Basic Trope: An awfully made computer.
- Straight: Bob's computer is extremely old or underpowered.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob's computer is one of the early computers from the 50s which takes up a whole room and uses vacuum tubes.
- Bob's computer needs a handcrack to boot up, and a fire extinguisher is needed in case of any hard drive fires (which happen frequently).
- It's the year 2155. Somehow Bob managed to get his hands on an Atari Falcon
(which was already crap even back then).
- Downplayed: Bob's computer can only run most games on low graphical settings, but is OK for doing stuff like browsing the internet or writing text.
- Justified:
- Bob only uses his computer for basic functions that the computer satisfactorily fulfills.
- Bob was strapped for cash and had to settle for a really cheap computer, regardless of how well it would perform.
- Bob was duped into buying a Shoddy Knockoff Product.
- Bob is a very cheap man.
- Bob collects old computers from the early days of home computers (the 1980s).
- It's a Bug Compatible Data Salvaging computer specifically made to transfer the data from an outdated 1971 Drum Drive to USB 1.1 thumb drive.
- Bob's dad, mom, or friend built the computer — and he (or she) is not very good at building computers from the ground up, but Bob uses it anyway to avoid hurting their feelings.
- Bob works for a company that is Cutting Corners or making Porting Disasters.
- Professor Bob put it together to demonstrate the basics of computing to his class, it needs to be this slow for the students to keep track of and learn from its actions.
- Russia not allowed western import, so computer is decade behind, but Bobaski happy he allowed a computer.
- Inverted: Bob's computer is far faster and efficient than most computers on the market.
- Subverted:
- Bob's computer appears old, but contains modern components and runs well.
- It seems to run slow, but it turns out to have a malware problem. One antivirus scan later and it's as fast as any other computer.
- It seems to run slow, but that's just DOSBox set up for running 5150 timing dependent games.
- Double Subverted:
- ...It has a completely different problem that builds up over time.
- But it still breaks down rather easily.
- Parodied:
- Bob's computer causes viruses — literally.
- Bob's computer is great by modern standards — but the show is set in the future, where it's painfully obsolete. His friends constantly make fun of his PC's 8-core CPU and 64GB RAM.
- Zig Zagged: Bob's computer has some problems, but it has benefits (not including cost) to make up for it.
- Averted: Bob's computer is as good as many modern computers on the market.
- Enforced:
- The script requires Bob to have a computer. The creators can't afford to buy/rent a good computer on the show's shoestring budget, so they have to use their own crappy one so that Bob gets a computer at all.
- The creators have made a Product Placement deal. Bob only owns a crappy computer so that it can be replaced by a vastly superior Mac later on.
- The joke of Bob buying a crappy computer is a Take That! against companies that are infamous for making or selling mediocre/downright terrible computers.
- There is a necessary plot point in the fact that Bob is Cutting Corners. The writers decide to give Bob a computer that can screw up at the drop of a hat but is incredibly cheap so it'll be plausible.
- The show takes place in area under Cold War Restrictions, and the producers didn't water down how this affected their computers.
- Lampshaded: "My computer's very inefficient."
- Invoked: Alice buys Bob a shoddy computer as revenge.
- Exploited: Bob, knowing that his computer can explode at any moment, decides to turn his computer into a bomb.
- Defied: Bob decides not to buy a cheap but shoddy computer. Instead, he is willing to pool money for an expensive but efficient computer (or a (only slightly less) cheap but functional computer — he doesn't need it to run Crysis or even Power Point, as long as the word processor runs smoothly, it will suffice).
- Discussed: "Computers like this should be a crime."
- Conversed: "Bob's computer makes my computer look like the newest computer around."
- Implied: Alice buys Bob a new keyboard. Bob is excited to receive it. He seems to imply that his computer is junky.
Back to The Alleged Computer
