Thus Japanese consumer electronics businesses Sony and Matsushita flirted for a while with Hollywood studios that made the movies they showed on their machines.

ECONOMIST: Idea

Mr. MILLER: I think it's nice that the Academy has at least - you know, acknowledges that movies would not be made and enjoyed the way they are today without these guys that invent all these wonderful machines and contraptions.

NPR: Sci-Tech Awards: Oscars Sans Glitz

So he took a job forty miles away, at Plastipak, the plastics manufacturer, where he made seven-fifty an hour inspecting Gatorade bottles and Crisco containers as they came out of the stamping machines.

NEWYORKER: Hellhole

We have made everyone aware by putting messages on the machines in advance, and advising people about where they will still be able to get money.

BBC: News | The Company File | Millennium bugs bank

As for the gaming machines, we have to say they're pretty conservative-looking, with black lids made from a non-peeling, scratch- and smudge-resistant material, and a handful of chrome accents and blue LEDs thrown in for good measure.

ENGADGET: MSI spits out four more Sandy Bridge laptops, including tasteful-looking F Series gaming rigs