Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

contemporary-home-computing.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 186 posts

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#61

Post by my_usernam3 »

asperous wrote: post #18

For the average person this might be kind true, however I can think of at least three places where desktop computers are very much cultural and symbolic: * “Gamers” or other enthusiasts with their battlestations [1] * Finace workstations with many monitors and Bloomberg terminals [2] * Potentially musician workstations as well [3] Any other niche ideas? [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations/ [2] https://images.…

> Finance workstations with many monitors and Bloomberg terminals

The only person I know who has a bloomberg terminal uses a remote machine and just a laptop at home and he works from home. However he is not involved in day trading directly so maybe those would need desktop computers just for the graphics.... although maybe even that can be done via external graphics card since the processing power I think is already there on powerful laptops.... now I'm curious.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#62

Post by handrous »

danilocesar wrote: post #29
dylan604 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it is central to home computing, I'd say audio/music workstations are a bit outside of that. However, if you allow that, then a video workstation would also follow.

Part of a musician "workstation" is already an ipad (or more). It's question of time, IMHO.

As a musician's tool, it's hard to beat a computer that fits neatly on a music stand and lasts all day on battery.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#63

Post by asdff »

mhh__ wrote: post #55
zten wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iMacs are usually laptops in all but name. To hit the same thinness with a giant heat-producing screen, most of the parts are their mobile equivalents. Edit: on slightly closer inspection, this isn't true for the 27" models!

Thank god for them being thin, I actually had to throw away my 2013 iMac because it was just unbearable reading my emails with x-ray vision and noticing just how thick it is.

What is hilarious is that the thin imac weighs the same 20lbs as the one that was a few inches thicker and had better cooling and user replaceable parts.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#64

Post by alliao »

egypturnash wrote: post #40
asperous wrote: post #18

For the average person this might be kind true, however I can think of at least three places where desktop computers are very much cultural and symbolic: * “Gamers” or other enthusiasts with their battlestations [1] * Finace workstations with many monitors and Bloomberg terminals [2] * Potentially musician workstations as well [3] Any other niche ideas? [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations/ [2] https://images.…

All of those musician's workstations have the actual computer hidden somewhere out of sight. There's a monitor or two, a computer keyboard lying around(all wireless, it looks like?), but all those desks are dominated by musical keyboards, mixer boards, and speakers. Sometimes there's a laptop sitting on it. All the cables are hidden, out of the way. Take away the monitors and the computer keyboard, substitute a coupl…

I'm a gamer and my rig is a mini itx tucked away. I like it quiet and performant. Yes the market slaps RGB lighting on anything and everything gamer but it's up to gamers to buy them.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#65

Post by my_usernam3 »

zozbot234 wrote: post #60
munk-a wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I personally love the aesthetic of big whirring fans and blinking lights. If you offered me an M1 MacBook Pro but it would be buried in a 7 foot tall cupboard plastered in lights and fans that occasionally, randomly, sounded like a jet engine taking off... I would be in heaven.

> buried in a 7 foot tall cupboard plastered in lights and fans that occasionally, randomly, sounded like a jet engine taking off... There might be a market for rackmountable hardware with the much-needed addition of proper RGB lighting (for improved performance).

.... I'd pay for that if its a good docking station as well!

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#66

Post by hawski »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #47
hawski wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Macbook Pro (though 15") and a PC, but also a ridiculously underpowered Chromebook with a crappy 11" 1366x768 screen. Lately I find myself when I'm on the run in the city to grab the Chromebook and ssh to my desktop (I've got Zerotier set up). This is my ultimate portable duo. It could be better, but it is lightweight, battery runs full day and I have all power I need. Then when I get back I have it even bet…

What’s old is new again! This is how mainframe terminals worked.

That's a setup I wanted for quite some time and I know it was available for some time, but ubiquitous fast and cheap wireless Internet is something new I guess, also with all-day batteries all in a lightweight package.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#67

Post by asdff »

function_seven wrote: post #58
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see how that is possible. Desktop PCs have almost unlimited space — cases can be measured in cubic feet. MacBooks are always space constrained because of their case size and weight minimizing, so there is an inherent disadvantage in the size of components like graphics boards. And a size disadvantage means fewer transistors and less cooling.

Parent is referring to Mac Pro (the desktop). I blame Apple's product line branding for this confusion. I make the same mistake all the time.

To be fair the mac pro went through its own horrible shrinkage phase where it was not much larger than my $50 air filter. The old aluminum case used to be pretty large and pretty spacious internally, with many extra bays waiting for you to give them purpose. Not sure how the newest one stacks up to the first mac pro/mac g5 case.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#68

Post by samatman »

rossdavidh wrote: post #50

My 15-year old daughter just recently got her first desktop. Why? Well, because instead of just consuming (which she does on her phone) or doing homework (chromebook), she wanted to do video editing, and also drawing using a Wacom tablet. She found that the non-desktop options were just not that great. Had it been a passing fancy, no doubt she would have done without the desktop, but it wasn't, so she got a tricked o…

A tangent, but I've found the iPad Pro to be fabulous for video editing. I haven't hooked it up to a keyboard/mouse combo, or plugged it into a monitor, but it's quite capable of both of those things.

I can tell you it's simply superior to a Wacom tablet for drawing, there I have a direct comparison. A PC/desktop will certainly exceed an iPad at some level: but now that the Pro model has an M1, it's unclear at what level that is. I certainly don't edit at a level where the difference between Logic and LumaFusion becomes apparent, and I expect that Apple releasing Logic for the iPad is a matter of when, not if.

The iPad is also as expensive as a good laptop, so in more than one sense those two categories are converging.

I'm sure your daughter made the right decision for her, I'm just taking the opportunity to build on your comment with a bit more evidence that the home computer is a vanishing breed.

Re: The home computer as a cultural object is physically vanishing (2007)

#69

Post by my_usernam3 »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #47
hawski wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Macbook Pro (though 15") and a PC, but also a ridiculously underpowered Chromebook with a crappy 11" 1366x768 screen. Lately I find myself when I'm on the run in the city to grab the Chromebook and ssh to my desktop (I've got Zerotier set up). This is my ultimate portable duo. It could be better, but it is lightweight, battery runs full day and I have all power I need. Then when I get back I have it even bet…

What’s old is new again! This is how mainframe terminals worked.

Can you explain further? I'm guessing you mean once a mainframe's resources were outdated, it became a terminal?
Post reply on HN