I kinda miss my old desk, it was more symmetrical with a large upper shelf that was useful for storing printer paper, and the edges were rounded so you didn't erode them/ they didn't dig in when you were there all night fucking about on the internet
Desks used to be so much better. I think flat panels ruined desks because they no longer had to be as deep, so companies stopped making them that deep even though having a nice deep roomy desk is a GOOD THING.
Yeah, the desk I had when I moved out was flimsy af vs the multi tier "computer desk" we had with CD holders and upper shelves. We went backwards when we stopped making desks which celebrated the computer like it was special.
( I think a lot of regular people switched to laptops and tablets too )
I would like to point out that if that was in 1999, they'd have a portable telephone. And if they were really well off, it'd have a charging base and the main spot be somewhere else in the home.
This is 'the computer desk of a single mother' in the North East of England so, absolutely not well off, I'm surprised that phone doesn't have a dial on it
I am a daughter of a single mother from Germany. We used a dial phone until 2005 because we were poor. The first cordless came around 2005 I think. Revolution for me and my privacy 😂
We 100% still had a dial phone til like 2000 or something, we didn't upgrade til we got broadband ( it was available early/cheap in my area ) and we didn't get cordless phones until way way later
Honestly it's the pen holder that freaks me out the most, I had that exact one in red as a child in the early 90s, absolute deep cut to have that on a desk in '1999'
1999 I had a grape iMac. I named her Violet. I listened to the RENT soundtrack while typing on her cute little translucent purple keyboard many days. And then I downloaded Napster and all bets were off.
lol, got the black version. Little chin tab under the light broke off at some point. My wife uses it when reading books on the couch next to my desk. It's aaaaancient. 😅
Okay, mine was definitely a cheap-o knockoff version of that design. Super similar but the plastic was chintzier and I think the reason I don't have it anymore is because it caught the dust on fire when I turned it on after summer break
Oh yeah I 100% knocked mine off the desk too many times and it started to smell of burning when I used it, I think it eventually just gave up before it had the chance to set the house on fire
I remember these! I once slightly electrocuted myself when I dropped a keychain over those poles. Turns out they're naked conductors for the electricity to the lamp.
This is popping off so I wanna remind yall that if you like the 90s, you should go play Pacific Drive - it's set in 1998 and you get to drive your dad's old station wagon around the PNW while avoiding weird anomalies
This computer setup is very specifically belonging to a single mother who is using it to write emails so her cup of tea is very accurate tbh, needs some biscuits to go with it maybes
The specific context here is a single mother in her 30s who only just got her computer recently after being a bit skeptical and afraid of them, so it makes sense she just went to IKEA and found the smallest desk they do- she wouldn't have had the space for a massive set up too!
My critique is more the style and form of the desk, the Ikea looks too modern. Obviously not everyone had a big setup, but something like this was more common in the 90s
IKEA was pretty massive in the UK in the late 90s, that kind of desk is relatively expensive and not really something you can easily get around this area, however, we do have an IKEA.
this feels way too pristine and uncluttered. like they need to stain the walls with cigarette smoke and throw in some used burger wrappers or something idk
My kitten would sleep on top of the CRT monitor and absorb all the heat, then when she was older I got an LED monitor and when she tried to jump on top she went right over it and fell down behind the desk.
Nah, horizontal ones were a thing all through the 90s, this is the desk of a single mother in her 30s who got a basic pc to send some emails, not a gamer with a rig
Everyone I knew in college in the late 90s either had the giant tower or a jewel toned imac, regardless of their gamer status. I don't remember anyone with a slimform case like this.
I didn't take a picture of it but it also had a section on typical food eaten by poor northern people in 1999 and it was like, melted pizza chips and beans, the most orange of lunches
Comments
Wrote my Master Thesis on this one
I have questions about the socks.
All this picture is missing is an overflowing ashtray 😂
Also they're lighter so desks got flimsier.
( I think a lot of regular people switched to laptops and tablets too )
So old.
This was a generalised look at 1909/1939/1969/1999 with a room set up with screens where actors talked about life in their era 💀
1998 IKEA catalogue -
Anyway, I suppose everyone had different experiences.
You must share lämp
Brutal Proustian rush.
I feel personally attacked.
For your hands
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1458140/Pacific_Drive/
Looking forward to playing it :)
And I feel compelled to note that Randy is a nickname. And it doesn't mean that over here.
Well, yeah, that makes sense
Reads the caption: oh, sweet Jesus, save me
Oh yeah, that looks like our setup from a couple years ago.
Sleeping on top of the computer case or in behind the printer :)
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/4646/Apricot-XEN-PC/