It's easy to forget that not that long ago, tattoos were only seen on metal-heads, bikers, hoodlums, convicts and sailors. Sporting ink was an easily identifiable symbol of an outcast, a black sheep, a pariah of society... much like a computer nerd, sci-fi geek or early gamer, actually. Maybe that's why there's so much overlap now between the two groups: both identify themselves as slightly outside the norms of society, or have been seen by others as different from the rest.
However, given the current ubiquitous nature of tattoos - and the ever-increasing visibility of gamers, PC culture, sci-fi sitcoms and the like - it's probably no surprise that members of our own computer-loving community are choosing to demonstrate their fandom using more permanent methods. As the most-heavily tattooed member of the Maximum PC (and Maximum Tech) staff, I tasked myself with finding the best examples of the intersection between tattoo-enthusiasts and PC-lovers. Check out the best technology-related tattoos below, and feel free to share your thoughts (or your own tech tats) in the comments!
Worst... or Best ?
Way to be Old School. Image courtesy of Spaciousplanet.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Bodyartsgallery.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Geekologie.com
Adobe tattoo: still cheaper than CS5. Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Hackmaskate.net
How you can tell if your friend is a digital pirate... Image courtesy of Walyou.com
Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Linuxidx.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Webupon.com
Image courtesy of Hackmaskate.net
I think it says "trolling"... Image courtesy of Fyeahtattoos.com
Image courtesy of Hubpages.com
Image courtesy of Bryn.me
Please tell me you were paid an astronomical sum to do this. Image courtesy of Linuxidx.com
Image courtesy of Digitalbusstop.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Tattoosvalley.com
Image courtesy of Tattooloaders.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Blogs.discovermagazine.com
Image courtesy of Hubpages.com
Image courtesy of Fyeahtattoos.com
Image courtesy of Blog.wix.com
Image courtesy of Inquisitir.com
Image courtesy of Checkoutmyink.com
Image courtesy of Woodsteverpay1.blogspot.com
Image courtesy of Shinyshiny.tv
Image courtesy of Stackoverflow.mobi
Image courtesy of Linuxidx.com
Image courtesy of Ugliesttattoos.failblog.com
Image courtesy of Checkoutmyink.com
Image courtesy of Webupon.com
"How do we turn this guy off?! Wait, nevermind, found it!" Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Lorla.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
At least it's not an AOL account... Image courtesy of Bryn.me
I'm a PC. No, really. Image courtesy of Bryn.me
Image courtesy of Geekologie.com
Google, you Jane. Image courtesy of Geekologie.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Ironically, Fred is now a Chrome user. Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Spaciousplanet.com
Image courtesy of Bryn.me
Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
We have so many comments about this... Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Steve wondered why he kept waking up with "Metallica Rocks!" written on the side of his head... Image courtesy of Gamellama
Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
I bet reader 159 was bummed. Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Please don't... oh, just... please don't. Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Stackoverflow.mobi
USB 3 point what?! Dammit. Image courtesy of Walyou.com
"One day, this USB tattoo will mean as much to my grandkids as my dads SCSI tattoo does to me." Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Forums.massai.net
Image courtesy of Java4noobs.blogspot.com
Image courtesy of Hubpages.com
Image courtesy of Inquisitir.com
Image courtesy of Linuxidx.com
At least you can make fun of noobs when they say "cute penguin tattoo" Image courtesy of Geekytattoos.com
Image courtesy of Cooldamnpics.com
Image courtesy of Webupon.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Benhodgson.me
Image courtesy of Inquisitir.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
Image courtesy of Gamellama.com
Image courtesy of Tattoos99.com
Image courtesy of Geekologie.com
Image courtesy of Hubpages.com
Image courtesy of Webupon.com
Blasphemy! Image courtesy of Geekologie.com
Image courtesy of Whibb.com
So...which one of you wasn't thinking differently? Image courtesy of Hubpages.com
Geez... somebody needs a hug. Image courtesy of Tatto-o.info