Why Aren't Computers Easier To Upgrade?

[Revvy]

It might be easy enough for the likes of us (I assume) to upgrade our PC, but for the majority of the population, opening up the case of a computer is a pretty daunting prospect.

I've always wondered, has anyone actually tried to create a computer which is easy to upgrade? Where RAM can just be slotted in like a memory card, where a hatch can be opened and you can change your processor, and where the hard drives can also easily be removed and added.

I mean, a motherboard is just a circuits, and surely you can build a circuit in any way, shape or form as long as everything's all connected? And why an earth does a new type of processor need a whole socket on the motherboard?! It seems to me that just having a few extra/less pins isn't that important. There must be a way of creating a universal connection between a processor and a computer?

I know technology companies will stand to lose a lot, but that shouldn't have stopped somebody else entering the market by now, marketting a computer which will 'last you a lifetime'.

I always visualised a computer based on seperates, like a hifi system. Like this. You could buy a base component, which may include the basic components, then onto that you could connect a whole variety of modules which you just plug into the back of the base unit. You could buy a cd/dvd rewriter module, where all relevant burning/ripping software is pre-installed and can be controlled via the module itself. So for noob users, they could just enter a cd and press 'rip' on the module and it'll do the task for them.

Or you could attach a gaming module which basically would be a games console you could connect and which you could upgrade every 5 years or so, with joystick, usb ports at the front to add controllers to.

Or a graphic design module which comes preinstalled with various software packages, RAM, and ports at the front to add components to.

The idea would be that through various modules, software and hardware could be designed to work together so it's more effective. It'd also keep the software industry alive as people would have to buy the hardware module for the software to work properly.