Do the computers of yesteryear look cooler than todays?

[Paul_s]

What are people's thoughts on this.

Do you think older computers... say before 1995 look cooler than today's offerings?

Somehow the computer in a keyboard is 'cool' in whatever guise it comes from - Amiga, Thomson T08 for example etc...

[TCD]

Still love the design of the all-in-one Miggys (500, 600, 1200) Some new case-mods are cool, but the normal PC or Apple looks boring if you ask me.

Nice fourth option btw

[prowler]

I think the Amiga 1200 is the best looking computer-in-a-keyboard there ever was (or is ever going to be)!

[alewis]

NeXT. Cool as fuck.

PET 2001 ahead of its time
Apple][ with twin floppies and a monitor on top looked neat

The only "modern" computers that look neat come from Sun, like the Ultra60. And the odd SGI box.

But the A1000... sexy as hell. Nothing, but nothing, beats it. C=128D came close, and the C128 wedge looked good. Have a nostalgic memory of the A500, when I first bought it.

Amiga 1200 is gotta be the coolest looking machine, though the A500 I have a soft spot for too, definitely better than the machines coming out now.

[matthew]

I voted for older computers too, I think the designers would have had a lot more freedom back then.

[coze]

I think we are just old farts and can't keep up with the times.

[JuvUK]

i love the original wedge miggy shape but i still think a modded new pc can look the mutts if done well

cheers JuvUK

[FOL]

Originally Posted by JuvUK

i love the original wedge miggy shape

Thats it right there, . Its simple but practical, best design ever.

[AmigaFriend]

I think there are some earlier models who are really interesting and were done with true passion. The A1000 being one of them. It has details that set it apart for what was made at the time. The detail of the signatures under the cover is truly fantastic.

The A500 and A1200 are for "all in one", great models with the A1200 my personal favorite.

But today there are very good and interesting designs, specially from 2006 and forward. Many laptops are truly appealing so much for the towers that are sold today, which have great designs.

The "new" is no better than the "old" and the other way round also applies. In their time we have seen some great designs of an era, so what we have to do is appreciate and be fortunate enough to have some of them in our homes!

[Nostalgeek]

Well, I agree with Coze to some extent

I mean, maybe it was different for you, but myself as a huge Sci-Fi fan, I was always dreaming and looking forward future computers in terms of size and design, and my current PC station is just good looking, I love it...still I have this nostalgic factor that I share with everyone in here, these old computers and devices look great, I love this retro-feeling and design, it just still looks great to our eyes and will never get old while it's probably different for newer computer lovers that will only see beige/grey big cubes with 3cm thick round glass monitors.

To take a simple example, of course a miggy mouse is a great device we will all still love to handle, but I also saw in other threads that a lot of you guys would love to use their MX310 with their miggy so I think it's not about living in the past, it's about keeping it alive while not turning our backs to the newest technology. That's how I feel at least.

[alexh]

Newer stuff looks WAY better.

Ultra Retro stuff (70's) was all boxy, crap. Totally functional with no element of style what so ever.

Late 80's, early 90's stuff is usually square and angular, almost always crappy matt cream/magnolia in colour.

Today's curvy lines, beveled edges, brushed aluminium, gloss finish, all are squillion times better than anything in the past.

Look at todays Mac Wireless keyboard and tell me that isn't just amazing styling, perfect functionality and quality which simply blasts away the crap of the past? Try using one, it works as good as it looks.

http://www.apple.com/keyboard/

The ergonomics of todays mice are 1,000,000 times better than the crappy mice of the retro years. I get twinges of carple tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury just looking at an A1000 mouse!

http://www.evoluent.com/vm3w.html

[alewis]

Hmmm...

Have to disagree Alex. It had 70's styling. Crap, but it was styling And the PET had style. Boxy was the Tangerine, the Nascom. Heck, even the DEC Rainbow had style.

Agree that todays cases are much better though. I like my Thermaltakes, with a simple, understated blue LED. One in brushed aluminium, the other matt black.

Prefer the Logitech diNovo

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ke...s/192&cl=us,en

[Adropac2]

A500 had loads of character and was gorgeous at the time, bit too big these days i find.A1200 is still one sexy machine that doesn't look at all dated or old - stick a new white keyboard in there and she looks beautiful

They're all good though the older machines as they all stand out in their own way like say the Speccy48

Miss the old days a bit when it was all built in but there are the obvious disadvantages that go with that

[stanlong]

AND THEYARE PRODUCING A M/SOFT BASED WEDGE NOW ITS ACTUALLY AVAIBLE AROUND 1200$

Originally Posted by JuvUK

i love the original wedge miggy shape but i still think a modded new pc can look the mutts if done well

cheers JuvUK

[BuZz]

I gotta say I really love the look of the atari 800xl (and own one myself of course.. great machine..)



In my home Ataris and Amigas live together in harmony :-)

[waal]

I love the design of Amiga computers of course and I slightly prefer A1200/A4000 style. Maybe the best look and feel with the Macintosh.

To compare with our time, I think computer looked and were more personal in the 80's and early 90's. See for example the various 8 bits computers available like the MSX, Atari XL series or the Oric Atmos and Alice 32 in France.
And even the Atari ST is nice to watch compared to a PC !

Recently I discovered the Sharp X68000, a japanese machine which could have rivalized with our own 16/32 bits. Amazing design and brilliant arcade conversions !

[FOL]

Originally Posted by BuZz

I gotta say I really love the look of the atari 800xl (and own one myself of course.. great machine..)



In my home Ataris and Amigas live together in harmony :-)

Damn, aint seen 1 of them, since I was 8 or 9. I was given 1, and all I played on it was hover bover (Hangs my head in shame), .

[Freakyweakywoo]

Yeah a computer in a keyboard was cool, but a computer in a flat screen monitor, now you are talking. I voted for newer computers look better, but it's mainly because of the Macs.

[DH]

Amazingly the all in one computer (not the laptop) was probably the best design of the century The Miggy has been and always will be the most versatile computer on the face of the planet.

No modern computer can touch it's elegant style and beautiful design. It's an awesome looking computer and compared with today's crap which is bulky and designed to be spread over a wide area with millions of bloody wires all over the place, the Miggy's design was definitely desktop friendly

I am not talking of power issues here. If the Miggy was as powerful and upgradeable as the modern day PC, I would have a Miggy without a doubt, no problem. Could you imagine a Miggy with a Quad core and blistering fast Graphics with 4Gb memory and a 500Gb hard drive etc, etc. Now that would be something.