Sexy Intel Computer Design Worth Big Bucks 269
An anonymous reader writes From a BBC article, "Intel is offering $1m in prizes to designers and manufacturers who can come up with sexier alternatives to the "big beige box".
The competition is open to PC designers and manufacturers worldwide and each company may submit up to five different designs.
The grand prize winner will receive $300,000 (£159,000) to enable the mass production of the system and $400,000 (£212,000) to co-market the design with Intel. The runner-up will receive up to $300,000 to help with manufacturing costs."
I like beige boxes (Score:5, Funny)
I hate looking at some gaudy colored box in some has-been trendy shade.
The only think worse, is when they have an odd shape so that a CD case slides off the top. If it is going to be ugly you might as well be able to stack stuff on it.
Re:I like beige boxes (Score:5, Insightful)
Or maybe I'll just look at what's on the screen instead, and leave the computer case itself not screaming out for attention. If I ever want everything curvey for a while, I'll just take some of the special mushrooms
Re:I like beige boxes (Score:5, Informative)
I've seen many so-called "pretty" ATX cases that look fancy but the moment you open them up its like staring at the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Cables snaking and twisting everywhere, sharp metal edges and plastic tabs, screws... its a geek nightmare.
Some may deride Apple for the design of the Mac Pro case, but if you open it, you will immediately notice [apple.com] that they REALLY spent some time designing the layout of the interior parts. Heck even the the old Sawtooth generation G3/G4 towers (circa 1999) had that nifty side-handle design where the motherboard sat on a hinged door.
Re:I like beige boxes (Score:4, Insightful)
The PowerMacs are certainly nice, but there's no shortage of PC cases - in both full-PC and component guise - that are just as good.
Our Dell Optiplexes, for example, are laid out basically the same as the Macs and just as easy to work in - albeit not quite as pretty (the drive sleds don't have covers, stuff like that).
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I've been an IT guy for a while, and have worked on many a' Dell in my day. I just got a new Mac Pro at work though, and I've never seen any machine built as nicely. you have to crack one open yourself to believe it.
if you think the build quality of a mac pro == the build quality of a GX620, you have issues.
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Personally, I like most of the Antec cases (p160, Sonata II, Overture II). I think they're doing a good job of silent / quiet computing by moving things around and putting 120mm fans in.
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So if they get some sexy new design, will it take all my bits without drama?
Sexy boxes seem to be smaller, curvier and you never really know if that new card or motherboard or extra drive is actually going to fit without some metalworking skills. Normal size XT,AT and ATX cases were just one of the standard bits that helped make an IBM compatible machine compatible.
What are we really talking about here (Score:5, Funny)
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When an IBM designer was asked why IBM laptops were always boxes with sharp corners, he answered that curves waste space. Small, light, space effecient designs always end up being boxes.
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Apple? (Score:5, Insightful)
They run Intel processors, too.
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Re:Apple? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Apple? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, my first thought on reading the story was: Why bother? Just cut to the chase and give Jonathan Ive [wikipedia.org] the money. I'll bet the next case he does for Apple will be better than anything that comes out of this contest.
No. (Score:3, Insightful)
Or just buy an Intel Mac.
Re:No. (Score:4, Informative)
What always happens is that some Alienware looking crap gets the attention but the Mac still wins for design.
Re:No. (Score:5, Funny)
The Barbie PC: Proof that a curvy pink box can be less sexy than a plain beige box.
Barbie PC: no math co-processor (Score:5, Funny)
Math is hard, so the Barbie PC uses the Pentium to guess at the answer in software.
-Don
Re:Barbie PC: no math co-processor (Score:5, Funny)
Resistance is futile.... (Score:2, Funny)
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Wait - am I supposed to infer that a subtle but crude reference to female body parts is being made here by computer nerds?
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http://news.com.com/Barbie,+Hot+Wheels+PC+delivery +lags+in+holiday+crunch/2100-1017_3-234533.html [com.com]
Epinion of the PC
http://www.epinions.com/kifm-Toys-All-Barbie_PC/di splay_~reviews [epinions.com]
Re:No. (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think Intel's looking for flashy. That would be like Volkswagen hiring a team ofricers [youtube.com] to design their cars. Alienware's PCs are certainly flashy, and they certainly look like crap.
