01-03-2011, 09:15 PM | #1 |
friendly lurker
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Is beautiful best?
My wife got me a netbook for Christmas and she let me pick which one. I decided on an HP Mini 210—because it was beautiful. The netbooks all had about the same features, more or less, but I picked the beautiful one even though it cost $30 more. Now I have a dilemma: is beautiful best I wonder? Should appearance play any role in electronics? True, these machines are part of our lives now, there is no doubt about that, but why should the engineers who design these tools have to concern themselves with aesthetics?
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01-03-2011, 09:46 PM | #2 |
monkey on the fringe
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01-03-2011, 10:01 PM | #3 |
friendly lurker
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But what does this say about our eBook readers? I personally like the looks of the 3rd Generation Kindle but not the 1st or 2nd generation. I liked the looks of the Sony PRS 505 but I bought a 500 despite it's looks. Should our reviews try to assess the aesthetics of these devices? How about the appearance of the way the Publishers format the books? Are we beyond the time when we were so happy to get a 6-inch page that we excused everything else?
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01-03-2011, 10:08 PM | #4 |
Banned
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Always go for looks.
Style is everything. |
01-03-2011, 11:22 PM | #5 |
whimsical
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01-03-2011, 11:31 PM | #6 |
Wizard
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I rarely consider aesthetics when I buy electronics. (That's why I've had an Archos for so long and refused to buy an iPod.) It's a piece of hardware. I'm going to, at most, type on it, not make sweet, sweet love to it.
In a theoretical world where two pieces of electronics from different companies have exactly the same specs, then sure, go for the pretty one. But how often does that happen? |
01-04-2011, 04:15 AM | #7 |
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For me, it depends. If something is looking gorgeous, but works like ****, or it will restrict my using it, I'll not buy it. (hence, I'll never buy an apple product, I can't stand their attitude).
But, if something looks like ****, but works gorgeous, I'll still not buy it. The eye also wants something. For everything in between, it all depends. Is it worth to pay a bit more for something I really like the looks of (such as was the case of the OP), is lacking that feature worth it, etc. I couldn't say it in general, it's something I decide on an item by item basis... |
01-04-2011, 04:18 AM | #8 |
Wizard
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It's not who you are it's what you wear....
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01-04-2011, 04:18 AM | #9 |
Wizard
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.... I mean, who really cares who you are?
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01-04-2011, 04:21 AM | #10 |
Wizard
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If my readers weren't gorgeous, I'd probably buy hard covers because hard covers are gorgeous... at least w/o the dust jackets.
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01-04-2011, 02:11 PM | #11 |
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As William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Of course, if it's both then that's even better.
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01-04-2011, 03:03 PM | #12 |
Home for the moment
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' Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'
I like things to be challenging, interesting and sometimes that means beautiful, but it can also be ugly. Well, and if it is interesting but functions not quite up to standard; well.........(shrug). |
01-04-2011, 03:27 PM | #13 |
Illiterate
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Ohhhh ... SHINY!
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01-04-2011, 03:29 PM | #14 |
monkey on the fringe
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01-04-2011, 03:33 PM | #15 |
Illiterate
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Head for the hills! It's a chupacabra!
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