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Gary Fulkerson, who runs a design/engineering firm by the name of The Core Ideation (no affiliation with Core77), sent us these pics of The Webcruiser, a workstation circa 1995. ("Sorry about the mullet," Fulkerson writes, "it was in style back then.")
We love how bulky the monitors looked back then--the workstation almost looks like a James-Bond-villain-esque contraption designed to kill the occupant using the monitor, gravity, and some kind of release switch.
Hit the jump for more photos. Can't decide if you want to see more? Take some time, mullet over.
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Blast from the past: Hi-tech workstation from 1995
http://www.valvomo.fi/fi/dyncontent/tuotteet_item.php?id=3
Comments were meant re the computer hardware, not the iMac (valid minor point). As for that god-awful mechanical contraption, there were tons of others that made it to market actually.
As for "Design has led the industry away from complexity and towards unification of devices or at least their components as well as their interfaces.", I largely disagree that designers were the main source of pressure for the integration an miniaturization of hardware. Cost-saving technologies were, and the eternal impetus for increased profit. That some designers were quick to implement these, it's all to their credit. But it took a few engineering leaps for that to happen first.
You're forgetting the iMacs! They were able to make the CRT sexy for a hot minute. Design has led the industry away from complexity and towards unification of devices or at least their components as well as their interfaces.
This thing just looks gangly and does nothing to unify the computing experience besides forcing a posture on the user. Thank GOD for minimalist influences in today's tech. I also love the fact that more and more devices require less and less complexity in terms of their interfaces. Look at how many constraints are put on the user in this design. This thing is telling you where to sit, where to put your mouse, that you have to use a mouse, where your feet go, where you look, etc. I'd feel overly confined in such a work environment (not that my current work environment isn't any better). I'm interested in the concept of hot-desking, but I'd yet to see a solution that'll make me a fan. I don't think this product does that very well anyways. The only thing this seems to do well is emulate the arcade experience which is pretty much an echo of the past nowadays and was pretty juvenile in 1995.
Designers follow technology and the engineers, and they always will.