Article: The Morphed Machine: Some PC makers are putting their best foot(print) forward with compact, futuristic designs.(NEC's Millennium and Sony's VAIO Slimtop LCD Computer PCV-L400)(Product Announcement)

Two PC vendors are fusing desktop and notebook technologies to create hybrid machines with sleek, futuristic designs and space-saving footprints. Previous slimline models targeted a narrow core of corporate users. But NEC Computer Systems Division and Sony Electronics, which have engineered new "mini-desktops" with head-turning results, say the market could be a lot wider.

"After showing the Millennium mini-desktop publicly, we had a lot of people just come up and say, 'I want one,' regardless of whether they were corporate or home users," says Tai Patwardhan, NEC Millennium product manager. "The system we're introducing has all the manageability and the network ...