The Ultimate Computer Case (made in Switzerland)
What I like about swiss people, apart from their exactitude, punctuality and concern for the environment, is their ability to mix practicality with design. That is the image I have of what I’d call “the Swiss spirit”.
Design “Made in Switzerland”
We are all familiar with the swiss army knife which had its time of glory at the end of the 80s thanks to Holywood actor Richard Dean Anderson (aka “Mister I-can-fix-a-car-engine-with-a-tooth-pick-a-pant’s-zipper-and-my-swiss-army-knife”). By no other mean the guy who came-up with such a crazy (but revolutionnary) idea of putting a toolbox in a knife (and that was in 1897!) could be anything else but Swiss. When I ask (non-swiss) people around me to define Switzerland in a word, “chocolate”, “clock”, “William Tell”, “snow covered mountains”, “secret bank accounts”, “Heidi” and “Swiss Army Knife” come always first. I hope that after reading this post, those same people will from now on add “beautiful and intelligent design” to their list.
The Story
My passion for Swiss design (I’m not talking here about “cucu clocks” or “glass snow-balls”) started at the age of 10 when my grand-father offered me my very first Swiss Army Knife during a holyday in Zinal, Switzerland. Since then, I’ve been a fan of those wonderful objects bearing the Swiss cross logo. And since today I can still not consciously accept to spend 700€ in a Strellson jacket, I started to look for some alternatives for cool, practical and design accessories made in “Helvetia”.
The Problem
The issue I have with netbooks is that they’re so small, that computer case manufacturers don’t bother designing really cool cases for them. They think that a netbook per se is meant to be carried in any existing type of case as most of them weigh around a kilo. Fair enough. I used to carry mine in a backpack. Most women I know carry theirs in hand-bag. But for me, that was not enough. Until today.
The Solution
In my quest for the “Ultimate Computer Case”, my latest acquisition was an amazing Swiss Army hand bag of the 1960s I found a couple of weeks ago at the Euroantik Show in Innsbruck, Austria. Cost: 15€ after a little negociation with the vendor. But 15€ is a great bargain considering the quality of the manufacturing of this Swiss Army garment which mixes fine leather, thick denim and stainless steel blades to protect the top, sides and bottom of the bag. And the best of all is that most netbooks with their charging cables, USB cable, earphones and mouse can fit in this 17×30x10cm case! This is what I’d call “space optimization”. And when you’re tired of using it for your laptop, you can always turn it into “The Ultimate Six-Pack Case” or something in that style. Your imagination is the limit, after all.
Conclusion
I guess that making the same kind of case today, with the same level of manufacturing quality and design originality would bring its retail price to 80€ to 100€. Why would you like to spend this amount of money when you can get it at the flea market or on ebay for less than 15€?
A lasting design of the 1960s for today’s modern technologies.
Practical. Beautiful. Swissmade.
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I LOVE IT! Great idea, and fits perfectly!
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