couldn't stand not having a taskbar. Needless to say, despite the lengthy process of getting it all working on non-native hardware, I soon uninstalled it.

[darren @ Jul 30th 2006 3:52PM]

One of the reasons that the current (Windows) PC is so popular is that you can go down to a swap meet and put together a reasonably powerful machine for less than $500. One of the biggest arguments against Apple is that you pay a premium for the design, whilst the hardware wasn't as powerful. Will PC users be prepared to do the same for Vista? I think not.

[Brian @ Jul 30th 2006 4:09PM]

"
First a proprietary player and store, and now "suggestions" for PC case designs? Microsoft is one keynote address away from becoming Apple...
"

Oh snap, kevin! No joke. :( This could get real ugly, but at least I'll have a pretty MS/Dell laptop to match my MS mp3 player, MS headphones, and other MS accessories, all bought from the MS stores where they sell MS music for $.98/track (just to undermine iTunes/Napster/etc) and MS video. I wonder if MS will start making clothing... I could be the ultimate consumer whore!

"Well you can always leave it to M$ to take someone's idea or ethos and make it there own."

That's kinda how this whole "technology" thing works. Who cares about who came up with it first... how childish... haven't you heard of sharing? :P All I, the consumer, care about is who utilizes it best!

[dave @ Jul 30th 2006 4:23PM]

treetrunk wants bill gates

[monkey @ Jul 30th 2006 4:32PM]

To believe that 'design' simply means a nicer looking box is absurd. Apple creates beautiful products not because they are eye-candy but because the attention to detail -- and all that detail translates to a better and more human experience, just like good architecture. Apple doesn't just create a nicer box, it creates a nicer way of relating to that box -- and Microsoft knows that. You can dress a monkey in silk but still a bloody monkey.

[microchip13 @ Jul 30th 2006 4:49PM]

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn't what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it's all about. It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don't take the time to do that." - Steve Jobs.


It'll be good to see some PC manufacturers possibly getting better but still.

I build large amounts of PC's at my job and we often will order different cases than before.

The Silverstone cases that were mentioned, sure they are very nice cases, but in comparison to my G5 that has millimeter thick real aluminum casing it pales in comparison.
Sure it(The Silverstone) case looks cool, but actually getting up close to it it just looks cheaper than something made of real(er) metal.

[rickm @ Jul 30th 2006 4:51PM]

Unless you're the type to sit there and wank off to your case, what does it matter?

Apple effectively make middle-of-the-road PCs in fancy boxes, with an OS which is nice to look at, but in my opinion functionally very poor -

Run it on the platform it's native to and see if that changes your mind.

[LukeA @ Jul 30th 2006 5:12PM]

Windows PCs don't get hit by the fugly stick. They get run over by the fugly tank.

[Shaun @ Jul 30th 2006 5:14PM]

Of course it matters what it looks like. You spend most of your working day staring at the thing so it might as well not make your eyes bleed.

Personally, I preferred the beige boxes to the attempts at style you see now. Shiny black plastic, neon and silver painted plastic - like a teenager's bedroom from the 1980s. See Samsung and Acer for the worst proponents of that style. They really don't get it.

[LukeA @ Jul 30th 2006 5:16PM]

rickm, you only say you don't care what your PC's case looks like because it's ugly.

[rickm @ Jul 30th 2006 5:31PM]

LukeA:

One of 'em is a Mac Mini that is attached to a plate under my desk. I can't see it so it doesn't bother me. I think it's an attractive case. My XP box is in an Antec case. Not bad looking but it's just metallic gray and shiny (I put some of my carwax on it).

I never understood why PCs had to be so horking huge. In theory they could be about 1/2 the size of what most cases are now if they got rid of some of the dead space. Though I do remember the "full towers" from years ago, that was a blast when someone would order a damn case that was like 3' tall and had 1 FD, 1 HD and a CD.

[Altartifacts @ Jul 30th 2006 6:48PM]

Let's see... If only Dell could get the USB ports right side up or at least decide how they plan on putting them in. Wow, that's frustrating. I own four Dells and one Mac Mini. Design does make a difference in many ways.
LukeA, you said it! Who needs cases the size of Cleveland? What a waste of resources!!!

[treetrunk @ Jul 30th 2006 6:55PM]

Monkey- I'm afraid I disagree entirely. Based on my experience of Apple products - I used OS 9/X for 6 years while I was in school, as I said, installed OS X on my laptop, own an ipod, and have itunes and quicktime installed on my XP machine - Apple's "attention to detail" is 98% what something looks like. My ipod looks sleek, but functionally it's a piece of crap - the interface is so simple I could have designed it in 10 minutes, it only plays videos in 2 formats, and it lacks any scope for customisation - you can't even make a custom eq! Where's the "attention to detail" in an ipod which ISN'T just what it or it's very basic software looks like? Itunes and quicktime are a similar story - they both look pretty swish, but they're both inefficient, single-function, memory-hogging rubbish.

[andrew harrison @ Jul 30th 2006 6:55PM]

"I have had the x86 version installed on my laptop, but found it messy and unproductive compared to XP when running multiple applications at once. "

hahaha are you serious? you're basing your experience of OS X on running it on unsupported hardware? buy/borrow/steal a mac, see it run properly, then come back and tell us what you think.

[Stranger @ Jul 30th 2006 8:24PM]

Well, let Apple fit 3 5.25"-units, 6 3.5" drives, a proper memory card reader, a PSU that wont set you back $250 (and still crappy) and have space for 6 PCI/PCI-E cards. If they succeed in this and it still looks good, then I will give them credit. But any monkey can design and overly simplistic design.

[chonky_green @ Jul 30th 2006 9:05PM]

microsoft's designs are near the bottom of the heap when it comes to aesthetics (to non-geeks)

so how do they figure they can guide other companies with their designs

it's like j.lo telling miuccia prada how to craft shoes

good luck microsoft... apple is gonna have another good laugh at your expense

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Jul 30th 2006 9:31PM]

"Some people buy a computer because they need a tool to do number crunching for them. Others buy a computer and place it in their living room to show off to their friends. Microsoft is a company that likes profits; they have been facing a lot of competition recently so they try many different approaches to sell their product. What's wrong with that?"

I 100% agree with you.

[Mark Thomas @ Jul 31st 2006 1:48PM]

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction. ~E.F. Schumacker

[Mark Thomas @ Jul 31st 2006 1:53PM]

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci

[Sid @ Jul 31st 2006 2:32PM]

Not strictly PC makers, but SGI and Sun have been making nice cases for years.

[Elias @ Jul 31st 2006 4:32PM]

Is it just me or does that Dell computer remind you of the Scout Troopers' helmets from Return of the Jedi?

http://www.starwars.com/databank/organization/scouttrooper/img/movie_bg.jpg

[iker @ Aug 1st 2006 3:29PM]

Is the cheapest way (for them) to have their own hardware (It's no so easy to ship hardware service packs)

[Pete @ Jan 12th 2007 10:10PM]

tretrunk wrote:
> My ipod looks sleek, but functionally it's a piece of crap - the interface is so simple I could have designed it in 10 minutes

Oh really? Then how come nobody else did it first? How come nobody else is making anything as popular now, even with Apple to show them the way? Making an effective *simple* interface is so much harder, and so much more impressive when done right, than making a complex one with all the bells and whistles that just serve to clutter up most people's lives. Apple gets this. I aspire to this in my job as a software developer. You clearly do not get this.