RE: [TCLUG:12655] price vs. the keen appearance factor

["Eric Hillman" <ehillman@cccu.com>]

>      How much extra are you personally willing to pay for a
> unique-looking, non-beige case/keyboard/mouse setup?  [...]
>      Is going from kinda nice to super cool worth the extra
> cost, or are you willing to live with a more plain
> appearance if it means saving money or putting it to higher
> end hardware?
>


You may be asking the wrong crowd.  As far as personal use goes, I use the
biggest box I can salvage and paint it however I want.  I like the Road
Warrior aesthetic, and I'll go miles out of my way to avoid spending actual
money on my computer habit.  I'm sure most of the people on this list, even
if they're not quite as scroungy as I am, will still tend towards a
build-your-own solution no matter what.

At work, of course, we get rack-mount cases, and don't sweat the looks.
What matters is how much power we can cram into the tiniest space possible
without overheating.

However, if you're planning to sell computers, having machines that look
cool will help your product stand out, and that's very important.  Obviously
you'll have to find a point where you can minimize your outlay and still
produce something that looks distinctive -- no matter how cool it looks, if
you're charging $500 per unit extra for a little transparent plastic, it's
likely to hurt you.

I don't know what your plan is, but it seems like the ideal place right now
for a Linux startup is as a solution provider for small businesses.  It
might make sense to have some flashy-looking but moderate-powered machines
as a "reception desk" package -- something that looks impressive and runs
Enlightenment, and might appeal to the iMac crowd as a side bonus (make sure
you install xpat2 and xbill on these ones).  For folks who actually want to
get some work done, looks aren't going to be as important.  Nobody cares how
servers look, period, and I keep my workstation *under* my desk, not on it.
The only important thing to me here is a roomy case, a big monitor, and a
decent keyboard.

--
Eric Hillman
UNIX Sysadmin
City & County Credit Union
ehillman@cccu.com