It's sold by Nintendo as an accessory for the Wii console and used in skiing, fitness and other video games.

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There are two exposed metal connectors, used to pair up with the proprietary magnetic USB charging cable (the only accessory that ships in the box), but the housing appears to be properly sealed.

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The DuoSense software identifies the position of the Pencil and the pressure level, removing the need for an excitation coil within the DuoSense digitizer and can be used either as an integral part of the solution or as an optional after-market accessory, enabling OEMs to offer system upgrades, making the Digital Pencil ideal for the consumer market.

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But the case is now being pursued on the same legal theory used to prosecute former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk, who died last year while appealing his 2011 conviction in Germany for accessory to murder on the grounds that he served as a guard at the Sobibor death camp.

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