Microsoft Living Room PC concept

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April 20, 2005 One & Co is a technology design consultancy of the first order, having designed many important products for companies such as Nike, Palm, Timex, Dell, Plantronics and Sony. The company recently released information on some work it has been doing with Microsoft in envisioning the Media Center PC that defines a new paradigm for computer hardware in the home. “The Microsoft Living Room PC concepts on our site are just that - concepts,” said One and Co’s Jonah Becker. “It was a project to visualise the media center PC as its own niche within the PC market, with unique functional and stylistic requirements. Microsoft uses such design references to encourage their hardware partners (Dell, HP, etc.) to innovate.”

“The design is optimized for both two foot experience (i.e. loading media or connecting peripherals) and ten foot experience (i.e. watching TV, gaming, or reviewing music and image libraries).

“Taking cues from the living room environment, the product resembles an end table more than a conventional PC. The stylish design makes a lifestyle statement with wood and metal finishes that achieves One & Co's ultimate goal: to reconcile the system's functional demands with a sensibility that is geared to the final product's aesthetic appeal.

The site showed two variations on the Media PC theme... one a piece of furniture to be included among other living room furniture, and the other with “a wall-mounted version with a removable smart display to use as a remote and task-oriented display”, said Becker.

“There are several concepts that we developed, and these are two that we're allowed to show publicly.”