Thanks for the feedback! I think I need to clarify my stance as a vendor and the amount of people I aim to target as a consumer base, as it should shed some insight into my design stance as well.
I feel like many are missing the point of why this whole project exists in the first place; with people advising me on how to get more buyers and whatnot. Obviously you acknowledged it, but perhaps it's best to restate it for others.
Yes, this thread is of a currently in-development case. Yes, I am looking for suggestions on how to improve the case. Yes, I want to be able to sell this case.
But creating a case for the purpose of retail was not the reason why this project began.
It began because I was designing a case for me.
That is, and always will be, the end-goal priority for this project.
I'm not going to do drastically major design changes, such as altering the case's structure and layout, just so I can appeal to more of the general public in hopes of selling more cases.
Will I miss out on the general public as a consumer base as a result? Yeah, maybe. But they aren't who I was ever even going for. Selling to the masses was never a realistic expectation from my position. A consumer group of that size would be too big for me to handle.
Who I am targeting with this case are the fellow size freaks out there. People who want a case that's small but doesn't compromise on the componentry of the computer inside. People who are in the same use-case scenario as me. With that relatively small consumer base in mind, I'm only going for small-scale buy and sell. Group buys in portions of 20-40 units at a time. I am a full-time college student after all.
And again, this case is for me; first and foremost. It makes no sense for me to make changes to the case that I, myself, would not like to have. I'm building this thing to be my perfect case, not your perfect case, or someone else's perfect case.
If I determined that hiding the cables would be the best course of action, then I would have done it already. I made a choice on that long ago.
I'm just not going to be wholly subservient to my "potential customers" and fervently do everything I can to grab a bigger audience. That's not how I roll.
The bottom line is this:
I made a case.
I made a case for me.
If I were to put this case into relative, preexisting terms, it's basically a slightly smaller, cheaper DAN-A4 that has been turned on its side, includes its own set of unique features, supports a bigger graphics card, and supports more storage.
So if you like it and want to buy it, welcome aboard. I hope to send you a case inside a box with your name on it.
If you don't, that's fine. It's my loss.
Forgive me if this came off as aggressive, ignorant, and closed-off to suggestions, but please don't interpret it in that way. That was not my intent. I'm just trying to convey my stance. Maybe I'm just cranky because I'm tired. (It's 5:45 am as I write this)
I still would love to hear any of your suggestions on features I can put into the case. Sometimes I miss things that only become clear to me through someone else's way of thinking.
And what I mean by "suggestions on features I can put into the case" I literally mean into the case.
I'm not receptive to anything that would change the external volume of the case. Size is final.
I don't want any changes that would make the case bigger; and I am certain I can't make the case any smaller.
You might get a defensive response from me in reply to your suggestion, but that's just because I want to fully explain my way of thinking to you and not just give you a petty retort of "I don't like your suggestion".
But yeah.
As for the handle, this is a rather confusing topic. The ideation behind this case was to either be able to throw it in a backpack or luggage bag along with whatever else you need and transport it that way, not really to tote around the unit itself. It's certainly possible to add a handle, but I never felt that it was necessary to add one to a case of this size. Keep in mind that the thickness(thinness?) of this case is lesser than the length of a standard index card, so grasping and picking it up with one hand should be fairly easy.
I just personally find handles to be tacky, no offense to people who like them. Like yeah, they're useful, but they just seem awkward to me. Like how often do you see a guy carrying around his computer like a briefcase? If I saw someone doing that, I'd honestly think they're a massive nerd. Hypocritical, maybe. Truthful, yes.
With all that out of the way, I like your extendable/retractable feet idea. It's inventive. It's a bit complex to implement and manufacture but perhaps I can find an elegant way of incorporating something like it after sleeping on the idea.
**EDIT
I don't know. Personally, the whole cable cover idea just seems like a futile effort to me. Like I said before, I can try to hide the cables, but no matter what, they're still there. That's just the ugly truth of all computers. I can make taller feet and have the cables run from the underside of the case, but that increases the volume. I can make a recessed area on the top of the case, but then again, that increases the volume and the cables still pretty much come out the top of the case. I can have the cables come out of the sides, but that opens up a whole can of worms as far as design complications go. Perhaps this issue stems from the slim and skinny tower format. It's great in almost every aspect, except for external cable routing. It seems I just can't win in this design scenario. It's aesthetics vs. utility. I value utility more.
The removable cable cover is indeed a good idea, but I can't think of a good way of mounting it to the case. The cover also introduces a new part, which introduces more cost, which is something I'm very conscious about with this project. I want it to be affordable.
I need to sleep.
