NEC Corp was undoubtedly delighted when one of its notebook computers was blown up by a New York police bomb squad in February. When the Versa notebook, which was later discovered to have been stolen, was reunited with its owner, a New York State government worker, he hit the power button on the warped and battered machine. Instead of having to use the fire extinguisher that was at the ready, the password screen appeared. Although the battery pack, CD-ROM drive, speakers and the top panel of the screen were damaged, all the files and software on the machine were undamaged.
