Computers Go Backwards

[Organgrinder 1,946]

I have been using, for many years, a brilliant Acer Z5610  (All in one computer) which is coming to the end of it's life.

As a result, I have been comparing what's now on the market for some time  and cannot believe the stupidity of most manufacturers.

I have found, that it's almost impossible to buy a computer with the USB and card reader sockets on the front or side panels where they can easily be reached.

The only one I can find is the new Lenovo Yoga A940 which is a very good computer with good spec but, unfortunately made in China.

As China's behaviour gets worse, I have a policy of trying to buy from Western countries so as not to enrich China at the expense of others because I believe they are aiming at world domination on all fronts.

Whether you agree or not,  am I alone in thinking that the design of modern computers is seriously flawed when you cannot plug in a USB pen drive or an SD card without having to leave your seat to stand up and go around the back of the machine to achieve this.

I can perform this action on my present Acer and do this many times in a normal day.  Growing older makes moving about more difficult and, If I were disabled and working from a wheelchair, it would be very hard to do it at all.

I should mention that most of my work is connected with Musical instruments, Audio and Style files etc,  which brings about the necessity of constantly moving data quickly and easily between my machines.

A touch screen is also needed for some of my purposes but to look for that plus accessible sockets is asking the earth.

Even the extremely expensive Microsoft Surface Pro has all the sockets at the very back. Presumably, theses designs are an attempt at neatness but, if they make you fit a hub to avoid standing then they are less neat than my present Acer.

Unbelievable to think, that even if you were willing and able to spend between £3,500 and £4,500 for a Microsoft Surface Pro, you still couldn't use it without having to stand up, although it has the perfect base to install easy reach sockets.

Can no one but the Chinese make progress forwards these3 days and why are even Microsoft so lacking in common sense?

My old Acer is easy on the eye, neat and tidy and I can work on it all day without moving.

Maybe the average person isn't bothered as they rarely move data and I am an unusual user. I wondered if I was on my own with these views.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Organgrinder
spelling mistake

[Norbert 145]

Have you considered one of the custom computer building companies, you can choose from different cases or an additional A/V front panel. You also get more for your money.

[Pyrotequila 403]

59 minutes ago, Organgrinder said:

As China's behaviour gets worse, I have a policy of trying to buy from Western countries so as not to enrich China at the expense of others because I believe they are aiming at world domination on all fronts.

Um...you may want to buy from Western companies, but it's almost a 99% certainty that the components themselves will be made in China

[apelike 10]

52 minutes ago, Organgrinder said:

Maybe the average person isn't bothered as they rarely move data and I am an unusual user. I wondered if I was on my own with these views.

Most PC cases these days have USB ports on the front but not so much in the way of card readers. However there are plenty of USB plugin desktop card readers with USB ports for sale from around £10 upwards. Just plug it into a back USB socket and away you go.

[Organgrinder 1,946]

2 minutes ago, apelike said:

Most PC cases these days have USB ports on the front but not so much in the way of card readers. However there are plenty of USB plugin desktop card readers with USB ports for sale from around £10 upwards. Just plug it into a back USB socket and away you go.

My present computer is an all in one, which is the type I was discussing in my post.

I prefer to stick to all in one as it's much neater but I might end up having to go back to a tower.

43 minutes ago, Norbert said:

Have you considered one of the custom computer building companies, you can choose from different cases or an additional A/V front panel. You also get more for your money.

I Didn't consider that as I wanted to stay with all in one computers but I may be forced to change.

5 minutes ago, Pyrotequila said:

Um...you may want to buy from Western companies, but it's almost a 99% certainty that the components themselves will be made in China

You are probably right but this just shows why China is making all the money.

We need to change that situation. The richest country in the world usually dominates but America seems to be giving up the struggle against China.

[the_bloke 17]

I'm not sure what the issue is really. Find a good deal on a PC and just buy an external USB hub with a card reader for £30 or less which can sit on the desk, and also has the benefit of being portable between machines.  Especially since you'll save money by buying a tower PC compared to an all in one PC which are more expensive and can't be upgraded easily.

[apelike 10]

59 minutes ago, Organgrinder said:

My present computer is an all in one, which is the type I was discussing in my post.

I prefer to stick to all in one as it's much neater but I might end up having to go back to a tower.

The trouble with all-in-one computers are that they are not very upgradeable and if one bit goes awry then the whole lot can be useless. Most also seem to just replace the whole unit when things go down from old age and the one you have is probably 10-12 years old.  Another poster on here has discovered those very problems with his all-in-one and now is up for a desktop. 

 

You can get a PC that sits on the desktop where you can also place a monitor on top to stop some of the clutter. 

 

 

[Ghozer 112]

2 hours ago, Organgrinder said:

I have been using, for many years, a brilliant Acer Z5610  (All in one computer) which is coming to the end of it's life.

