The future does not have as much brushed stainless steel as it used to. Also, wood-grain decals proved to be just a fad.
Some of you kids reading this (*cough*cough*) won't believe it, but when we were little even our video game consoles had wood-grain stickers, and our future looked like this.
(H/T to G.R. Durand and TJIC.)
Where's my juice box? I was promised graham crackers and a juice box.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I dreamed that one day I'd be working on the moon.
ReplyDeleteSigh...
no jetpacks?
ReplyDeleteGeez, the last game console I bought and played to any extent was a new Atari 2600. Incubus #2 has a PS3 in his room. First time I saw it I thought it was a room air filter.
ReplyDeleteWife bought herself a Wii after Christmas/Yule. I thought it was a medical device case when I saw it by the tv. I'm not sure what the appeal is for Wii to anyone over the age of 11 after seeing the game selection.
I think it spoils the look of the Mission style table it sits upon.
Regards,
Rabbit.
Hey, what the Hell is wrong with fake wood-grain, aside from its cheesy looks?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I recently found myself a mint '65 Falcon Country Squire with what looks to be all of the original wood-grain trim, along with the wood tape. It's not as much as was on, say, an Olds Custom Cruiser or Chrysler Town and Country (how ugly can you get), of the land yacht 70's wagons, but still plenty.
I'm considering purchasing.
Now I want to bust out the 2600 and play a couple games of Space Invaders and Cosmic Ark.
ReplyDeleteIrritablearchitect,
ReplyDeleteI got my Intellivision (actually a Sears Super Video Arcade) from a graphic designer friend whose aesthetics were so disturbed by the faux woodgrain that she'd covered the offending areas with white contact paper.
Tam,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your graphis designer friend;
Hahahaha!
Let me guess, she's got a Mac fetish too.
Yes.
ReplyDeleteBut she did this was back when Macs were still Ecru, in the middle years of the Snow White design language.
(...and guessing that a graphic designer has a Mac fetish is about as daring a prediction as betting that a Catholic believes in transubstantiation. ;) )
ReplyDeleteYes, being a graphic designer with a Mac is kinda analogous to a bear shitting in the woods. What made it funny (for me, at least) was that you told us all of the white overlays on the console. Who else but an arteest would insist on that?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I had an Intellivision back in the day too. It was a sad day when it went poof.
That reminds me of my desire to build a wooden computer case.
ReplyDeleteHey, I even like wood-grain stickers, as long as they're high-quality.
When I was in second grade, we would make replica Atari 2600 consoles out of notebook paper. But without the wood grain stickers.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of glad we're not all wearing jumpsuits.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth computer I owned actually came with a genuine wooden case, being a North Star Horizon (1977) (Z80, S-100, CP/M), most definitely pre-IBM 5150 (which was only suitable as a toy, a paperweight or something to hold down one end of your desk). I'm pretty sure I still have the remnants of a roll of wood-grained contact paper somewhere from that era if anyone feels nostalgic and desires to make custom stickers of their very own ... :-)
ReplyDeleteIn Junior High (1971) I put wood-grain vinyl contact paper over a wooden desk to make it look better.
ReplyDeleteIt was second hand (more like fourth or fifth-hand) and pretty rough (soft pine), and that smoothed it out. It was my first desk-of-my-own.
Woodgrain is so retro nowdays.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for the future envisioned in Man Conquers Space.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm still waiting for Man Conquers Space to finish production.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozkl1OvNvEc
"That reminds me of my desire to build a wooden computer case."
ReplyDelete"Woodgrain is so retro nowdays."
If you want to be really retro, there's always the Steampunk look.
www.musicradar.com/news/tech/39-amazing-steampunk-computer-mods-200834
thehottestgadgets.com/2008/07/the-17-hottest-steampunk-computer-creations-001127