remembering 'the beige icons' through nostalgia-inducing animated gifs

in a smart phone age such as this, some wonder if we have lost touch with what a ‘computer’ truly is. it’s a definition made more unclear with the countless types of new technology. certainly the definition changes from one decade to the next — in fact, at one point people were referred to as computers. yet, with apple claiming that it considers the iPad a computer (in its recent advert), many are still skeptical and unwilling to consider it as such. according to docubyte — the pseudonym of photographer, retoucher, art director james ball — the notion of a computer can be linked to a nostalgic connection with 1980s. personal computers, such as the original apple mac and other beige icons, come to mind.

all gifs courtesy of docubyte

docubyte designed a series of animated gifs as a sort of rebuttal to the question by apple. ‘I am a computer: icons of beige’ sees 16 classics from the golden age of personal computing turned into dynamic compositions. maybe they don’t have the highest speeds or graphic capabilities, but who cares? they’re awesome. ‘I am computer’ celebrates the visual character of desktop computing machines from a colourless period in industrial design,’ docubyte explains. 

the gifs are made from photographs shot in various museums around the UK. the objects, in their various conditions, were then cleaned up, restored and animated frame by frame. ‘the machines in these images, offer a nostalgic reminder in an attempt to reaffirm their answer to that question, ‘I am a computer’.’