What do you think is the best/ugliest looking 80s computer?

[Guest]

I know that was 1992, 2 years out if you're going 1980-1990. But...

Well, it is a revised version of the A500. The 1200 is a beautiful machine as well.

 

I can't go 1000,2000,3000 they all look like generic IBM compatibles to me.

 

Apple II is an ugly machine. It looks like someone cut off a lump of cheese at the wrong angle. 

 

I always thought that one of the Atari ST variants, the Falcon I think it was was very ugly. Like you had three or four blocks and you just glued them together. Again though that is 1992 if I remember rightly.

[Guest]

If we could include Consoles, I don't get Bluejay's disdain for the SNES I thought and still do it is a very nice clean design. The original NES however, the Famicom looks awful to me the Red and White.

[zzip]

20 minutes ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

I like the look of the Atari 800 XL and I'm not sure about the round pastel colour buttons of the XE. 

Only the XE Game System has the pastel buttons.    The regular XE computers have slanted buttons similar to the ST

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, zzip said:

Only the XE Game System has the pastel buttons.    The regular XE computers have slanted buttons similar to the ST

Fair play zzip. I'm only coming to the Atari systems fairly late in life (outside of the 2600).

[zzip]

7 minutes ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

Fair play zzip. I'm only coming to the Atari systems fairly late in life (outside of the 2600).

I always hated those buttons too, but pastels were popular in the late-80s, so I guess that's why they did it.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, zzip said:

I always hated those buttons too, but pastels were popular in the late-80s, so I guess that's why they did it.

yeah, ugly mate! Pastels were very much mid-late 80s. Miami Vice liked its pastel suits and women's catalogues were full of clothing in the exact same shades of yellow, blue, pink. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Guest
ouch my eyes! colours.

[bluejay]

5 hours ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

If we could include Consoles, I don't get Bluejay's disdain for the SNES I thought and still do it is a very nice clean design. The original NES however, the Famicom looks awful to me the Red and White.

You must be american?

 Americans have that weird nostalgia for the SNES that makes them think it looks nice, but if you ask the rest of the world(which got the Super Famicom style systems), they will all say the SNES is hideous and the SFC looks a billion times better.

Also, although I have nothing against the NES, I think the Famicom looks cooler, with the controller holders and the big eject lever. I traded mine for a NES but I do miss it.

 

Edit: Wait a minute, I thought you were British. I have never seen a non-American like the SNES.

Edited April 20, 2020 by bluejay

[bluejay]

5 hours ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

I know that was 1992, 2 years out if you're going 1980-1990. But...

Well, it is a revised version of the A500. The 1200 is a beautiful machine as well.

 

I can't go 1000,2000,3000 they all look like generic IBM compatibles to me.

 

Apple II is an ugly machine. It looks like someone cut off a lump of cheese at the wrong angle. 

 

I always thought that one of the Atari ST variants, the Falcon I think it was was very ugly. Like you had three or four blocks and you just glued them together. Again though that is 1992 if I remember rightly.

I like Amigas, but I like Apple IIs even more. Sure they're enormous but it looks so 1980s. And the Amiga 1000,2000,and 3000 do not looks like generic IBM compatibles! They have the unique Commodore/Amiga touch that makes them look different. It's kinda like saying the C128D looks like an IBM compatible.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, bluejay said:

You must be american?

 Americans have that weird nostalgia for the SNES that makes them think it looks nice, but if you ask the rest of the world(which got the Super Famicom style systems), they will all say the SNES is hideous and the SFC looks a billion times better.

Also, although I have nothing against the NES, I think the Famicom looks cooler, with the controller holders and the big eject lever. I traded mine for a NES but I do miss it.

 

Edit: Wait a minute, I thought you were British. I have never seen a non-American like the SNES.

Yeah, I am British. Dunno always liked it looks good to me. And yeah the original Family Computer Japanese NES I don't and never have liked it.

Saying that though mate, you and me are both entitled to our opinions and both are equally valid.

It's like art, isn't it. Some people like one thing someone else other things. I used to like the design of the Megadrive as well...

[Guest]

In the UK we got the same design for our SNES as the original Super Famicom. A very unusual event. The US had a more blocky iirc. I didn't like the UK version of the NES either, it was like a housebrick.

[bluejay]

5 minutes ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

I didn't like the UK version of the NES either, it was like a housebrick.

So you don't like any version of the NES?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, bluejay said:

So you don't like any version of the NES?

No not the designs, no. The system was good though. This is basically what we got for our SNES here in the UK.

 

I don't agree about 1000,2000,3000 Amigas. And I don't think the A128 looks anything like a PC compatible I think it looks much more like an A500.

[Guest]

At the end of the day, it is all opinions and I am happy with having different ones to you bluejay, and I respect your opinions too.

