AMD Barcelona is thus named because…

EXCELLENT STUFF by INQ readers out there in getting back so sharpish on the trivia quiz question we set half an hour ago.

It took just 25 minutes for you to get the right answer. Before that we had some decent suggestions as to why AMD had codenamed future Opterons under the monikers of Barcelona, Shanghai and Budapest.

The edited responses:

"Special Olympics"
"Twinned with Istanbul"
"AMD manufacturing facilities"
"Could they be the luxurious holiday destinations for Hector and his missus?"
"They are going to be a wise (Budha) pest and shanghai the competition on a Barcel Lounger."
"The reason for the name 'Barcelona' at the very least is obvious. The next line in the song you alluded to is 'like a jewel in the Sun'- what with the present controversy over the dealings of a certain company of the same name with Intel, AMD is attempting to serenade its erstwhile sweetheart to keep her interested."

All good but the only winner is Michael Hicken who correctly answered that the names are all Formula One racing circuits. I got the answer from the horse's mouth in a meeting with AMD US executives on Wednesday. AMD sponsors the Ferrari team, of course although I was informed that one suggested circuit was barred by legal counsel.

A free piece of trivia for INQ readers: all three AMDers in the meeting used notebook PCs from one company. Which one? You're right. Fujitsu Lifebooks are the brand of choice. µ