Sharky Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Ive noticed the very older and first consoles cases are made out of wood. Like the Atari 2600 and the Apple 1 cases were made out of wood. I feel its a shame plastic became popular when the consoles/computers came out because Plastic isnt as strong as Wood. These days I get sick of everything (TVs, Microwaves,etc.) cases are made of plastic. Why the sudden changeover... ? But i feel it would be great if Plastic was never invented and our modern PCs cases were made out of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Well, the 2600 is not real wood. It is plastic with a woodgrain decal. There's not a molecule of real wood anywhere on the entire thing! The woodgrain look on electronics was big in the late '70s, but in the '80s everything went black. Now we're into the "brushed metal" (and the iMac candy-colored) look(s). There are obvious reasons for plastic over wood... it's less affected by weather changes, it is much cheaper to produce (both in terms of materials and workmanship -- plastic can be molded; wood needs to be cut to shape), etc. BTW, I don't think computer cases would be wood if there were no plastic... they'd be metal (as many of them are). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted March 13, 2003 Author Share Posted March 13, 2003 Well, the 2600 is not real wood. It is plastic with a woodgrain decal. There's not a molecule of real wood anywhere on the entire thing!. I see now.. It just fooled me The Atari 2600 case must of been designed to look like wood. But heres a computer from 1977 I found on Old-Computers.com A Northstar Horizon?? Never heard of it but.. this reminds me how a modern PC Case/Box would look it it was made from wood and not Plastic or Metal. Maybe Plastic/Metal is more enviromently friendly than the use of Wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbid Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 also keep in mind the Apple I was never mass produced beyond a few dozen units made for a local computer store. The Apple II was the first computer to use a plastic mold casing. Wood grain needs to make a comeback, im tired of black, beige, and metal electronics they are void of personality, and the iMac candy trend was a brief fad that most people never bought into (i certainly did though ) I still wouldve loved it if somebody made a custom woodgrain iMac with a big metal switch instead of a power button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 I could be wrong, but I would think making consoles or PC's out of wood would be (A.) cost prohibitive and (B.) prone to overheating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted March 13, 2003 Author Share Posted March 13, 2003 Wood grain needs to make a comeback' date=' im tired of black, beige, and metal electronics they are void of personality, and the iMac candy trend was a brief fad that most people never bought into (i certainly did though ) I still wouldve loved it if somebody made a custom woodgrain iMac with a big metal switch instead of a power button.[/quote'] I totally Agree with you Chrisbid. But I think we'll seen see the last of the use of Wood. I mean even some Chairs are made out of total Plastic and god dont they snap ! I could be wrong' date=' but I would think making consoles or PC's out of wood would be (A.) cost prohibitive and (B.) prone to overheating.[/quote'] I wouldnt think so as long as theres good ventalation at the back with a few cooler fans running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldunko Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 I don't think putting very hot electronics around a material that rapidly combusts would be the smartest idea ever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I think a total of 200 Apple I were ever produced. I have no idea how many of them still exist in working order today but I think one of them was auctioned recently and it was very expensive (I don't remember the exact amount). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nintendo Penguin Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 Yeah, what happened to wood-grain? Many car companies make you pay extra for dash board wood-grain trim! I think it might be nice to have a wood-grain GameCube! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeV0 Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I strongly believe the 2 most tasteful examples to date of using wood decal is definately the Brady bunch's car and the intellivision, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nintendo Penguin Posted March 14, 2003 Share Posted March 14, 2003 I strongly believe the 2 most tasteful examples to date of using wood decal is definately the Brady bunch's car and the intellivision, Don't forget the woo-grain panneled PT Cruisers you can buy now! (lol) Man those are ugly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted March 16, 2003 Share Posted March 16, 2003 (A.) cost prohibitive Chances are quite good that making a wood box would actually be more expensive than plastic or metal... due to lumber concerns, tariffs are probably higher. Plus, if a plastic piece is made improperly, it can simply be shredded and tossed back into the melt to be reformed. Faux wood-grain panelling like on 80's electronics is probably more expensive to paint than simple beige as well. Not to mention that anything that looks like it's from the 80's probably would get looked down on by everyone NOT on AtariAge I'm not sure overheating is a major concern... unless you're using the wood as a heat-sink or something, it wouldn't have any more problems than metal or plastic cases. The chances of a wood case catching fire are probably no better than the chances of a plastic case melting. