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Yeah, right. I remember computers built in the 90s and 2000s, touting their modular construction and never having to buy a new system again. I wonder if those

Yeah, right. I remember computers built in the 90s and 2000s, touting their modular construction and never having to buy a new system again. I wonder if those machines are still in operation? I think what would guarantee longevity is something that is rock-solid good, inexpensive, repairable, and easy to develop on. I'm thinking of track records of computers like the Commodore 64, iMac, or in vehicles like the beetle, video game consoles, ipod, iphone etc.

Cthulhu_ 13y ago
Pretty much this. You've got a backbone and some modules, but within a year the second generation of the same backbone and modules will be released, probably sized differently, different i/o, etc, because time simply won't stand still when it comes to devices. It'd be more marketable as a device with easily replaceable components, as mentioned above; easily replacing a screen or battery would be convenient for the more clumsy amongst us.
qwerta 13y ago
I think socket A was good example. Some motherboards could accommodate Duron @ 600 Mhz and Athlon XP 3200+
pessimizer 13y ago
>I remember computers built in the 90s and 2000s, touting their modular construction and never having to buy a new system again. Did these actually exist as a specific product, or are you just referring to all computers that weren't made by Apple?
bane 13y ago
You mean, pretty much any computer not made by Apple? Sure, I still have my home-rolled desktop from 7 years ago. I just put together a new machine earlier this year I expect to get at least that much life out of. I don't even buy top-spec parts, just good price/performance ratios for each part and cobble it together. And if something breaks I can fix it myself. It's not too technical and not too hard to do. About as complicated as making a full dinner with main course, two side dishes and a dessert. On the flip side, every other machine I've had that was closed, mostly laptops, but I'm thinking of my C64, and my Coco2, when the smallest piece died on those things, right into the trash they went. There's literally nothing you can do to fix them that doesn't involve an engineering degree and a lab.
wtetzner 13y ago
I think the real benefit might be that you can add non-standard extensions, not so much that you can upgrade. That doesn't seem to be how they're marketing it, though.

Cthulhu_ 13y ago

Pretty much this. You've got a backbone and some modules, but within a year the second generation of the same backbone and modules will be released, probably sized differently, different i/o, etc, because time simply won't stand still when it comes to devices. It'd be more marketable as a device with easily replaceable components, as mentioned above; easily replacing a screen or battery would be convenient for the more clumsy amongst us.

qwerta 13y ago

I think socket A was good example. Some motherboards could accommodate Duron @ 600 Mhz and Athlon XP 3200+

pessimizer 13y ago

>I remember computers built in the 90s and 2000s, touting their modular construction and never having to buy a new system again. Did these actually exist as a specific product, or are you just referring to all computers that weren't made by Apple?

bane 13y ago

You mean, pretty much any computer not made by Apple? Sure, I still have my home-rolled desktop from 7 years ago. I just put together a new machine earlier this year I expect to get at least that much life out of. I don't even buy top-spec parts, just good price/performance ratios for each part and cobble it together. And if something breaks I can fix it myself. It's not too technical and not too hard to do. About as complicated as making a full dinner with main course, two side dishes and a dessert. On the flip side, every other machine I've had that was closed, mostly laptops, but I'm thinking of my C64, and my Coco2, when the smallest piece died on those things, right into the trash they went. There's literally nothing you can do to fix them that doesn't involve an engineering degree and a lab.

wtetzner 13y ago

I think the real benefit might be that you can add non-standard extensions, not so much that you can upgrade. That doesn't seem to be how they're marketing it, though.