I think Intel wants something sophisticated and subdued. Apple's got this down perfectly with their aluminum enclosures, and it's pretty hard to deny the the G5, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini are damned sexy machines.
I simply don't get why dell can't just produce machines with clean lines and subdued colors. Minimalism is the easiest school of art to imitate.
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Minimalism is the hardest aesthetic to do well. Minimalism means every millimeter has to be exactly right. The corner radius has to be just right, every curve has to be smooth, every surface has to be flawless, every edge has to fit perfectly.
ahem (Score:3, Insightful)
just deposit the cash in my account, OK?
Is it really this hard? I went to a trade show about five years ago and saw funky PC designs from some division of Hyundai that were orange plastic pyramids and things of that sort... It's Not Hard, just get on with it. Hire a designer, fer cryin' out loud.
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http://wii.nintendo.com/
I like this one myself. Yes, technically it's a computer. :) Although not Intel...
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The PS3 is a computer! and There is only One (as verified by the current production news) and It's too cheap!
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/08
Re:ahem (Score:4, Funny)
Go ahead, Apple fanbois, mod me down!
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I agree. (Score:2)
However, the PowerMac G5 is an beautiful, silver, understatehood work of art.
They both come with built in native spell-check for all major applications.
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I think the internals could have been a lot nicer.
For example, I'd be more than happy to sacrifice a bit of size - particularly thickness, which is rarely even seen - to have a machine using a standard , replaceable PCIe video card (even if it was only half-length and/or low profile), a more easily accessible drive sled (like, say, the MacBook) and better ventilation so the damn thi
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It's not actually mine, it's my mum's (although I did pay for it, so I suppose it is mine in a way...), and since she lives a long way away, it's hard to just pull it apart at a whim :).
However, this [hardmac.com], this [arstechnica.com] and this [danamania.com] would suggest it's not as nice as earlier ones - particularly since you have to go in through the front, past the screen, to get at the guts of the newer models.
And I still think they could have used a (replaceable) PCI
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The problem is, I think that's the least of the problems. There isn't much driver support for third party add-in cards, and there aren't (m)any add-in cards available that have EFI firmware.
Re:ahem (Score:5, Insightful)
Why? It's basically a big, ugly, white slab. You can't adjust the height of the display, and like a PC from 1998, all the ports are on the back. You have to move the entire computer to point the iSight camera at something. Open it up, and there isn't any thing you can add except for more ram. I don't really see the appeal of the iMac's design myself.
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SGI (Score:3, Insightful)
Another old design which still looks good comes from what was NeXT: http://www.channelu.com/Turbo/NeXT/i/cube1a.jpg [channelu.com]
Why do they need a contest? (Score:3, Funny)
If they want to give Apple an extra million bucks, why don't they just do it?
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The machine has to be an Intel ViiV-platform PC.
Limiting Factor (Score:2, Informative)
There are already cool, sexy pc case designs out there, but the biege box still rules. I suppose that Intel are trying to force this design into being a "success" due to their compa
Re:Limiting Factor (Score:5, Insightful)
I would have said it is Dell's wolf gray and black box that rules.
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From Intel: We tried this, but then they went rouge and released a gigantic cheese grater. It was funny for a little while, but now we feel that something needs to be done.
Sexy but still functional (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple has some good ideas on the boring concept of cases and they have been done well. I am expecting something that looks like a case, but has some extra features on the outside, both functional and visual. I hope this effort results in some serious advancement in how cases Work, Look, and Feel.
Cigar boxes (Score:2)
cool looking computers (Score:3, Insightful)
Now my PC is under my IKEA desk, so nobody sees the sides. I have a missing drive bay cover so you can see the coloured fans but thats it. Stylish PCs may be a big deal to some, but I lost that interest quite quickly.
Sure, your PC looks cool, but who really cares?