[Keatah]

Yes. I never thought the NES or SNES or Famicon this or that were particularly attractive or unattractive. They just were. Same goes for most other consoles and computers.

 

But I do have my favs.

 

I liked the TRS-80 Model III. Is it the best looking? Mmm.. It was hefty and reminded me of sitting at a NASA console in mission control. I could always imagine playing lunar lander on it. I always envisioned me getting one and programming it in hi-res and stuff. But I wasn't that smart. I suppose I could have had a chance at getting one bitd, but I never saved up. The money went into the Apple II, more accessories and parts like HDD and modem and lower-case upgrade and 2nd floppy.

 

I also liked the Model II. It was rather boxy and square and had a symmetry about it. An ingot of solid power. But positively out of reach. No question. I was vicariously disappointed to find out that there were no games for it whatsoever. All business and cobol and fortran shit.

 

And of course I seriously liked the Apple II+ and //e. But not the II. I liked the angles and how it all fit together. The green letters "PLUS", to me, gave it a whole new meaning and discrete dash of color. Nicely done. I found the II series cases clumsy to lug around to the warez parties. But I liked them nonetheless. The "card cage" under the hood was nice and square and really felt like you were getting into the heart of the system as soon as you popped the top. I used to hide my condoms in there too.

[bluejay]

29 minutes ago, Keatah said:

Yes. I never thought the NES or SNES or Famicon this or that were particularly attractive or unattractive. They just were. Same goes for most other consoles and computers.

 

But I do have my favs.

 

I liked the TRS-80 Model III. Is it the best looking? Mmm.. It was hefty and reminded me of sitting at a NASA console in mission control. I could always imagine playing lunar lander on it. I always envisioned me getting one and programming it in hi-res and stuff. But I wasn't that smart. I suppose I could have had a chance at getting one bitd, but I never saved up. The money went into the Apple II, more accessories and parts like HDD and modem and lower-case upgrade and 2nd floppy.

 

I also liked the Model II. It was rather boxy and square and had a symmetry about it. An ingot of solid power. But positively out of reach. No question. I was vicariously disappointed to find out that there were no games for it whatsoever. All business and cobol and fortran shit.

 

And of course I seriously liked the Apple II+ and //e. But not the II. I liked the angles and how it all fit together. The green letters "PLUS", to me, gave it a whole new meaning and discrete dash of color. Nicely done. I found the II series cases clumsy to lug around to the warez parties. But I liked them nonetheless. The "card cage" under the hood was nice and square and really felt like you were getting into the heart of the system as soon as you popped the top. I used to hide my condoms in there too.

I like the model 4 more than the model 3 because i like white more than silver.

[Keatah]

Oh no no I would have had to have the silver color had I gotten one.

 

I did forget to mention the Atari 400 in my rant. I liked the angular design and forward-thrusting presentation of the membrane keyboard. At the time I thought membrane keyboards were from the future. And for the future. How could they make a switch so flat? I liked the amber/brown/tan tones of the top layer. It reminded me of the amber monitor and banded amber artwork at the space quiz center at MSI in Chicago. Almost Atari-like in design. Dare I say it (the quiz station) had ST:NG overtones back then. Well.

 

That's it for the pretty stuff. But I do have a few for the ugly list.

 

I hated anything that had that bulbous "aero" look of the mid-late nineties. On top of the looks you couldn't stack anything worth shit without sliding all over. Think CreativeLab's Modem Blaster, or anything not square and boxy.

 

Yeh modems and routers and switches and external buffer things were like the worst offenders. Or even like those curvy PC facades. Think Compaq Presario.

 

But the MOST BUTT-ASS ugly monstrosity of all was that clear AIO MAC! Clear plexiglass, ugghh. Nothing said "ME TOO!" like that crap.

 

 

[bluejay]

5 hours ago, Keatah said:

Oh no no I would have had to have the silver color had I gotten one.

 

I did forget to mention the Atari 400 in my rant. I liked the angular design and forward-thrusting presentation of the membrane keyboard. At the time I thought membrane keyboards were from the future. And for the future. How could they make a switch so flat? I liked the amber/brown/tan tones of the top layer. It reminded me of the amber monitor and banded amber artwork at the space quiz center at MSI in Chicago. Almost Atari-like in design. Dare I say it (the quiz station) had ST:NG overtones back then. Well.

 

That's it for the pretty stuff. But I do have a few for the ugly list.

 

I hated anything that had that bulbous "aero" look of the mid-late nineties. On top of the looks you couldn't stack anything worth shit without sliding all over. Think CreativeLab's Modem Blaster, or anything not square and boxy.

 

Yeh modems and routers and switches and external buffer things were like the worst offenders. Or even like those curvy PC facades. Think Compaq Presario.

 

But the MOST BUTT-ASS ugly monstrosity of all was that clear AIO MAC! Clear plexiglass, ugghh. Nothing said "ME TOO!" like that crap.