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_ruck Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Yeah, what happened to wood-grain? Many car companies make you pay extra for dash board wood-grain trim! I think it might be nice to have a wood-grain GameCube! Personally I go forthe sporty carbon fiber look. Actually, yiu can get faceplates for many models of cars, how about woodgrain faceplates for modern consoles? If anyone wants to do it I'd want either very dark oak or natural cherry for my xbox (depending on whether it's upstairs or down). Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasoco Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 The Apple I was made as a Hobbyists toy. Which is why cases usually ended up being wood. All you bought when you bought one was a logic board. You make the case yourself. The Candy Colored iMac look is dead. It's been dead for a year or so. The new thing is white with chrome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbid Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 apple still sells classic iMacs, they only come in blue though scratch that, i guess they finally ditched them, but they were still for sale a few months ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasoco Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Yep. As of yesterday, the G3 iMacs are NO MORE. About fricking time, too. Either upgrade 'em and lower the prices, or kill 'em off. Now.. bump the iBook to G4 and kiss the G3 good bye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Gray Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 But heres a computer from 1977 I found on Old-Computers.com A Northstar Horizon?? Never heard of it but.. this reminds me how a modern PC Case/Box would look it it was made from wood and not Plastic or Metal. The Northstar Horizon was a business computer. It ran it's own flavor of a disk operating system and, with modification, could also run CP/M-the 'dos' of choice for most. Also, I'm not sure, but I believe the cover was made of particle board. I don't think any 'real' wood was used. Overheating was not a big concern then, at least for the mother board and associated cards. The power supplies, however, DID get very warm and were usually (in this case too) behemoth supplies with very large capacitors that could explode (I've seen that, pretty impressive.) Northstar, unfortunately, tanked in the mid eighties. Great computer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mintyfresh Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Stumbled across this..... It's a Magnavox Odyssey 500 Notice the woodgrain, nice huh? Minty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 Stumbled across this.....It's a Magnavox Odyssey 500 Notice the woodgrain, nice huh? Minty How would you know if thats real wood. Just as I thought the Atari 2600 has some wood on it (or even the Northstar Horizon). It could be plastic/metal painted with wood vanish or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitfall Harry Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 No, I found a Northstar Horizon a few years ago. I can tell you with absolute certainty the chasis of that old computer is made of wood. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mintyfresh Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Im fully aware its not real, and i always knew the atari's woodgrain wasn't real either. You can tell. Just because its woodgrain doesn't mean its made of wood. Just think of it as a wood-colored decal. Minty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 ^ A Coleco Telstar (Pong system) - Is that real wood on it ? ^ A Coleco Telstar Classic - Now thats looks like real wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 ^ A Coleco Telstar (Pong system) - Is that real wood on it ? I used to own one of those. That's a label. It was also a GREAT console! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mintyfresh Posted March 30, 2003 Share Posted March 30, 2003 Looks can be deceiving..... Just because it LOOKS like wood, doesn't always mean it IS Just like there's a lot of furniture on the market now that it fiberglass or plastic with "wood-colored decals" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Gray Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 No, I found a Northstar Horizon a few years ago. I can tell you with absolute certainty the chasis of that old computer is made of wood. Ben Well, then that chassis is an oddity. It was definitely metal... http://www.imsai8080.com/computers/s100/northstar.html Click the link and scroll to the bottom. There, you can see the metal chassis. The cover might be wood. I had lots of access to this wonderful machine when it was 'new'. I still recall it being partical board, but I could be wrong. This was a fantastic machine... [/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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