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NEC laptop falls victim to Hello Kitty

Oh my. We don't know where to begin. Is it dimestore-looking Swarovski crystals? The metallic Pepto-Bismol pink? And we wouldn't dare leave out the hideously overdone logo, of course.

No matter how you look at it, there's not much good to say about NEC's "LaVie G Hello Kitty" laptop unless you happen to be one of the unfortunate victims who have consumed the pink Kool-Aid. Akihabara News points out its middling AMD Sempron chip, but the negatives go far beyond that--too many to number here, in fact. But we'll just leave you with … Read more

Your face is your password

Gone may be the days of remembering passwords or scanning your fingerprint to log on to your PC. If NecSoft's new authentication software catches on, all you'll need is your face.

The NecSoft BiodeLogon system uses a Webcam to take your mugshot, then matches it up to your assigned user photo. If it's a match, you're logged in. So if you need to change your password, just get a haircut or pierce your nose.

Sounds easy...maybe too easy. If you have an identical twin, can they access your PC? What if you're just not … Read more

Solar-powered monitors not so bright?

File this in the "not there yet" folder. A bunch of blogs have covered a new, solar-powered system for NEC monitors, yet none show how it looks. My mind's eye pictured a tidy, laptop-size solar panel. But when I received this photo from NEC, I couldn't stifle a chuckle. Who wants to claw their way to a corporate window seat only to have mammoth solar panels block the view? Oh, and try not to kick that battery pack.

The equipment is designed for big businesses that aim to cut costs with clean, off-the-grid energy sources, but … Read more

NEC tablet takes Terminator approach

Judging by some of the products on the market of late, the next major trend in technology may be extreme computing. And by that we don't mean supercomputer algorithms that can humble a grandmaster in chess; we're talking about throwing stuff out a window just to see what it does.

That apparently is the inspiration behind NEC's "ShieldPRO" 12-inch-screen tablet PC, which supposedly can withstand 3-foot drops and temperatures from 69 below to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Akihabara News notes that its specs aren't exactly steroidal: a 1.2GHz processor, 256MB of RAM and a … Read more

NEC plasmas get a bit of eco-religion

Just what the world needs: More plasma TVs. Not that we mind having screens, of course (especially if it means lower prices for us).

So we wholeheartedly endorse NEC's move to update its high-end XR line of displays, which range from 42 to 60 inches. Interestingly enough, the changes don't involve the usual visual upgrades for the already-full-featured models: Shiny Shiny says the major difference is less power consumption, which NEC claims will be lowered by 22 percent. Pricing isn't yet known, though you can bet they won't be cheap. But if you hang onto one … Read more

Esteemo: Nope, it's not a dry cleaner

Sometimes, I wake up and wonder why I never got into the lucrative field of company branding and naming. You wake up, mix a couple of Latin terms with comic book names and charge someone six figures. How cool is that?

The latest example: Esteemo. It's not a new dry cleaning process. It's not a superhero's sidekick. It's a joint venture between Panasonic and NEC to develop mobile handsets.

"The company name has been coined from a combination of the words Esteem and Mobile to signify establishment by Panasonic and NEC as business partners with … Read more

Nanotube manufacturer licenses NEC patents

SouthWest NanoTechnologies, a manufacturer of carbon nanotubes, has licensed NEC patents relating to the tiny cylinders made of lattices of carbon atoms, NEC said Thursday. Sumio Iijima, an NEC researcher, discovered carbon nanotubes in 1991, and NEC is working to profit from the work.

"NEC's carbon nanotube patents are basic patents covering single and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and licenses under our patents are essential for entities to manufacture or sell carbon nanotubes. We are currently in negotiations with a number of entities worldwide who require a license from us under our patent rights," said Keiji Ushijima of … Read more