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Don't think of it as useless. Think of it as an opportunity. All that empty hard drive space, just begging to be used.
In seriousness though, what narrative device is this meant to convey? Lots of people build computers from individual components and brand-new, empty hard drives. Then they install an operating system and it's not useless.
I was thinking that. I was wondering if it applied only to faulty computers, or if something like a work computer not being able to do work would fall under it. The idea is that the computer is unable to work as intended in universe, due to it not having the programs to do so.
Edited by NoshGilligan NG:)~Conservation of Detail - it is not important that the computer do things not related to gameplay, therefore there is no reason to waste time and effort making it do so.
Edited by Scorpion451If you can think of enough examples of computers having that property, you can make one as a subtrope to Conservation of Detail

Computer with no apps