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The big grief I have with "general computing" platforms is their insistence of sticking with the traditional form factor. ATX, ITX, PCI-, DDR ...outdated, over

The big grief I have with "general computing" platforms is their insistence of sticking with the traditional form factor. ATX, ITX, PCI-, DDR ...outdated, overboard, clunky designs for most people. Take a Mac Mini-like design, and make modules that can stack or otherwise attach to expand capabilities. IMO, this is what Apple should do and be done with the whole "But Mac Pro users ...!" A project Ara-like desktop, both its size and modularity, would probably offer more than enough computing power for most users (browsing, office, youtube).

stamps 9y ago
Like the HP Elite Slice? http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/elite-slice/overview.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/elite-slice/overview.html
- jjjsdf87777 9y ago
  Yeah. But from a vendor that people want to do business with.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Cute! Shame the pricing is "elite" too. Slice >£1000 inc tax: http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=b-pc-hp-elite-slice#products http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=b-pc-hp-elite... Comparable spec small PC £520: http://www.misco.co.uk/product/2688486/HP-280-G2-SFF-Desktop-PC-Intel-Core-i5-6500-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Slim-SATA-DVD-Writer-Windows-10-Pro-Desktop-PC http://www.misco.co.uk/product/2688486/HP-280-G2-SFF-Desktop...
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Those photos are so fake it isn't even funny. Check out that array of plugs at the back and then where the cables ought to be in the picture.
mc32 9y ago
There's probably a PC-104 [1] updated standard which might fit. Being designed for industrial slash embedded environments, you typically will not get the latest and greatest chips slash chipsets. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104
revelation 9y ago
Plenty of PC makers do that, even Intel: https://www.intel.de/content/www/de/de/products/boards-kits/nuc.html https://www.intel.de/content/www/de/de/products/boards-kits/... No idea what any of that has to do with ATX, PCI (long deprecated technology), ITX (form factor), DDR (that's like USB).
- jjjsdf87777 9y ago
  That's not what I was trying to describe by offering project Ara as an example. Intel NUCs are an ITX board in a box with the usual ports. Not an ecosystem of quickly interchangeable modules that offering rapid change in utility. The problem is that's a lot of jargon, and yes I know what a form factor is, DDR is, and if you look again, I clearly wrote PCI-*, as PCI-Express, which is NOT deprecated. It's a lot of jargon to know when you want to build a device that hangs out and films birds, or some other overly specific example to make the point. If general computing is stuck there, it seems like a bit of cultural functional fixedness over what general computing should be. Which is all over our nostalgia tripping culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness

stamps 9y ago

Like the HP Elite Slice? http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/elite-slice/overview.html http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/elite-slice/overview.html

jjjsdf87777 9y ago
Yeah. But from a vendor that people want to do business with.
pjc50 9y ago
Cute! Shame the pricing is "elite" too. Slice >£1000 inc tax: http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=b-pc-hp-elite-slice#products http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=b-pc-hp-elite... Comparable spec small PC £520: http://www.misco.co.uk/product/2688486/HP-280-G2-SFF-Desktop-PC-Intel-Core-i5-6500-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Slim-SATA-DVD-Writer-Windows-10-Pro-Desktop-PC http://www.misco.co.uk/product/2688486/HP-280-G2-SFF-Desktop...
jacquesm 9y ago
Those photos are so fake it isn't even funny. Check out that array of plugs at the back and then where the cables ought to be in the picture.

mc32 9y ago

There's probably a PC-104 [1] updated standard which might fit. Being designed for industrial slash embedded environments, you typically will not get the latest and greatest chips slash chipsets. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104

revelation 9y ago

Plenty of PC makers do that, even Intel: https://www.intel.de/content/www/de/de/products/boards-kits/nuc.html https://www.intel.de/content/www/de/de/products/boards-kits/... No idea what any of that has to do with ATX, PCI (long deprecated technology), ITX (form factor), DDR (that's like USB).

jjjsdf87777 9y ago
That's not what I was trying to describe by offering project Ara as an example. Intel NUCs are an ITX board in a box with the usual ports. Not an ecosystem of quickly interchangeable modules that offering rapid change in utility. The problem is that's a lot of jargon, and yes I know what a form factor is, DDR is, and if you look again, I clearly wrote PCI-*, as PCI-Express, which is NOT deprecated. It's a lot of jargon to know when you want to build a device that hangs out and films birds, or some other overly specific example to make the point. If general computing is stuck there, it seems like a bit of cultural functional fixedness over what general computing should be. Which is all over our nostalgia tripping culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness