A Real Tabletop PC 177
Xunker writes: "Sure, your modded case-with-window from ThinkGeek looks cool on your desktop, but it's nowhere near as cool as this case that turns your PC into your desktop. Drive bays, casters, fan ports and a glass top so you can see everything. With some uncontrolled overclocking you could probably use it to keep your tea warm, too."
Been done - years ago... (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, it didn't have the natty glass cover and its processing power was somewhat small compared to the average pocket calculator, but it was a desk. It was also IBM's first real foray into the world of the minicomputer where they were looking for a form that could even go into an office (with a/c of course). Of course, when you added a line printer and a card-reader, this rather defeated the object as they were each larger than the desk.
I'm fairly certain that Digital also had some early systems in the desk type format.
Too Small (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Coffee Mug Case (Score:5, Interesting)
It's called the DIMM pc. from a company called emj [emjembedded.com] you can get a 386 or 486 monster, and I believe a 586 is right arount the corner.
Hell with the dimm pc in the tiquit [go.com] format I can fit the pc, storage and power source in your coffee cup.
A desk with fan ports.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Construction tips... (Score:5, Interesting)
Random thoughts... (Score:5, Interesting)
The example at hand appears, um... less than sturdy. The top appears to be a U-shaped frame with the "bottom" of the U at the back of the desk. The legs must be welded to this U-frame (it would be downright flimsy if they were just bolted somehow). I'd like to see some spreader beams just above the casters, plus some braces or cabled braces tensioned with turnbuckles. A hefty spreader beam at the front below the system case would help keep structural alignment too. Sturdy is good, in an office space.
Second, the airflow doesn't look well thought out. The disk drives appear to be mounted against the front sill of the system case with no air inlet. You won't get away with mounting several high-rev SCSI disks in there without risking overheating and shortened MTBF. The fans don't look up to cooling anything hotter than a Celeron or Duron.
Where are the AGP and PCI cards? The system case doesn't look tall enough to hold either. Is the case designed for onboard graphics, sound, NIC, and modem mainboards? Well, that's rather, er... limiting. This thing looks like something you'd give a teenage kid - a cool-looking desk PC with low-end components for AOL, IM, CDs, and MP3s.
However, the concept of computer systems integrated into furniture, for home or office, is... intriguing. Herman Miller (modular cubicles) should jump all over this idea. Look for end-tables with multimedia digital-convergence PC-based systems hidden under their tops, tucked behind clean looking woodwork, plastic, or metal structures.
We have a REAL tablet desk (Score:1, Interesting)
Done -Re:I want fish in my computer (Score:1, Interesting)
You must use oil. I'm using a high grade mineral oil. For fish, I'm using those magnetic fish that come in the dytoy awaworld tank. To get them to move, you just stick electro magnets in key locations around the tank. The electro magnets are then connected to solid state relays and a micro controller which is interfaced with the USB. The key is the software to trip the electro magnets so that you get the most realistic fish movement possible.
The cooling is rather fun as well, I'm using a standard motorcycle oil cooler and pump. Everything is sealed in plexy to eliminate contamination. For added effect, the hard-drive is mounted in a gyro type cage. So, as the hd spins it acts a bit like a gyro; a rather cool effect I must say.