Re:cool looking computers (Score:5, Funny)
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i think it all depends on what your concept of "stylish" is. i don't consider lucite windows, neon and leds on fans stylish myself but evidently a lot of case modders do. i like this initiative from intel. the main concern, of course, is anyone willing to pay a higher price for a nicer looking computer other than apple users? computers are a pretty significant part of whatever space
It'll be interesting to see what comes out of this (Score:2)
Completely transparent or lego (Score:3, Interesting)
But then again, last time [slashdot.org] I brought this up, I was modded 'flamebait',
Y'all don't think that a rack-mount sequencer style PC (or console) case, together with rack-mount Hi-Fi (and other accessory) units would look the dog's nads?
Re:Completely transparent or lego (Score:5, Funny)
The FCC called; they want their radio frequency spectrum back.
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-Tom
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Or, well, don't look. 'Cause it's invisible. Infer! The invisible computer!
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No, I don't think they do.
I see that and think "ugh, fingerprint bonanza."
Also, you'd never sell it due to the FCC thingie that's already been mentioned.
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I think that's the problem...
Who gives a shit? (Score:2)
Re:Who gives a shit? (Score:5, Insightful)
Someone who can design on small, quite, and as few cords as possible would be a winner.
Mac Mini is a great design for 80% of computer users.
The remainder will build there own anyways.
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Department store shoppers give a shit. (Score:5, Insightful)
Just recently I build a computer for a friends parents with a nice low profile Micro-ATX desktop/tower case and a 19" LCD monitor. It replaced a huge white box & 17" CRT on their desk and after some cabling cleanup it made their study look bigger and much nicer.
They were so impressed they showed it off to their friends, and within a week I had requests for 4 more.
People do care about the asthetics of what they buy when they want it for more then just basic functionality, the computer speed & jargon goes right over their head and they just want something that works well and looks good.
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Its still a market, people are still prepared to pay for it, so that means there is demand.
If there is demand for the product then its worth making it, and shipping it.
Now more then ever we have MS/Intel/AMD/Apple starting to try to push PC's into living rooms and people want them to look good and stylish.
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Plus, there's the hope that a company that would take the time and effort to make their machine look really nice cared enough to make the machine's insides work and perform well also.
Other materials (Score:2)
Other than that, I think the real problem isn't the case but all the fucking cords. I have dual monitors so I have 4 cables just for the monitors under my desk, one for mouse and keyboard, ethernet, 2 for printer, plus an extra one for my portable devices. I know it's been tried before to make one fat connector to the monitor (apple..) but cords suc
Cheap advertising and development for Intel. (Score:2)
Cost of the contest aside, they get free advertising (via word of mouth from places like
Not that there's anything wrong with it... I guess it's just good business. Just don't ever think they're not purely doing it for their benefit.
I have to admit though, I like the idea. Maybe people will stop thinking
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(http://silverpcs.com/index.php?cPath=2_38&osCsid
Functional, good airflow, stylish to garish!
Why Just Companies? (Score:2)
Err...built-ins? (Score:2)
My idea (and if you steal it and can manufacture it with $300K, my wife will love me for it):
Wall-Mounted LCDs with built-in computer hardware, wireless keyboard/mouse. Hide the wires in the wall the same way you do with any wall-mounted TV. A bluetooth DVD-CD drive built into the keyboard for data transfer and installs and you're golden.
"Sexy" computer? (Score:2)
Or maybe with WWII-style cheesecake art painted on the side of the case?
I realize our society has become saturated with sexuality, but come on, people -- it's a box. You can (and probably should) make it more aesthetic, you can make it visually interesting, you can make it artistic... but I've always thought the term "sexy" was overloaded.
Just how arousing can a bunch of metal and plastic be, anyway?
Far too many negative or... (Score:5, Insightful)
One of my favorite comments was this one, "Hopefully we get some different options from this, but speaking generally, how much can you do different?" Ummm, perhaps you are a) not the target for PCs like this and b) are not creative enough to design an elegant, stylish PC case. I'm always amazed with this attitude from geeks given that they'd be extremely passionate if one we re to say something equally as inane as, "why spend billions of dollars to go to the Moon or Mars? They're just lifeless rocks with no interest to anyone."
The problem with PC companies... (Score:2)
I'm not complaining about that looking kind of goofy. What I am complaining about is that it had big "1.3 Megapixels" over it, telling you the resolution of the camera built into the screen.
