If there ever was an item that Mark Twain would have fought over is this Steampunked laptop cover! It is rumored that Samuel Clemens nearly lost this laptop to a "Washoe Zephyr." Thankfully, we have recovered Clemens' laptop and it's here for display...
(Image of the Littlefield House on PC Desktop by Larry D. Moore, used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License; Steampunk Yahoo Widgets and Rocketdock Icons by Dean Beedell).
This item was born as a special commission by Sony America, to bring about some of the Steampunk art into one of their technology demonstrator video blogs, SGNL. I personally delivered the project in San Francisco to the producer of the show Ms. Pam Torno of Revision3 Internet Television, at the behest of Sony’s representative, Ms. Reena Leone. You can see the original presentation of the eCog Mercury™ here at the Sony blog:
http://blog.sony.com/sonys-vaio%C2%AE-f-series-laptop-goes-steampunk
The very first eCog Mercury™ was built as somewhat of a rush job in a 3-1/2 week period just before Christmas 2011, and the main intention of the project was to provide a Steampunk aesthetic while keeping the functionality of the F-series laptop, as somewhat of a minimalistic approach to the Steampunk laptop project. Early on, it was proposed that the “mod” would preserve the illuminated keyboard that is characteristic of the F-Series laptops, and the laptop was to remain serviceable with minimal modifications made to the plastic case (although I will warn that this package modification MAY void the Sony warranty! Please read disclaimers below).
For that purpose I employed very thin birch plywood (less than a millimeter) of different gauges for various part of the build on and around the keyboard. In contrast, for the screen cover featuring the copper art, I was able to use more conventional 3mm (1/8”) birch plywood, as well as pine wood for the molding.
The star of the show is the removable flat panel screen cover, which features my “Boiler Plate” Art in the back with a myriad of “copper pipes” (solid copper wire), and “iron pipes” (steel drawer pulls). In combination with copper-bonded steel plates and various gauges (two pressure gauges and one thermometer – all non functional and for decorative purposes only), the back is reminiscent of Victorian-Era steam engine machinery. The entire screen cover is removable through the use of a trap door with functional solid brass washers, such that the entire piece of art can slide off the lid of the laptop.
The keyboard of the laptop features typewriter-style keys surrounded in solid brass bezels and have a translucent film that appears off-white in daylight and are illuminated from behind with white LEDs for operation at night. The larger keys are covered in ultra-thin birch plywood and feature the same translucent typewrite key on top (only the space bar lacks background illumination).
{What is Offered and Conditions for Purchase}
The price as listed in this post is for the sale of a wood and metal cover for the Sony VAIO® F-Series Laptop Model Number: VPCF2390X CTO (Laptop not included). Other compatible (same form factor) models include Nos. VPCF215FX/B (3D version), VPCF22SFX/W, VPCF23BFX/B, VPCF232FX/B, and in general the VPCFxxxx designation for 16” laptops available at retail stores.
In the event the interested customer doesn’t own a VAIO® F-Series and wishes to purchase a new one, I would ask the customer to purchase from the Sony website (see link below), and have Sony send the laptop directly to my shop or provide the funds to me so I would purchase the laptop directly from the Sony website and then have it sent to my shop. In either case, the customer MUST pay for the commission at the time of placing the order for the laptop, so I may receive the package, and must allow for the extra delivery time associated with transport from Sony to my shop (please inquire as that may vary during the season).
There are many options for the F-Series laptop, and the price varies greatly as much as 120% between $1000 and $2500, depending on the options chosen (prices quoted as of Jan 14, 2012 at the Sony website); The top of the line F-Series laptop has a 3-D capable screen with active polarized lenses included for $2470 with the following specs: VPCF2390X CTO (Glossy Black), Intel® Core™ i7-2860QM quad-core processor (2.50GHz / 3.60GHz with Turbo Boost, Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 16" 3-D LED backlit Full HD display (1920x1080), special 3-D lenses included, Backlit keyboard, NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M (1GB) dedicated graphics, Blu-ray Disc player / burner
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333, Standard lithium-ion battery (5000mAh), Microsoft® Office 2010 Home & Student, Norton Internet Security™ 2012 (30 Day Trial).
Reducing the specifications (Glossy Black not available for non-3D), down to a non 3-D screen, 2.20GHz Processor, 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® video card, plain CD/DVD burner, 4GB RAM and trial version of Windows will reduce the price to a $999 basic package.
