I think the reason, the tilta bird, thing ( which was very popular even during the 1990's ), was on the table, was in the movie, hinting of the idea, of being away, and having fun things on board the ship. They said "hey in space, you will have this and that, blah blah", and with the gravity, those things would be amazing up their. Mainly because you need something to stare at while doing something.
Like when you go to work, and your unhappy, so you start to look at something else, when you should be working. Another idea, would be the elimination of cell phones ( since crap like that did not exsist in Alien timeline ), and r-tard devices. Since they have already established the idea, they would be out in space, without any radio activity.
Another thing to look at is the prequel to "Alien", "Darkstar" and what they did in their free-time. Alien just did it professionally, and mildly, since it was no longer the 1970's, but the horrible 1980's. You know where everything just sucks the fun out of everything. It stayed like that until the 1990's, and then it got brought back during the post 20XX years. It is like how, I still use a wind up clock, over a digital clock ( saves money ), just to have that sound effect.
So I would imagine a whole entire room of junk like that, sitting around, until people do live in space, and wants to purposely dress up their space like in an Alien, or favorite space movie. That is how interior decorating is going to go down in the year 3018. It will be like, you got your magazines, just like the one ash had, your personally computer room to "collate" in, and of course your wet steamy, hydrological sections, for you know what.
Just Fabbbbbaaalluuaaassss.....
