Design Hara reminds us that our living room computer needn't be an eyesore, nor an ode to testosterone
By Paul Miller 
posted January 12th 2010 11:47AM
posted January 12th 2010 11:47AM
posted January 12th 2010 11:47AM
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Looks like a circa 1970 TV/Stereo console design, complete with the mod and righteous plexiglass speakers.
Will it do 8-Track?
@nicklar Nail on the head man! "What can only be described as beautiful" was written by "bloggers whose tastes include shag carpet, muted yellows, greens, and browns, and wood-paneled walls". So ugly! I much prefer the sleek "testosterone" HTPCs to that ugly crap!
@nicklar Yep. Totally from the 70s. I'd rather add something more modern to my room, like the Boxee device. This woodie would fit in better in my Aunt's wood paneled basement den.
@(Unverified) Exactly! Like the basement room that had wood paneling, hand-me-down furniture, and a crocheted orange afghan blanket (that was far too small & "holey" to be of any use) on each piece of upholstered furniture. Non upholstered stuff all had doilies. This thing would fit right in.
What I want to know if if that top flips open on this think and if so, is there a 45 player in there?
@nicklar Exactly. I almost expect to see a few vacuum tubes inside. The speakers look like the ones Apple sold with the G4 Cube. Neither look would fit with my antique furniture, although aesthetically I still like the speakers.
@nicklar Here's what came to my mind first:
http://www.radiotimeline.com/ar-radio_shack_cube12-174.jpg
Yes- and the top flips open to reveal a turntable and an AM radio...
@RyanLN
Damn! You just reminded me that AM existed. I cant recall the last time I heard that unique, annoying noise.
Clean, timeless design. I like!
Hopefully they dont skimp on the graphics.
Speaking of eyesore? :)
@ascenvia I agree. to me "wood finish" IS an eye-sore. I wouldn't keep that thing even if it was given to me for free.
This would go great with my Tandberg receiver and EPI speakers. I would not want those over stylized speakers though.
These PCs would go really well with some matching Ikea furniture. I'm not sure about the all-wood keyboard though, its design doesn't match the compact and efficient look of the computer.
Apparently, it still needs to be hideous?
The cpu case reminds me of dead people.
By the way, I hate design currents from the fifties, sixties and seventies, they are depressingly void of spirit and completely superficial.
@prometeum
Yes, and we went to a great deal of effort to make them exactly that way. And we LIKED it.
@prometeum
Wrong.
Midcentury modern furniture was very well made and organic back in the day. It is leaps and bounds better than anything being sold at Crate and Barrel or some schlocky store like that. Most of it is overpriced crap these days.
I'd take a set of those speakers please !
Anything looks good sitting next to those speakers.
Looks like an eyesore to me.
@HektikLyfe Strange, coming from your avatar.
The speakers, the small ones atleast look almost identical to the lamp shade imac models speakers. I have a set. They were really nice, but the plug only worked with that generation of the imac.
I guess I'll be the only one booing the speakers. If placed in a stylish, vintage decorated room then the computer would blend in really nicely. On the other hand, it can also stand out like shit on shoes if integrated in a modern room.
In either case, the speakers do not belong in the same room with the computer.
In Hebrew, the name basically would match the design they have.
didn't a bunch of us do this when Mini-ITX was new? My file / web / print server is made of pine, stained like cherry.
The small speakers appear to be full-range open baffle speakers, hence the large clear baffle. I can't tell if they're concave or convex baffles, so it's hard to tell if in fact, they're cones. Anyway, I like the aesthetic and the technical decisions... I'm trying to work on some open baffle speakers myself.
@Please forgive me
Found out they're Ferguson Hill ... someone commented on one of teh links.
http://www.fergusonhill.co.uk/
unconvinced. much of the time speakers like those sacrifice audio quality for the sake of design.
I'm not too crazy about the case design. Most peoples TV's, and stands, are black or silver and sleekly designed; this thing would stick out like a sore thumb - but maybe that's point?