Intel realizes that the context technology is presented in is important, specifically furniture:
Intel, the world�s largest chip maker, today unveiled a prototype designer furnishing for a new generation of home PC - The Ryan McElhinney Home Entertainment Shell for Intel.Nicknamed the �E-Shell�, the Home Entertainment Shell showcases today�s entertainment PC capabilities in a modernist �60�s designer housing fit to grace the most stylish living spaces.
[...]
Inspired by Eero Aarnio�s iconic bubble and ball chairs of the early 1960s, the �E-Shell� harks back to an age when just two or three simple items of technology shared equal space in the living room with exciting new furniture designs and futuristic materials.In contrast, a study into the 21st Century living room by Intel reveals that 42 percent of Brits complain technology hardware is now crowding them out of their rooms, with an average of five remote controls to cater for home entertainment needs. One in four living rooms (or 25 percent) are stacking up more than seven separate technology devices.
Despite recognising the benefits of having one multi-function entertainment device, half of British households (49 percent) claimed they wouldn�t allow a traditional PC near their living room because of its design shortfalls.
[Sounds like an attempt to recapture midcentury Italian futurism--the last time there was a unabashedly positive view of the technological future...but I digress, while feeling somewhat vindicated]
(from this press release)
[Update:
more info and pictures:
]
