Banana Computers
By Chris Clark

The field of computers and technology is always changing and new companies come in as quickly as old ones go out. Now take a look at the cutting edge in state of the art information systems: Banana Computers.

Norman Gerbels, Mastermind behind Banana ComputersThe Banana Computers Company was developed in October of 2000 under the leadership of the brilliant Norman Gerbels of Backwater, MI. Norman was featured on the Syndicate twice before in Yurivich Gruskenvald's Chaos Theory and Potato Chip Decisions and in Dr. Floyd H. Shkletzinheimer's follow-up: Salty Potato Chaos - A Rebuttal. After Norman's brush with global destruction (featured in those articles) he realized he needed to make something of himself in the world. The Banana Computers Company was formed, and it set out to create a line of technological gadgets the likes of which the world has never seen.

Norman's disembodied head.In this article I took a look at some of the hottest devices available on the new Banana Computers 2002 line. For each gadget I managed to get a few words from Norman himself on just what each device does and what features they include.



Me, Chris Clark, asking the questions
Norman Gerbels, Banana Computers Mastermind




The BananaMax 2600C Work Station
The BananaMax 2600C Work Station
Price: $4,400 American

The BananaMax 2600C Work Station is the premier desktop terminal on the market today. Its features include:

  • Built-in cappuccino machine with included stock of cups
  • 23" Monitor with a color count high enough to be statistically rounded to infinity
  • Spherical gravity-defying wireless mouse
  • 12" satellite dish hookup
  • Three impressive looking slots on the tower
Tell us about this model, Norman.
The BananaMax line features my favorite new toy, a spherical floating mouse.
How does it work, exactly?
Think of it as a baseball that floats about six inches above your mouse pad. When you move it, the mouse pointer on screen moves in any of three dimensions.
Wow. What else makes this model unique?
As a geek who sits hunched in front of his computer during the midnight hours, I was pleased to install a cappuccino machine in the tower. The actual liquid that comes out does taste a bit like copper wire and packaging material, but it keeps you up all night!
And what about the three slots on the tower, what do they do?
Make the machine look more advanced, I suppose. Maybe one of them takes CD's or something, it's anybody's guess.




The Palm Peel 250-XP Handheld

The Palm Peel 250-XP Hand-Held
Price: $1,250 American

The Palm Peel 250-XP Handheld is Banana Computers' primary PDA. It features all of the basic abilities as a standard handheld, such as general data organization and games. Furthermore, it includes:

  • A Max-Depth display screen capable of 3D imagery
  • A transmitter antenna capable of communicating with other devices up to twenty miles away
  • Detachable top-mounted stock ticker
  • A/V cable output for transferring video clips to television sets
  • Laser guided toothpick (doubles as a writing stylus)
  • Lots of shiny buttons
What do you find most appealing about the Palm Peel 250-XP?
Aside from the fact that it just looks really cool, I think the A//V cables are great because after recording yourself checking if next Tuesday is free for a meeting, you can play it back on any TV.
Astounding. How about the laser stylus, what was involved in the production of that instrument?
First off, it's a laser guided toothpick. It has plaque seeking sensor nodes and secretes an antibacterial solvent upon impact with food particles.
Is it safe?
Of course it's safe!!! It only killed three people and injured twelve in testing but all the bugs have been worked out of it. Besides, the PDA had a warning label on the box that the toothpick is not to be used if you have any crown s or fillings. Banana Computers can't be held responsible for any "accidents."
Um... anything else to say about this product?
You gotta love the shiny buttons.
I have to admit, I do love the shiny buttons.




The PowerBunch 3X Reality Simulation Helmet

The PowerBunch 3X Reality Simulation Helmet
Price: $13,200 American

The PowerBunch 3X Reality Simulation Helmet is the cutting edge in virtual reality technology, fusing the power of corrugation with the capabilities of cardboard. It's features include:

  • Double-thick corrugated card material casing
  • Safety stabilization flaps on the underside
  • Stylish external directional artwork
  • Cubic shape for enhanced functionality
I think this is the product that really has the techno-world buzzing.
I couldn't have put it any better myself, Chris. The PowerBunch 3X is a simply amazing piece of machinery, decades in development.
How exactly does it work?
Well, I don't want to go to in-depth as we could be here all night, so I'll try to keep it brief. The user firmly attaches the one-size-fits-all helmet to his/her head and psychokinetically initiates whatever program is to be run by merely thinking of it.
Fascinating.
Quite! The program plays out within the helmet, utilizing every sense of the user for a totally believable experience. Every thought the user has to make a change in the program is immediately detected, analyzed, and initiated.
Yikes! A device that can do all that is only thirteen thousand? Are you guys still profiting off this?
Just barely Chris, just barely.


Banana Computers, another fruit based company.Norman left us with a few ideas he has buzzing around in his brain for the future of Banana Computers. They were quite intriguing, and I made sure to write them down in my brand new Palm Peel 250-XP Handheld (a little gift from the friendly people at Banana Computers). I'd talk about those ideas here, but my Palm Peel gave me a lengthy error message when I tried to extract the data. Now it seems I can't access any files and the PDA is repeatedly transmitting a malicious computer virus to any machine that comes within a few feet.

I guess I'll have to call customer support about this one.

-Chris Clark

 



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