Tech Gear With Color and Style

[Guest]

You missed the Sony MDR-R10 under the wood section! (And this is actual wood, not just some laminate.) Nothing says style like a $4K pair of Headphones.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

Forget beige, black, and silver devices: Choose from red, purple, blue, and even wood. Do you love or hate the gadget color trend?

Tech Gear With Color and Style : Read more

 

[njalterio]

I love it. The one female writer on staff for Tom's Hardware writes an article about which color gadget you should get.

Way to celebrate a stereotype.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]njalterio[/nom]I love it. The one female writer on staff for Tom's Hardware writes an article about which color gadget you should get.Way to celebrate a stereotype.[/citation]
Thanks for your comment njalterio. I'm proud of Tom's Guide efforts to reach a more diverse audience. We can all agree that design and visual attributes are becoming increasingly important in the consumer electronics business. As technology becomes more mainstream, and less "niche," I consider it a good thing that devices have been elevated to the level of "sartorial accessory".

 

[njalterio]

@ TomsGuideRachel:

You completely missed my point. Design and visual attributes should NOT be considered important in the consumer electronics business. It should be mostly about function and innovation. I believe it illustrates a very shallow and vapid personality to purchase items purely based on how they look. Should we also judge human beings based on how they look?

If you want to appeal to a more diverse audience, particularly women, you should write simply good articles about relevant computer technology issues and innovations. You are spreading the generalization that women only care about style and looks in a product when you write these articles celebrating the eight different colors some useless product is available in.

Contrary to your belief that you are making technology more mainstream, you are actually increasing the "niche" by encouraging the purchaser to cram their personality into the mold of a trendy luxury item.



Think about what you are saying.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]njalterio[/nom]@ TomsGuideRachel:You completely missed my point. Design and visual attributes should NOT be considered important in the consumer electronics business. It should be mostly about function and innovation. I believe it illustrates a very shallow and vapid personality to purchase items purely based on how they look. Should we also judge human beings based on how they look? If you want to appeal to a more diverse audience, particularly women, you should write simply good articles about relevant computer technology issues and innovations. You are spreading the generalization that women only care about style and looks in a product when you write these articles celebrating the eight different colors some useless product is available in.Contrary to your belief that you are making technology more mainstream, you are actually increasing the "niche" by encouraging the purchaser to cram their personality into the mold of a trendy luxury item. Think about what you are saying.[/citation]

Thank you for your thoughtfulness. While I didn't miss your original point, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I maintain that design (form) is equally as important as function when it comes to consumer products. Despite the fact that you think that design should NOT be important, none the less, it is very important to many people--men and women. I'm glad to see Tom's Guide broadening its horizons. To be clear, Tom's Hardware will likely never write about form over function--but here at Guide, we're a little more consumer-oriented.

Rachel, Editor of Tom's Guide

 

[doomsdaydave11]

I am gonna agree with Rachel. Diversity is not necessarily a bad thing. Don't like it? Don't read it. It not like it's on the main story page or anything... just something more to read. Also, this is Tom's Guide, not Tom's Hardware.

 

[scurvywombat]

I believe it illustrates a very shallow and vapid personality to purchase items purely based on how they look.

I'd hate to see your wardrobe.

 

[njalterio]

^^My wardrobe is mainly shirts, ties, slacks, and suit jackets.

@doomsdaydave11: I'm not trying to say diversity is bad. I just don't think it should be so contrived. It ruins the whole point.

"I thought diversity was a small boat?"

 

[Guest]

No leather items? Leather is the best color. which is why sports cars have leather interiors and not bamboo.

although bamboo is pretty cool too

 

[neveremember]

troll alert. njalterio why don't you go overclock some ram or something. the day of everyone having the same beige white box pc is dead, long live the revolution!

 

[johnbilicki]

I enjoyed the article and while I don't like all of the choices (my tastes don't include pink or wood) I think this is a valid topic for discussion. I'd even find it a little discomforting if a male wrote the article any way.

[citation][nom]njalterio[/nom]I love it. The one female writer on staff for Tom's Hardware writes an article about which color gadget you should get.Way to celebrate a stereotype.[/citation]

Should we then raise our boys to play with Barbie dolls and our girls with G-I-Joes action figures? Granted nerd-girls kick ass however if you want them to be act like a guy their whole lives you might as well clone yourself. Stereotypes exist because it is how NATURE works. If you don't like how nature works go support an extremist political agenda; Communism and Zionism come to mind as examples.

 

[njalterio]

johnbilicki,

I never said or implied girls need to act like men; I just think it is belittling to all women to suggest the only place in the technology world for women is in picking out colors.

Also, understand the ramifications of statements like "stereotypes exist because it is how NATURE works" before you make them. Do you mean to tell me all white people listen to Dave Matthews Band for this reason?
lol.

 

[TheDane]

"stereotypes exist because it is how NATURE works"

It is? Says who (link to some sensible documentation please)?

To me stereotypes exist because our cultures PRODUCES stereotypes. It also makes live easier for companies since it is easier for them market useless/stupid products to stereotype buyers.

Diversity IS a good thing. But that doesn't make every product something worth owing. Some products are just - doesn't matter WHO's buying it

 

[neiroatopelcc]

@ njalterio : Design is important! and not only to women. I'm casemodding as a hobby, and technically that's a waste of time, as I could just buy any case that holds the hardware. But I like to think I'm the only one around who has a cylindrical mediacenter made of industrial aluminum sheets and the like.

If design isn't important, why does Pininfarina have such a successful business designing alfa romeo cars (and one of the items on this here list)? The cars are technically inferior to other cars in the same price range, but nobody can deny they look a lot better than any beemer or merc in the same price range ; and they're selling, and well at that. So design is important. Why else would the road trafic be as diverse as it is? We should all drive honda or toyota since they're superior in reliability.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Oh I miss an edit button!

@ TheDane : stereotypes don't exist because our culture creates them, but because the nature of mankind does. Stereotypes exist in all cultures, not only in the wealthy third of our planet. See the "The Human Experience" series (not the 2008 movie) for more about that. Also understand that stereotypes aren't nessecarily a bad thing, nor are they nessecarily wrong.

 

[anton_anton]

....if a male wrote the article any way.

"any way" is one word viz: anyway, not two.

[citation][nom]johnbilicki[/nom]I enjoyed the article and while I don't like all of the choices (my tastes don't include pink or wood) I think this is a valid topic for discussion. I'd even find it a little discomforting if a male wrote the article any way. Should we then raise our boys to play with Barbie dolls and our girls with G-I-Joes action figures? Granted nerd-girls kick ass however if you want them to be act like a guy their whole lives you might as well clone yourself. Stereotypes exist because it is how NATURE works. If you don't like how nature works go support an extremist political agenda; Communism and Zionism come to mind as examples.[/citation]