When the hardware and operating systems we use don’t recede from our awareness while using them, they become a part of the aesthetic experience of whatever we’re using them for.
A lot of hardware is design to serve content and get out of the way as much as possible, to fade out of our awareness while using them, so we can immerse ourselves into the video, the movie, the video game, the book, whatever media we’re engaged with. Movie theatres are classic examples of this - the lights dim down so that everything is in darkness except for the movie itself, and the hardware that’s serving it is never seen. Virtual reality goggles are peak examples of this, where ideally, after you’ve put them on, the only thing you should notice is the virtual world you’ve become completely engaged with.
A small old laptop, with its low resolution display, slower refresh rate, slower hardware, and quite often with appealing design quirks that call for your attention, never quite get out of the way, I’ve noticed it doesn’t really recede from my awareness while I’m using it. Of course, when it comes to things like movies, this could be a detractor from the experience, but in certain cases, I feel like certain old laptops actually compliment or enhance the aesthetic experience.
The latter is what I’ve noticed with browsing the indie web and even making this forum post on the 2009 plastic macbook, while using Mavericks OS X and chilling with the classic Windows Vista background image: the aesthetic experience of the indie web seems to improve with the use of this MacBook in certain ways. Now I wouldn’t delegate all of my indie web time to this machine, there are websites I’d like to be able to access, there are times I’d prefer typing to be a little bit snappier, there are times I’d like to be able to have multiple tabs open. But for casual browsing, where I want to slow down and appreciate a website as a piece of media, it can really look beautiful and the vibes between the website and the macbook seem to match. If the indie web is slow, the pace of this laptop matches. If the indie web stylization leans more vintage/retro, the style of this laptop matches it. If personal websites are meant to be customized to the heart’s content, I’m not afraid of drawing or sticker bombing the body of this $10 macbook because it’s a $10 macbook! I can treat it like an art project as much as I can treat it like a tool. If personal web feels small and cozy, this small quaint laptop suits it. And if I want to eliminate a little temptation to open 30 tabs and jump from one website to the next quickly, there’s some friction doing so on a laptop like this - I’m pushed to take things one page at a time and enjoy whatever webpage is currently on the screen.
In a world where most devices feel like they’re portals to be sucked into, personal sites really seem to feel at home on small, old laptops, and the web almost feels like it comes outward into the physical world dressed in the form of this machine.
Just some thoughts! I enjoyed writing this, maybe in part because of the machine I was writing it on
I want everything to have a purpose. I feel torn toward being a collector and minimizing my worldly belongings.