The (In)Difference engine: explaining the disappearance of diversity in the design of the personal computer

ATKINSON, P. (2000). The (In)Difference engine: explaining the disappearance of diversity in the design of the personal computer. Journal of design history, 13 (1), 59-72.

Preview

PDF fulltext.pdf Download (93kB) | Preview

Abstract

At the time of writing there is a clear perception of all office computers as being more or less identical. Discussion with users entails repetitive rhetoric as they describe a landscape of boring beige boxes. The office PC is indeed a ‘clone’ - an identical, characterless copy of a bland original.

Through the exploration of an archive of computer manufacturer’s catalogues, this article shows how previous, innovative forms of the computer informed by cultural references as diverse as science fiction, accepted gender roles and the discourse of status as displayed through objects, have been systematically replaced by the adoption of a ‘universal’ design informed only by the nondescript, self-referential world of office equipment.

The acceptance of this lack of innovation in the design of such a truly global, mass-produced, multi-purpose technological artefact has had an enormous effect on the conception, perception and consumption of the computer, and possibly of information technology itself. The very anonymity of the PC has created an attitude of indifference at odds with its potential.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	ATKINSON, Paul (2000). The (In)Difference engine: explaining the disappearance of diversity in the design of the personal computer. Journal of design history, 13(1), 59-72
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018:	Cultural Communication and Computing Research Institute > Art and Design Research Centre
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/13.1.59
Page Range:	59-72
Depositing User:	Ann Betterton
Date Deposited:	16 Mar 2009
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2021 06:16
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/964

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads

Publication Metrics