Intel Goes Back to the Future with the ?E-Shell Home entertainment PC furnishing marries technology and design in the living room LONDON, UK, 17th May 2005: Intel, th... --- TheThirdMedia Hardware

Home entertainment PC furnishing marries technology and design in the living room
LONDON, UK, 17th May 2005: 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 ?0's designer housing fit to grace the most stylish living spaces.

?The Intel ?E-Shell?takes a back to the future look at how technology and design in the living room have developed over the ages and hints at where things could lead in the future,?said Tracey Gillespie of Intel. ?More than ever, technology needs to appeal on the outside as well as the inside, if it's to credibly take back its place in the centre of the living room.?

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.

?The ?E-Shell?doesn't apologise for its presence or try to hide under the TV,?said award-winning designer Ryan McElhinney. ?It's proud to stand alone as a piece of furniture in it own right.?br />
The launch of the Ryan McElhinney Entertainment Shell for Intel is timed to coincide with a visit to the UK of one of Intel's resident anthropologists Genevieve Bell. Bell has undertaken research across the world looking at the role of technology within the modern home, and is holding a forum bringing together design and technology leaders to reappraise the ways they can collaborate.

?Early generations of entertainment technologies - wireless radios, record players and the first TVs ?created new shared social experiences for families. Sometimes, these technologies also became the focal point of living rooms ?they were deliberately designed for the home,?said Bell.

?In recent years, the ?black boxes?of the video and hi-fi era have emphasized technology at the expense of interesting design. As more and more new technology is coming into the home, design and technology are reappraising their relationships. Only now are the two beginning to get back on an equal footing, and recapturing their appeal for the home.?br />
Gillespie added, ?Today's entertainment PCs are the focus of home entertainment. They enable you to enjoy digital media in one easy-to-use device for the whole family, creating a clutter-free living space. This original piece of PC furniture allows you to make a stylish feature of your home entertainment centrepiece.?br />
The Ryan McElhinney Entertainment Shell for Intel incorporates a Hi-Grade DMS II 3400 entertainment PC running a 3.4 GHz Intel?Pentium?4 Processor 550 supporting Hyper-Threading Technology? 512MB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. The entertainment PC, available from ?,099* also features a TV tuner, DVD reader and writer and radio player. The machine also features Intel's Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) motherboard and chassis design, which offers improved internal airflow ?meaning fewer fans and quieter operation.



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