Data Centers

Speedy sofa launches Intel Core 2 Duo

By // September 4, 2006, 7:54 PM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Seen crossing one of Amsterdam's canals, the speedy sofa can reach a top speed of 87 miles per hour, a Guinness World Record for "fastest furniture." Intel used the sofa to introduce its new in the Netherlands to signify "entertainment on the go."

    "Digital entertainment, watching high-definition movies, playing games, listening to music, you normally do those things at home on the sofa," said Kristof Sehmke, an Intel spokesman for the Netherlands. "Now, with the new Intel Core 2 Duo, you can do all those things on your laptop, outside of the home. That's why we took a sofa and went outside: literally, home entertainment on the go!"

    Intel

  • The sofa attracted plenty of attention, including from Amsterdam's police force.

    "This isn't an everyday type of vehicle, so after 20 minutes of cruising through Amsterdam we had motorcycle cops pull us over," Sehmke said. "They asked what this vehicle was and why we're on the public roads with it." It took about half an hour to verify that the vehicle is, indeed, legitimate, he said.

    The sofa was supplied by U.K.-based Cummfy Banana. It is fully street legal, with a U.K. Ministry of Transport and vehicle license, according to . The vehicle is powered by a midmounted 1300cc injection Mini engine. It does 0-60 miles per hour in 22 seconds. The couch seats a driver and two couch potatoes and comes only in leopard print fur.

    Intel

  • Cars typically aren't allowed on Dam Square, along the main drag in the center of Amsterdam. But with a pizza-pan (complete with pepperoni pizza) steering wheel, hand-operated Guinness-can brake, and a chocolate-bar remote to select the four gears, the couch did several loops on the square. An Intel employee "working" on her Centrino Duo sat next to the driver.

    It is a real car. The front indicators are hidden inside the two plant pots, which come complete with a fern and a purple and yellow flower arrangement. The bottle-top coffee table acts as a front bumper and supports a clock, housing the speedometer, according to Cummfy Banana, makers of the couch on wheels.

    Intel

  • "Entertainment on the go." The is at the heart of Intel's latest Centrino Duo and , which was introduced 13 years ago. Several laptop makers this week introduced their first systems based on the notebook version of the chip, formerly code-named Merom.

    Intel

Seen crossing one of Amsterdam's canals, the speedy sofa can reach a top speed of 87 miles per hour, a Guinness World Record for "fastest furniture." Intel used the sofa to introduce its new in the Netherlands to signify "entertainment on the go."

"Digital entertainment, watching high-definition movies, playing games, listening to music, you normally do those things at home on the sofa," said Kristof Sehmke, an Intel spokesman for the Netherlands. "Now, with the new Intel Core 2 Duo, you can do all those things on your laptop, outside of the home. That's why we took a sofa and went outside: literally, home entertainment on the go!"

Intel

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By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...