 

 

White looks a hell lot cleaner and neater than silver but that's just my opinion.

The 400 looks weird, but not in a bad way. It reminds me of one of those art pieces that are actually just a bunch of lines that cost a million bucks. It's not that great but not bad either, and somewhat amusing to look at.

However, I gotta say I freakin' hate computers with aero styling. I like the boxy 80s look, which is why I like stuff like fat macs and some generic IBM compatibles. I like gray boxes when done right. However, as soon as something that's not a straight line comes in, it starts to look more and more hideous(IBM Aptiva, Compaq Deskpro xl 5100) until it reaches the point where it actually looks nice(Porsche PET).

[wierd_w]

To be perfectly honest, I am kinda surprised that there aren't more VESA mount cases for mainstream use. Many systems these days are streamlined down to just one or two PCI-16x slots, and have no need of a CDrom drive anyway, making exclusive use of front-side USB for removable storage type devices.

 

As for "US SNES was butt ugly", naw, I don't think so.  There were plenty of home consoles that were far uglier. The major design issue I had with it, existed in basically all contemporary consoles for the time-- The cartridge slot was aimed straight up, and was not sticking out the back, or out the front.  Either of those would have been much better, with front-loading (but without the mechanically defect prone BS inside the US NES) being preferable.  Top loading meant that the console took up more real-estate than it really should have needed in an entertainment center's appliance shelf, and facilitated dust contamination in the cartridge slot. 

 

 

[RevEng]

I'm a sucker for designs where the intent was clearly to be futuristic, so that biases heavily towards the 70s instead of 80s. There was just a sense of optimism and naivety in computing in general, and the designs matched that, without looking much like each other. I think the Atari 400/800 was the tail end of that design movement, along with a few other contemporaries.

 

This was the era where even a dumb terminal could look like it belonged on the Battlestar Galactica...

 

an era where arcade games looked like something out of Barberella...

 

Hardly anyone wants to design boldly anymore, to avoid looking foolish. I think there's something a little sad in that.

 

The home consoles of this era were another matter. While I like woodgrain console designs for other reasons, they attempted to visually integrate with home furnishings, just as other home electronics were already doing.

[bluejay]

44 minutes ago, wierd_w said:

To be perfectly honest, I am kinda surprised that there aren't more VESA mount cases for mainstream use. Many systems these days are streamlined down to just one or two PCI-16x slots, and have no need of a CDrom drive anyway, making exclusive use of front-side USB for removable storage type devices.

 

As for "US SNES was butt ugly", naw, I don't think so.  There were plenty of home consoles that were far uglier. The major design issue I had with it, existed in basically all contemporary consoles for the time-- The cartridge slot was aimed straight up, and was not sticking out the back, or out the front.  Either of those would have been much better, with front-loading (but without the mechanically defect prone BS inside the US NES) being preferable.  Top loading meant that the console took up more real-estate than it really should have needed in an entertainment center's appliance shelf, and facilitated dust contamination in the cartridge slot.

And YOU must be American.

Console cartridge slots have dust covers for a reason.

[wierd_w]

Yes, American.

(should have been apparent when I called it a SNES and not a Super Famicom )

 

Dust flaps only do so much though. Better to not admit the dust to begin with. Front loading would have been far nicer, it just wouldn't have showed off what cart was loaded in it like some free advertising display.

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, bluejay said:

And YOU must be American.

Console cartridge slots have dust covers for a reason.

stop using 'American' as a form of insult. Everyone has a right to like what they want that's the whole point of this thread, isn't it ?

[zzip]

8 hours ago, RevEng said:

I'm a sucker for designs where the intent was clearly to be futuristic, so that biases heavily towards the 70s instead of 80s. There was just a sense of optimism and naivety in computing in general, and the designs matched that, without looking much like each other. I think the Atari 400/800 was the tail end of that design movement, along with a few other contemporaries.

 

This was the era where even a dumb terminal could look like it belonged on the Battlestar Galactica...

 

 

Almost looks like a lost Atari XL prototype with that color scheme?  Too curvy though..

Edited April 21, 2020 by zzip

[bluejay]

9 hours ago, ∞ Vince ∞ said:

stop using 'American' as a form of insult. Everyone has a right to like what they want that's the whole point of this thread, isn't it ?

It's not an insult. If it felt like an insult, I apologize.

[bluejay]

9 hours ago, wierd_w said:

Dust flaps only do so much though. Better to not admit the dust to begin with. Front loading would have been far nicer, it just wouldn't have showed off what cart was loaded in it like some free advertising display.

Now that I think about it, Nintendo could have combined the cart slot of the NES with the SNES one, so it has no pushing down but it still has the front loading design, and have a mechanical eject button like the SNES so it's easier to pull out when it's stuck in there.