{Link to Sony Website}
All these options are available to the customer at this webpage, or you can inquire directly from me: http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666384161&categoryId=8198552921644767499
{Special Requests and Forcing the Project to Evolve}
The eCog Mercury™ is a project which is complete as-is (Version 1.0B, Boilerplate Edition”), but is perfectly able to evolve beyond its initial presentation, since as I wrote this is a minimalist approach. As a baseline for this commission (basic package V/ 1.0B), I would offer exactly what is shown in the pictures for the price quoted above, and if the patron wishes to take this project further beyond what is shown, he or she is welcome to contact me and I would post a separate ad on Etsy for that specific commission. Naturally the patron is expected to communicate regularly with me if a special edition is requested (Etsy messages OK), or even Skype/Phone me if needed.
Please note, in the future, I will be offering steampunked 3-D goggles / covers for the 3-D lenses provided by Sony (that will be available in a future version of this project). While I have don’t have plans to offer this right now, the customer is welcome to inquire, and therefore this will be a separate commission to modify the goggles (for now until I “standardize” the goggles), noting I have not resolved yet exactly how to do it (again, please inquire).
{Warranty Issues and Factory Warranty Disclaimer}
The modification of any laptop is tricky business, and is quite likely to void most factory warranties. In spite of the fact that I developed this laptop as a request from Sony, and I made the laptop modification so as to allow as much serviceability as possible, the modified laptop itself is not a regular product in the Sony lineup and as such does not enjoy the benefit of factory warranty protection. Mostly at issue is the keyboard segment which is permanently attached to the laptop. These add-ons are made from commonly available hardware and craft materials, not designed for laptops and these have to be attached permanently to the keyboard. The screen/lid cover, on the other hand, was designed to be removable through the use of two screws, and as such poses no problem for screen service.
Because of this factory warranty issue, Victorian Steam will provide an adequate “external computer hardware plus artwork” 1-year Limited Warranty, covering the hardware directly affected by the modification, namely the external case including the keyboard mechanism, but not covering the internal hardware or the software for obvious reasons. In the case any claims arise regarding the external hardware of the laptop, Victorian Steam would answer the call to repair the product as needed, and the customer is requested to send the laptop to Victorian Steam.
This approach carries the advantage that I can modify and or replace any external part of the computer and rebuild the Steampunk artwork as needed in case of breakage (again, warranty issues arise mostly on the keyboard side). Naturally the removable Steampunk screen/lid cover is also under warranty. In the case that the laptop needs to be sent to an authorized Sony repair center, Victorian Steam would send the laptop for repair and receive it again, and then refurbish the artwork, if needed, before sending it back to the customer.
When the modified computer cover falls out of Victorian Steam’s One Year Limited Warranty, Victorian Steam would offer repair services at fair market value and pass repair costs to the consumer from authorized service centers if needed. Anything that I make can be repaired or replaced, so as long as I’m open for business I will be able to repair my artwork for a fee after the item falls out of warranty.
~~~
{ Manufacture / Handling Time and Available Shipping }
AS SHOWN IN THE PICTURES, THIS ITEM REQUIRES 30 DAYS FOR MANUFACTURE PLUS THE TIME FOR THE LAPTOP TO ARRIVE FROM THE OWNER OR SONY TO MY SHOP WHATEVER THAT TIME MAY BE, AND ALLOWING 4 EXTRA DAYS FOR HANDLING / SHIPPING (1 WORK-DAY = MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, NO HOLIDAYS). IF ADDITIONAL REQUESTS ARE MADE BY THE PATRON BEYOND WHAT IS EXPLAINED ON THIS PAGE MORE TIME WILL BE REQUIRED UPON AGREEMENT WITH PATRON BEFORE PURCHASE.
This item will only ship via Fedex to a personal residence or business where someone can sign for the package. ON SPECIAL REQUEST ONLY: For Post Office boxes in the USA, item will only ship via United States Postal Service, PARCEL SERVICE INSURED AND DELIVERY CONFIRMATION REQUIRING SIGNATURE, but this is a special request you must make before buying
THIS ITEM CAN BE SHIPPED TO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, MEXICO, THE EUROPEAN UNION AND AUSTRALIA , BUT AS YOU CAN SEE I HAVE NOT QUOTED FOREIGN PRICES. OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES I NEED THE BUYER TO CONTACT ME FIRST TO ARRANGE FOR REGIONAL SHIPPING COSTS AND DETAILS.
VAIO® is registered trademark of Sony Electronics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
eCog™, eCog Mercury™, are trademarks of John William Dunn.
Have any questions?
Contact the shop owner.
