"When we look at futuristic computing devices in movies such as Minority Report or Avatar, do we think 'Neat, but those definitely don't look upgradeable. No

"When we look at futuristic computing devices in movies such as Minority Report or Avatar, do we think 'Neat, but those definitely don't look upgradeable. No thanks.'" When did "movie coolness" become a legitimate metric (let alone an important metric) to gauge the value of technology? "devices that are more about the human interface and less about the components is a form of a categorical imperative" If you are going to toss around weighty philosophical terms like "categorical imperative" I think it is important that you do not beg the question in the process. The author assumes that "hackability" is not a component of the human interface? In my opinion the human interface includes a discussion of user serviceable/upgradeable hardware. It is certainly not the most important aspect but of the human interface but it is on the list. I also think it is a little curious that the author does not mention what brand of PCs he bought. If I had to guess I would say that the omission was because it was hardly an apples to apples comparison. All of my thinkpads have lasted a lot longer than two years... PS If we are going to talk about human interfaces lets drop the CSS floating vignette/border/frame thingy...