As a result, I have been comparing what's now on the market for some time  and cannot believe the stupidity of most manufacturers.

I have found, that it's almost impossible to buy a computer with the USB and card reader sockets on the front or side panels where they can easily be reached.

The only one I can find is the new Lenovo Yoga A940 which is a very good computer with good spec but, unfortunately made in China.

As China's behaviour gets worse, I have a policy of trying to buy from Western countries so as not to enrich China at the expense of others because I believe they are aiming at world domination on all fronts.

Whether you agree or not,  am I alone in thinking that the design of modern computers is seriously flawed when you cannot plug in a USB pen drive or an SD card without having to leave your seat to stand up and go around the back of the machine to achieve this.

I can perform this action on my present Acer and do this many times in a normal day.  Growing older makes moving about more difficult and, If I were disabled and working from a wheelchair, it would be very hard to do it at all.

I should mention that most of my work is connected with Musical instruments, Audio and Style files etc,  which brings about the necessity of constantly moving data quickly and easily between my machines.

A touch screen is also needed for some of my purposes but to look for that plus accessible sockets is asking the earth.

Even the extremely expensive Microsoft Surface Pro has all the sockets at the very back. Presumably, theses designs are an attempt at neatness but, if they make you fit a hub to avoid standing then they are less neat than my present Acer.

Unbelievable to think, that even if you were willing and able to spend between £3,500 and £4,500 for a Microsoft Surface Pro, you still couldn't use it without having to stand up, although it has the perfect base to install easy reach sockets.

Can no one but the Chinese make progress forwards these3 days and why are even Microsoft so lacking in common sense?

My old Acer is easy on the eye, neat and tidy and I can work on it all day without moving.

Maybe the average person isn't bothered as they rarely move data and I am an unusual user. I wondered if I was on my own with these views.

I honestly cannot think of a PC without USB on the front (somewhere) Unless it's specifically designed as such (like, an All-In-One might only have them on the back) - but 99% of PC's (and Cases to build your own) you can buy has USB on the front...

As for a card reader, that is something you could purchase, and add-on later.... Generally that was up to manufacturers to include, and mostly only the 'prebuilt' type from the linkes of HP, PackardBell, Lenovo etc would have a card reader built in, and it would generally fit in one of the drive bay locations (where FloppyDrive would have gone before)

now most PC's and Computer cases don't even have the drive-bays (As we dont really use floppys any more) so no-where to put a card reader internally... but there are lots of external Solutions...

[Thirsty Relic 214]

If you wish to stay with an all-in-one, and it has the USB at the back, why not just buy a decent USB extension cable that plugs into one of the back USB ports and gives 4/6 or so ports?  Position that at the front, plug in a USB card-reader or anything you want, and you are away.

 

Over the years, I've found that the towers with USB's at the back and front usually have slower ports at the front anyway.  Another disadvantage of having them at the front is that they get used frequently, and can become loose and faulty.  Far better that the extension USB has this problem - that can easily be replaced.

[Pyrotequila 403]

3 hours ago, Organgrinder said:

You are probably right but this just shows why China is making all the money.

We need to change that situation. The richest country in the world usually dominates but America seems to be giving up the struggle against China.

They simply can't, because in China it's virtually like slave labour, they get paid bugger all.

[geared 316]

Component manufacturers are looking to branch out of China, but the problem is no one country can offer everything that China can.

 

You might have cheap Labour but the infrastructure is rudimentary which means getting your product to market is a pain, or the land is cheap but you end up demolishing a jungle to build a factory, or there's widespread corruption or inefficiency in the administration blocking outside business.

Other countries just aren't stable enough to be a realistic prospect for major investment.

Edited February 21, 2021 by geared

[Jomie 30]

Organgrinder - I can see your point about computers made in China. From a quick search, it seems that even if you have a custom built computer from the likes of Novatech, the parts are likely to be from China and/or Taiwan so you may have to put this to one side for now. 

 

I checked out the Lenovo that you referenced but could only find one USB port which was on the side, not the front but perhaps I got it wrong. As I am sure you know, the all in ones are designed to look nice and neat so manufacturers will not spoil that look in order to put ports on the front.  This feature is important to you so you will have to decide on looks or practicality.  If you go for the former, a powered hub could solve the problem of access. I have one which I use from time to time because laptops are short of ports these days. It works very well. 

 

A traditional desktop computer which has USB ports at the front would also solve the problem but you can't get away from the clutter.  

 

One other solution might be to buy a laptop with a 17" screen but it might not be large enough for you. Of course you could buy a laptop and use a separate monitor. You would have to scout round for one that has sufficient USB ports though.  Mine only has two but I have got round that by using a micro c to USB adapter which utilizes the power port so it converts it to three USB ports but of course I make sure the laptop is fully charged before use.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Jomie