23 Apr
2012
23 Apr
'12
8:47 a.m.
On Apr 23, 2012, at 11:29 AM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Mind you, I like devices in big heavy square-ish boxes
on the desktop - small items just fall over easily, or get pulled off the desk by their
own cables, or still occupy space but with the downside that I can't stack other items
on top of them. The majority seem to think that miniaturization is the holy grail though
(and I suppose the smaller the case, the less material used, so it appeals to the
manufacturer too)
I don't mind miniaturization, as long as it's done intelligently. I
like my Netgear 8-port switch that's on my desktop an awful lot;
it's the size of about two packs of cards, and it has a nice, solid-
feeling metal case. It's also totally square, so I can stack other
things on top of it. The only irritant is that the power inlet from
the wall brick and the ports are on opposite sides, which would be
great if it were a rackmount switch, but not so great for a desktop
one.
On the other hand, I remember my 56k modem from the end of the dial-
up era; I think it was a Global Village one? In any case, it was
nice and small, but (as you said) so light that the cables tended to
pull it off the desk, and they made this "cute-looking" little bulge
at the top for the speaker, which meant you couldn't stack anything
atop it. Infuriating. I think I ended up just stashing it under
the desk.
- Dave