The Personal Computer: This One is Mine
The Personal Computer: This One is Mine
Posted 06/08/2010 at 2:35pm
| by Nathan Edwards
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I was going to open my inaugural column on personal computing by replacing the word “rifle” in the Rifleman's Creed (think Full Metal Jacket [NSFW language]) with “computer.” In doing so, I realized a few things. First, it turns out an artist named 9000 already did that, with his piece Turing Creed. Second, the metaphor only extends so far. And then it gets kinda weird. 
This is my computer. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My computer is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it. I must master my life. Without me, my computer is useless. Without my computer, I am useless. I must use my computer true. I must use my computer faster than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must outcomputer him before he outcomputers me.
—9000, “Turing Creed”
This is my computer.
Okay, most of you have computers. Or you like computers. Or you have a friend who faxes you articles from our website to convince you to get a computer, except it doesn't help because it's like a foreign language to you, which your friend doesn't get because he thinks everyone should instinctively know what the heck a hard drive is and why it matters how fast it goes around in a circle. No? Anyway, let's assume you have a computer. And, because you're reading this on Maximumpc.com, we're gonna assume that your computer is not just a tool to you. Which brings us to part two.
There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Already the metaphor is falling apart. “There are many like it?” Yeah, maybe if you're rolling with a MacBook, chief. Insofar as all computers have certain parts in common (a CPU, motherboard, memory, storage, etc), they're all alike. But to us, they're personal. We know them inside and out. We fine-tune them, paint them, add fans to them, plaster 'em in stickers, name them, rely on them. We wouldn't go quite so far as to say they're our best friends (I hope), but they're ours.
They're personal computers.
Now, on one level a computer is just a tool—something that helps us perform certain tasks. It doesn't need to be pretty. It doesn't need to be personal. Walk into any big box store and you can find computers for sale that do everything that 90 percent of the public requires in a computer. And that's great. We live in a world (or rather, in a part of the world) where computers are a commodity: thoroughly unremarkable and accessible to almost everybody. And because they're accessible, they help promote literacy, open-mindedness, technical skills, and education. Computer (and by extension internet) access is tremendously important, and those of us who can take that access for granted are lucky indeed.
You don't need cold-cathode tubes to learn to type. You don't need an overclocked processor to edit an image. You don't need a $200 keyboard and $300 headset to read Wikipedia. You don't even need them to play Crysis, Dawn of War, or WoW. But do that keyboard and that headset and that airbrushed dragon on your case make your computer more personal? Customized to your every whim and need, like something forged in the depths of Mount Doom itself?
Damn straight. After all, this is Maximum PC.
So here it is. My monthly column is called The Personal Computer, and I'd like to use it to discuss what makes our computers personal. Whether that's something as simple as a custom Rainmeter skin or a sticker for the lid of your laptop, or as complicated as one of Jeffrey Stephenson or Nick Falzone's mods , I want to talk about it. Look forward to simple mod how-tos, semi-coherent philosophical musings like today's, or whatever you guys are interested in.
One Last Thing
Some of you may remember a site called Modshop.net. It was a Maximum PC offshoot, essentially a social networking site / monthly modding competition site. It was an experiment on the part of our parent company, and sadly it went the way of the buffalo after only a year. But for most of its run I was the Community Manager, which put me into contact with nearly every big name in the case modding business. It was a blast, and I wish the site was still up. And although I've gone on to bigger things (like paying rent), I rue Modshop's cancellation. Boy do I rue it. I hope it wasn't my fault.
Also on the list of things I miss: Rig of the Month. We had to stop running the department a while back due to lack of space (and, much as I hate to say it, quality submissions). But some of you clamor for it, and I clamor for it, so I'm going to bring it back. Sorta.
It'll be on the website, not in the magazine, and we can't actually give gift certificates to the winners like we used to. But it's something. So if you want your rig to be featured on Maximumpc.com, shoot us a line at rig (at) maximumpc (dot) com with your name, hometown, 500 words(ish) of build details and inspiration, and a few .jpgs of your rig in all its glory. We'll pick the coolest (by our completely arbitrary standards) for the reinstated Rig of the Month! Hooray!
