There are two forms of desktop computing which are popular out there right now. The microATX and the desktower. The original compromise between these two, the desktop ATX, has not been in style since I slapped a diamond stealth vram into my zeos286 case along with a 486DX2 motherboard.
The desktower, which replaced the desktop, solved many ergonomics problems and created others. The desktower flipped the desktop up on its side, reducing the footprint of the computer to about 1/4 the original. The main problem with this form factor was that either you put it under the desk where it was likely to clog the cooling fans with dust, or you would have a tower object on one side of the desk absolutely unusable as a work space. Additionally, with an open desk setting you have an ugly mess of wires dangling down from the back and a noisy power source fan at seated-eye level. Consequently, you can't converse with your coworkers as easily as you used to. Ergonomically, while you now had space for the keyboard on the desk, you now had the cd drive in a rather odd place about two inches above your head, making a chore of disc-changing. Same problem with usb ports and headphone jacks. With a stingy desk setting, the mousepad now competed with the desktower. And, as the final insult, chronic neck strain forces you to use a rules & regulations handout to jack the monitor back up.
Enter the G4 cube. While everyone with a tongue drooled, most PC users gagged because it was a mac and couldn't possibly be more powerful than a Palmtop. Approximately a year later the MicroATX form factor is the craze of the modding scene. Gone are those days of bashing those mousekeys against the frontpanel and getting out of your chair to shout at your coworker in normal conversation? Everything is suddenly within reach again? Unfortunately this form factor is still targeted toward the kitchen counter browser and case modder set, so if you need a workstation, you're out of pesetas. So. Maybe a laptop, right? There getting pretty small now. A P 2.4 in there? Oh but now they're downsizing the processor too. I'm paying 200% for 'movility'? What?
Enter the CroissantATX form factor. With dimensions of 4"Hx15"Dx36"W, you've got a form factor which slips neatly under the monitor flush with the back of the desk and accepts standard ATX parts. 3.5"internals are stacked in pairs one atop another, and cd drives are lined up horizontally for easy use. Likewise all the I/O. There are custom pci slot extensions for at least one AGP card and two pci cards to sit horizontally.
This format would be about as portable as an electronic keyboard and would also fit under one as well, make it a hit for the musicians. The effect on a desk would be to simply raise the rear half of the desk about 4 inches, providing an excellent monitor stand. A crescent shaped version could please clients in superbeveled office settings as well as religious fanatics and pastry chefs.-- it sobad, Dec 31 2003 I'm not clear how a PC can get smaller or less obtrusive than this... http://www.thinkgee...ing/handhelds/5a98/ [DrCurry, Oct 05 2004] Dell Dimension 4600C http://www1.us.dell...us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs [phoenix, Oct 05 2004] Gateway Profile® 5S http://products.gat...tem_id=prf5s&seg=hm [phoenix, Oct 05 2004] Apple iMac http://www.imac.com/imac/ [phoenix, Oct 05 2004] "Zero-Footprint-PC" http://www.cybernetman.comCPU, et al in keyboard. [phoenix, Oct 05 2004] This thing is three feet wide? And why 15" deep? Why all the external stuff if you've got so much volume? Who says the desktop is dead? (links)-- phoenix, Dec 31 2003 If there're no missing decimal points, this is just the thoroughly Baked pizza box form factor.-- DrCurry, Dec 31 2003 Oops[phoenix].No external devices at all was the idea, except for monitor and keyboards. I meant external access cd-roms, not peripherals.
[DrCurry]The Idea is not to make a tiny object.
The idea is to make a computer that sort of blends with the desk so there is no more clutter than without it, but to keep the monitor and keyboard, and standard performance biased ATX system of a regular desktop.-- it sobad, Dec 31 2003 (+) for flexible thinking, (-) for insufficient paragraph breaks..........net gain, zero.-- normzone, Dec 31 2003 if you "have to use the rules and regulations handout to jack the monitor back up", what ergonomics problems are you claiming the tower saved in the first place?-- Random832, Apr 18 2005 I'm not sure I understnd exactly what you want. The form factor is for the motherboard mount points, the expansion card slots, and the built in ports. Making a new form factor would require a new mobo layout which your idea isn't about.
I put an ATX mobo in a case the size of my liking, so I already baked your idea, me thinks.
Aside: Turns out shoe boxes are ATX form factor as well.
When I used an Airwalk box to store my older SCSI P2 board, I noticed it fit almost perfectly.
With the HD and power suplly mounted on the top, the PS drew air out of the box through a cutout in the lid, and the expansion cards (just video and LAN) mounted inside with their ports only visible through yet more cutouts. Mounted means duct tape BTW.
Worked great and never crashed. Turning it on did require touching two wires together to facillitate a switch.-- Giblet, Apr 18 2005 [Giblet] Yay for lazy case modders!
My main system some years ago consisted of components stacked inside a wooden apple crate turned on its side. For recording, I still sometimes use a small stack of half breeze-blocks containing (and silencing) the hard disks, with a naked fan-less motherboard perched on top. That system is started by directly shorting the appropriate pins with whatever piece of metal is lying around. I still have to hot-wire my main system in exactly the manner you describe.-- spidermother, Apr 17 2012 random, halfbakery