Intel offers $1m for a Viiv-based Mac Mini killer
Intel will pay whoever designs what it reckons is the world’s coolest living room computer $1m. Apple’s Mac Mini might be a candidate, but despite the appearance of VP Phil Schiller during CEO Paul Otellini’s Intel Developer Forum - a first for the Mac maker - the contest is only open to Viiv-branded machines.They also have to be based on the Core 2 Duo processor. Intel said it was looking for “sexy, stylish and small” designs. Whoever comes up with the best one will get $600,000 to fund the mass-production of the machine and $400,000 to market it.
Companies should get busy: Intel expects to announce the winner in just six months’ time, at the March IDF next year. Contestants can submit up to five “stylish, small, quiet and cool-running PC” designs.
Otellini’s one of the judges. So too will senior staffers from PC Magazine and, representing the geeks, GQ magazine. There’s an industrial designer on the team too, apparently.
The rules of the contest can be found here.
If Intel threw a contest and Apple showed up, I guess they wouldn’t be a winner. But truth be told they need to throw something like. Someone did. I’m tired of all these PCs that look the same, even the “Media PC’s”. I love the Mac Mini for it’s small form factor and am eagerly awaiting one that has a vid capture card built in. Even if I have to attach USB or NAS Starge to it because it’s 250 gigs is too small, I’ll like it over existing options. That said, I’m surprised Microsoft isn’t ponying up since if Apple did do that they’d have a winner and WindowsXP/Vista would be at a detrimate.
I hope they have this be a sorta open process and we can see the contestants.
Tags: Apple, Design, Engineering, Hardware, Interesting, Irony
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