Peter Dockrill02 June 2006, 12:47 AM
Lian Li is celebrating 20 years of 'legendary' PC case making with ... a boxy PC case with six internal drive bays in silver and black for $499. It's always exciting to be present for history in the making, but I can't help sniffing an overhyped product here.
Press releases. The dictionary says they are “an item of news prepared for and distributed to the press”, or "an announcement distributed to members of the press in order to supplement or replace an oral presentation”.
But, there’s so much more to ‘em than that!
PR people the world over want you to know that press releases tell journalists what’s really important; an unbiased, eagle-eye view of history as it unfolds. Impartial, without prejudice, hyperbole or delusions of grandeur. The real dirt.
A recent press release from Anyware Computer Accessories, the Australian distributor of Lian-Li, confirms this. The release is entitled “20 years of legendary PC Cases has come to this: the Lian-Li PC-S80 silent case”.
Has it been 20 years already? And could this case really be just another brushed aluminium box?
The piece proceeds to straightforwardly rattle off some of the admittedly impressive (but perhaps slightly less important than memoirs-worthy) features of the case. You know the sort of thing: stuff like “Extruded aluminium HDD heatsinks with sliding tracks for easy assembly (6 x 3.5” internal drive bays).”
It then closes with “Witness this history-making case for yourself today.” Can I get a witness? Well, yes. For $499, you can be the witness. Oh, and it’s available in silver and black.
OK, OK - some nice specs there Lian-Li. I mean, sure, the “PC-S80 has many features that make it stand apart from the competition” like “Double-wall construction, swing open door for greater noise reduction and decreased dust infiltration” and “Front door features automotive grade rubber gaskets for sound dampening and a spring loaded ball-bearing door latch”. But come on, was history really made today? Or was it just another ATX box?
Sure, Lian-Li is indeed one of the most reputable and innovative PC case manufacturers. They pioneered the transition to aluminium casing. And they made a case recently that looked like a snail. You know, for your high performance computing needs. But really, history in the making today...? Spare us the marketing hyperbole!