| Different Computers from around the world |  |
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| I'm
a subscriber to the idea that the PC is the hot rod of the 2000's.
Just as with customizing your car, there are several different routes you
can take when making your PC "something special." Lots of
folks these days are cutting windows in their cases, painting, adding
lights, etc. I see this as the equivalent of putting custom rims,
extra chrome, and other bolt-on accessories to your car. Then there
are the car-crafters, the guys who would completely strip and rebuild the
hot rod the way they wanted it. The computers featured here are more
like that. These
are computers that are more than "off the shelf" components
stuck into an "off the shelf" box. Homemade enclosures,
adaptations of other "boxes," etc. are the norm here...
A note about the content: I didn't make any of these pages. I have no control over what these folks put on their web sites. Last time I looked, there wasn't anything objectionable, but you never know... Also, the links might not work at some point in the future - that's why I've put a small picture here All photographs are property of the linked web site owner. |
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| The Cyber Pumpkin | |||
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The treasure chest houses the power supply. The roof turbine holds all the other "guts." |  |
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| The "Wonder Computer" | |||
| From Portugal. Easily transportable between home and work, with some pieces (monitor, e.g.) remaining at each workstation. There's a picture on the website of the computer & keyboard in a plastic shopping bag. |  |
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| Computer in a wooden planter | |||
| ‘nuff said. Hope the bottom of the plant container doesn't leak. |  |
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| Computer in a night stand | |||
| Not sure about this one. Is it still usable as a night stand? I guess you could put a clock and lamp on top. |  |
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| The “Firebox” computer | |||
| Not sure what a “firebox” is. This one is in a home-made wood box. |  |
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| Home made Plexiglas computer case | |||
| http://www.overclockersclub.com/plexicomputercasehowto.shtml |  |
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| Brent Anderson, article at Overclockers.com | |||
| Another clear computer case, this one claims less than $20 for materials at Lowe’s. |  |
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| Dashboard PC | |||
| The Linux car. Volkswagen Jetta with major electronic additions. Once you're at the site, click the Pictures link, and click the thumbnails. There’s also, apparently, a PSOne (PlayStation) built in there somewhere… The picture to the right is of the center console taken out of the car with weather info displayed on the PC screen. |  |
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| The Retro Case | |||
| My vote for “most original,” taking an old IBM PC (circa 1982?) and replacing the innards with modern hardware (Intel Celeron). Kept the original look, with the giant 5-¼” floppy drive faces hiding the CD-Rom drive and 3-½” floppy drive. |  |
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| The Toolbox PC | |||
| Built inside a $20 plastic & metal toolbox. For portability??? |  |
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| Home made wooden case | |||
| This one has a kind of mil-spec look to it. |  |
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| Slim aluminum case | |||
| Built from an aluminum electronic project enclosure. Or should I say “aluminium”? – the builder is British. The end result is very classy-looking, but limited by the fact that the power supply is external (a “brick”), and there are no CD or floppy drives. He uses a network to access drives on other PC’s, and they can be connected when needed by opening the box, but that’s kind of a pain… |  |
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| The Frozen Case | |||
| I'm not sure what's "frozen" about it, but it's an original design. This one is going to be commercially available, if the builder can find someone to manufacture it. |  |
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