It occurred to me then - I don't even know the resolution of the camera in the screen of my Macbook Pro, nor do I care. Undoubtedly you could find it in one of the many specs listed i
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Of course the novelty form factor PCs are the ones that cost so much, as the volumes are low since most people opt for the cheaper, faster, and more upgradeable biege/grey/black boxes instead. Besides, why does the cheapest tower from Apple cost $2500?
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I think that unit weighs about 7lb.
If weight is a concern for a semi-mobile system, keep an eye on the tech specs. The Dell 2010 weighs nearly 19 pounds. That's getting pretty close to the weight of standard desktop, even though it is only using notebook chips - the T-series C2D Merom. So really, it's more competition for the iMac, not a Mac Book Pro. Dell sells far cheaper notebooks, I don't see the point in paying 2x-3x for a Dell desktop as a large
NeXT Computer shaped like Human Head (Score:2)
Steve Jobs already turned down the sexiest shaped computer possible (well, excluding naughty bits):
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Another advantage of standardizing computers to be shaped like human heads: Rich computer-phobic people can hire real humans to sit under the table and stick their head up through a hole.
-Don
This should worry you all... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think the trend is to get rid of the PC as we know it and slowly replace it with devices that can only do specialized tasks - an Xbox for gaming, a Media Ceter PC that replaces your TV and audio system, a buisness PC for making that ugly slide show. Sell the same basic hardware, throw in a few specialized devices like that fancy new graphics accelerator and physics processor for the Xbox, a nifty tuner card and remote for that Media center thing and and make sure that printer and scanner only work with the BizPC. Make the software dumb "Click this button and everything will just work its so simple." Ofcourse you make the case and software look different so that Joe Schmoe could never even dream that his Xbox could run his little spreadsheet app no problem.
Sell all three to Joe, charge obscene license fees for the software - maybe pull a TiVo to ensure only your own software works with your hardware. While you are at it charge an extra 500 bucks because the Xbox case was designed by Armani and looks sexy.
This is great for buisness but it should scare most of you since
[/tinfoil_hat]
Actually it's the introduction of fashion... (Score:2)
Sexy (Score:2, Interesting)
Haunting (Score:2)
and
A Open Source project group should get together and build a case. And the money won could be used to fund the project.
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Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)
You know... (Score:2)
Thinkpad? (Score:2)
no longer beige (Score:4, Insightful)
I got a new idea (Score:2)
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Big Bucks? Hah! (Score:2)
It's a cheap ad campaign.
bus evolution (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/6757
http://www.oldcomputers.arcula.co.uk/files/images
http://www.infodip.com/pages/axiom/bus-passif/ima
http://www.infodip.com/pages/axiom/bus-passif/ima
http://www.ixbt.com/mainboard/epox/8npa-sli/board
This is indeed a practical and economical solution to the idea of putting together and updating your computer. It's really a holdover from the hobbyist days and people have gotten used to it, but it's not really consumer-friendly.
The cartridge approach as used with videogame consoles is better.
I think Atari had the right idea with how it implemented expansion on the 800.
http://oldcomputers.net/pics/cartports3.JPG [oldcomputers.net]
The only exposed surfaces were the card edges and the slot. Then you just close the lid.
You see this kind of design approach applied currently to flash memory. If you follow the evolution of the MMC card up through SD and into MINI SD and MICRO SD adapters, imagine the same approach taken with bus specifications. Older cards could be used with newer bus specifications via adapter sleeves. But you'd standardize on a singular form-factor. When you open up your PC, all of the guts would be hidden behind the casing except for the mating surfaces for the cards. All cards would be enclosed.
I don't see this happening because computer technology is by definition transient, disposeable. So nobody wastes money on ergonomics like this. Bus standards change so frequently that you can't even keep your motherboard that long anymore let alone your cards. So you might not even swap cards that much for the lifecycle of the PC beyond the initial system setup.
What I'd really like to see is more effort spent on coming up with a universal backplane that would be more future-proof, maybe something more passive where the glue that binds everything together was itself a module you could swap out. That way maybe the underlying frame could last much longer before becoming obsolete.
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No DVI?
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Don't start so high next time (Score:2)
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No, literally. It's sitting right next to me. Awesome!