One Other Last Thing
I don't need another forum to babble about my dumb ideas or maunder on about the Good Old Days. If that's all I wanted to do, I'd post it on my own blog. Or tweet about it. I want this column to be useful to you. So drop me a line at nathan (at) maximumpc (dot) com with "Personal Computer" in the title and tell me what you think we should talk about—from custom themes to case modding to stickers for the front of your netbook. If it makes your computer personal, and not just some beige box or Cupertino snoozer, I'm interested. Heck, if you’ve just got something neat to show off (computer-related only, please), shoot me a line.
One Final Last Couple Things That Have Been Inspiring Me Lately
I’ve been pleased with my Tree of Life netbook skin since I got it, and now I’ve found that Gelaskins (the company who made it) lets you design your own laptop/netbook/phone skins and have them printed up. I’m currently pondering plastering the Maximum PC logo all over everything I own.
Some of you may recall that I gave the Thermaltake Level 10 some pretty serious style points when it came out. Jeffrey Stephenson’s done it one better, with his Level 11 Pico-ITX build. Jeffrey’s work is always amazing, but this one is jaw-dropping.
Jeffrey Stephenson's Level 11
Nathan Edwards is Maximum PC's Senior Associate Editor. When he's not reviewing hardware for Maximum PC or writing meandering, navel-gazy prose, he enjoys blowing up Panauan military bases on Kallisti (his gaming rig), writing on Cuttlefish (his netbook), and gazing rapt at his Android phone Zahir. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/thewesterly.
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JAshtonX
June 16, 2010 at 12:24pm
Whoever copied that creed could have copied it better ^_^. That is the Marine Rifle creed. Kind of bugs me cause it was copied completely right. It would sound better with the omitted words.
eric0rr
June 11, 2010 at 9:50am
iv never seen someone explain what a pc is so perfectly. You're right, we do get emotionally attached to our pc's, but I've spent days customizing my pc, searching for the right mouse, the coolest keyboard, when you spend so much time on a project it become what you love, and we love pc's, thats why we read your articles! you also explained how we think everyone should know what were talking about, cause its the way of the future, but i dont expect anyone to know what im talking about when I start talking about SSD's and AMD's 6 core processors.
legend-nyc
June 10, 2010 at 11:34am
Well said.
It's a little scary how emotional and attached we can get to this stuff.
TheMurph
June 10, 2010 at 11:27am
Done and done. I think the prize should be, "10 minutes on the MPC podcast."
grjeepwr
June 09, 2010 at 11:38pm
What a great read! I remember drooling over the Rig Of The Month pics in past issues; back when I was running a Radio Shack Compaq "special," that at the time was "state of the art!!" Now thanks in most part to all the years of reading, collecting Maximum PC I just built my first PC. And it works AWSOME!!! Thanks for the inspiration for my PC, next to my family the most important thing that I cherish.
AMD 965 BE 125w
Gigabyte Super Overclocked 5870
MSI 790-FX-GD70
OCZ BE1600C8LV4GK 8GB
Zalman CNPX10X EXTREME
ULTRA 1050W
HITACHI 1TB
CREATIVE SB FATALITY TITANIUM CHAMPION
LOGITECH G15
LOGITECH MX
AegisFCCS
June 09, 2010 at 7:56pm
Computing & woodworking - Awesome! I thoroughly enjoy precision woodworking as much as I enjoy computer technology and blasting away in the latest 1st-person shooter. Very imaginative and well thought out. Bravo-Zulu!!!
Twidget FCCS
"Success = Dedication Over Time"
bingojubes
June 08, 2010 at 8:25pm
very good read. nice to have the rig of the month on the website. hopefully users will submit some good pics! my pc is not as neat looking as i'd like it to be, but i might give it a shot.
SilverSurferNHS
June 08, 2010 at 4:46pm
This is incredibly touching. I love this article, and i'm sharing it with all my friends.
I was a pc user that had a custom desktop for years, then bought an HP laptop for college. It was a killer of a laptop for its time (HDX9494nr) but i soon missed being able to customize, modify move around and tune the things i'd become use to messing with (no overclocking either).
I just purchased a new and customized desktop once more and i don't think i'll ever make the mistake of buying pre made or "mainstream" computers again.
Especially true is the "personal computer" in regards to macs not being personal, my sentiment exactly.
cc3d
June 08, 2010 at 3:15pm
as a 2 time ROTM winner (cough cough, brag brag) I am excited to hear about this. I also still have two Vista Ultimates that I won on Modshop.net! What can I do with these now I wonder?
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