When I was at school, we all got allocated a nice wooden desk at which we'd sit for registration. It also doubled as a store for books, pens and sandwiches. I get rather nostalgic when I remember my desk.

Carved into the top - against school rules of course - were the little marks of previous students who owned the desk or were just passing by. These days of wipe clean white boards and plastic-coated desks are just not the same.

The Nice Big Wooden Computer is a standard desktop, removed from the metal or plastic casing and installed in a nice wooden box. It works precisely the same as a normal desktop. The LCD screen is also embedded in a nice big wooden frame.

Students envariably will add their own marks to the wood and create the patina of the old school desks. Every so often, the Nice Big Wooden Computer can be sanded down to get rid of the marks if required. Like a hermit crab, If things get really bad, the motherboard and gubbins can be reinstalled in a new box.

Everyone will know that Nice Big Wooden Computers are only found in schools. If you get offered one, you'll know it's been stolen. To rehouse a Nice Big Wooden Computer in a standard CPU casing would be costly and time consuming so potential thieves would leave well alone.

When constructed of nicer woods, Nice Big Wooden Computers make lovely pieces of furniture that you wouldn't mind being left on display, complete with wooden mouse and rafia wrapped cables.
-- jonthegeologist, Mar 13 2006

Wooden computer http://discussions....x.php/t-142631.html
but [jon]'s model will work, shirley. [methinksnot, Mar 13 2006]

Hardwood Computer Hardwood_20Desktop
Diferent purpose (no idea what the purpose was, actually), but same idea. [DrCurry, Mar 13 2006]

Wodden computer case http://www.beefstew...rry/case-sum02.html
Shaped somewhat like a desk or table. Blue tiles on top. [jutta, Mar 14 2006]

do you mean likes this? http://woodcontour.com/
[zeno, Mar 15 2006]

Wooden Laptop http://zaverio.net/...atile/index-en.html
[skinflaps, Mar 23 2006]

Gubbins http://dictionary.r...om/search?q=gubbins
for !markflynn [Loris, Mar 23 2006]

Wooden iPod http://www.bit-tech...od_zapwizard/1.html
Mmmm... shiny wood... [dbmag9, Mar 23 2006]

There used to be a company, maybe still is, that would, for a suitable fee, dismantle your precious PC, render the screen, PC and keyboard casings in beautiful faux wood, marble or whatever, and then lovingly reassemble it for you. Cost an arm and a leg, though.

But anyway, this idea, or one like it, has been mooted several times before in these pages. One such linked.
-- DrCurry, Mar 13 2006


Making too many marks leads to inflation.
-- Cuit_au_Four, Mar 13 2006


Should you really be interested I can make these to your specs.
-- zeno, Mar 15 2006


Is 'gubbins' a real word? 'Cause if it's not,I want it to be.
-- notmarkflynn, Mar 15 2006


Oddly, I think I disagree with the definition of gubbins - I'm using it in the sense of a collective noun of things. I do know what they're called, but to save naming them all, I'm calling them gubbins.
-- jonthegeologist, Mar 23 2006


Capital idea, what what!

Perhaps make it completely wooden, with streams of water instead of wires. It might take up the space of a footbal field, require more electricity than the rest of the school combined, not work on hot or cold days and be painfully slow, but it would be very cool.
-- dbmag9, Mar 23 2006



random, halfbakery