March 4th, 2008
Recession buster: The perfect $25,000 consumer electronics device
My initial reaction to hearing about SE2 Labs‘ ITC One all-in-one media room device was to think about that Robin Williams line about cocaine being god’s way of telling you that you have too much money. 
If you actually have $25,000 to plop down for an all-in-one unit that incorporates (among other things) an Xbox 360, a Wii, an HD-DVR, an iPod dock, a pre-amp processor, and top-of-the-line cooling and cabling components, somebody’s probably trying to tell you something. Well actually, maybe I’m just trying to tell you that I’m a little bit jealous.
But if you are one of the lucky few who can afford one of these custom-built numbers, you will be happy to know that the list of options has improved a bit since its announcement last fall - say buh-bye to that Xbox 360 HD DVD drive (even though it’s still in the photo), and hello Blu-ray drive (though interestingly, there doesn’t appear to be an option for a PS3). Hmmm, I guess this makes it official, the format war really is over now, huh?
If you haven’t checked this thing, it’s actually pretty impressive, although clearly the person who wrote the press release describing the console as measuring a “mere” 17 5/8 inches wide by 23 7/8 inches high by 22 inches deep, has never been in my living room.
(Thanks to Mike Yamamoto at Crave for making sure I didn’t miss out on this one.)
Josh Taylor is director of CBS Interactive Business' technology sites – ZDNet and TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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