When I was little, I always liked to take apart machines and just take a look at what was inside. I always liked to pull off the cases and unscrew all the little screws, but the one thing my parents never let me open up was their computer.
Most people today have a personal computer, but that hasn’t always been the case. As computers got more and more powerful and easier to use, their parts also got smaller and smaller. Eventually we stuck them in boring boxes to hide all their mechanical parts from the world and let dust gather inside until eventually the machine just died. You can learn more about these boxes here.
As more and more people began building their own computers, competition would naturally spring up among them. People wanted to see who could build the fastest and most powerful computers. As with most things, eventually there was no way to compete, as people simply used the best technologies available, and so new way of building came about. It was no longer simply enough to have the most power in your boring box, but you had to make it look the best too. As this hobbyist arms race advanced, the companies making the parts took notice, adding lights and colors to their parts on top of their power and speed. However, none of this does anybody any good without the single most simple addition to the computer case. The window.
Digital Trends Review of this computer
The addition of windows to computer cases started in the early 2000’s and has continued ever since. They ushered forth a new aspect of PC construction that still continues today. They enabled people to make their machines into works of art, and to show them off to the world.
The window increases visibility on the computer, and not only allows people to show off how nice their parts look together, but with one quick look, you can also understand the capabilities of the machine itself (provided you know what the parts are).
The windows on a computer case remind me that if you’ve got something worth looking at, you might as well show it off.
Hi Greg, Thanks for sharing that interesting background and your post! I love how this is an example of art meets technology (but they could meet more often :-]) Now I am curious to know what you would do to better convey the capability through that window if you were asked to do the opposite of what you did in your childhood, i.e. assemble things together. 🙂
If we consider at the window as a metaphor, imagine what design could do to facilitate users’ understanding of products? For example, if you’ve ever observed how older people (who did not grow up with computers etc.) struggle to use computers, laptops , mobile phones etc. what kinds of “windows” could be placed to help them better understand what different devices or product do?
Great post, Greg. I like your intro about taking things apart when you were a kid and I can’t help but think that maybe if your parents had one of these fancy light-up see through computers that would have made it pretty much irresistible for you! The see-through window is an interesting take on decoration, because it’s a way of making the computer more visually appealing without adding a lot of extra parts to it (aside from the colored lights).