Intel on Wednesday showed off its living room PC of the future -- and it looks a lot like the Mac Mini.
As part of a speech at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, vice-president Don MacDonald demonstrated several concept PCs, including the Sleek Concept Entertainment PC -- a square, metallic-coloured device that was immediately reminiscent of the desktop computer Apple introduced earlier this year.
It's unlikely that Intel itself would build such a device. The chipmaker often uses its twice-yearly developer events to try to spur creativity among computer makers. Past efforts have seen PCs twisted into all sorts of shapes and even embedded in an Ottoman foot rest.
An Apple representative declined to comment on Intel's concept PC.
Thus far, the concept PC is just a piece of plastic, literally, although its design showed a clock display and optical drive in front, with ports such as USB, optical audio and FireWire in the back.
Most design efforts from computer makers to date have been focused on making entertainment-oriented PCs that look less like PCs and more like the kinds of electronics people have in the living room, such as stereos or DVD players. Gateway put out such a PC in the past, and HP has a current model, as do several niche PC makers.
The style push has led to smaller, less bulky desktops. In the relatively near future, Japanese desktop makers are likely to begin to adopt notebook chips to craft sleek desktops, said Mooly Eden, a vice-president in Intel's Mobility Group.
Some notebook makers have adopted Intel concepts, such as VoIP and cellular handsets that pop out of a bay in a notebook, and external second screens in laptops, Eden added.
Future add-ons for notebooks include putting transducers in the screen so that it can act as a loudspeaker, Eden added.
At the same time that Intel is looking to push computer makers on the design front, it is also working to improve the quality of such devices. It is also working to ensure that content can be 'secured' to the satisfaction of Hollywood studios, which will decide whether or not to make their movies available on such machines.
MacDonald brought Microsoft eHome executive Joe Belfiore on stage to talk about collaborations between the two companies. He spoke about an effort to make sure Microsoft's DRM technology is compatible with Intel's push for standards to enable content to move among home devices easily while still being protected from widespread distribution.
A Disney executive also spoke about the potential for bringing its Moviebeam service to PCs. The service, which offers more than 100 movies on demand, currently works only with set-top boxes.
Apple, for its part, has not played up the Mac Mini as specifically designed for the living room, although some enthusiasts have envisioned such a future.
Also at the developer event on Wednesday, Intel executive vice-president Sean Maloney touted a number of the company's mobile computer and mobile phone chip efforts.
He showed off the next generation of Intel's Centrino mobile-technology effort, code-named Napa. The company showed off its first 65nm, dual-core mobile chip, code-named Yonah, as well as a future chipset and updated Wi-Fi chips.
Maloney said that Intel plans to include several new technologies with Yonah, including improved heat management techniques and a Digital Media Boost function that Intel said will aid in content creation.
Intel also talked about its plans for Hermon -- its latest effort to crack the mobile phone market. The company said that later this year it will have one-chip and two-chip designs that include built-in graphics and models optimised for both high performance as well as low power use.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos contributed to this report.
Talkback
great....
it doesnt work
it looks like the Mac mini
but it has a clock on the front........
can you say "embarassing moments in computing".....
Another first by Intel.
An empty ugly plastic box with a clock. Their sales pitches must be real interesting. What does it do?
It's a tiny computer and it's real quiet too.
Show me how it works.
Well it's just an ugly box with nothing in it like all our vacuous marketing ploys. We want to wait to see how many orders we get and then build something if we can figure out how Apple does it. Maybe we'll put Mac Minis inside and glue the box shut so nobody figures out they're running Windoze in emulation. People will be blown away by our ingenious invention.
How is Intel going to blow 1200+ CFM of air thru the box to keep it cool ? It'll blow right off your desk!
Just another perfect example of the pc industry trying to cash in on Apple's success. I feel bad for Intel...NOT. Just look at Apple's stock price it has been going thru the roof! I think Apple has finally struck a chord in the market good for them.
It's sad really. Apple continues to lead the personal computing world with innovation after innovation, and all the PC world can come up with is the promise of a 64 bit operating system and an empty gray box. Make that an ugly gray box with a clock.
It's little wonder how so many young people are buying Apple's technology, instead of clinging to the technological boat anchor of PC mediocrity.
YOU IDIOTS!!!!!
Thats the concept Mac Mini you are drooling at!
This is the kind of thing that we Apple zealots hope to see released at the January keynote, alongside the PowerBook G5 and other probablr Intel/Mac hybrid Gadgets.
You PC users will NEVER get a sexy computer in your life!! Nor good chips, nor a good operating system!
Besides, why do you PC folk want a media centre PC, its like, you come home and just wanna relax and then suddenly....... YOUR TV CRASHES LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES, AH CRAP YOU SAY AS YOU SEE THE FAMILIAR DREADED BLUESCREEN YOU SEE EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU TURN ON YOUR COMPUTER.