https://www.nec-lavie.jp/brand/infinity/tensei/manga/index.html

from NEC comes this oneshot gag isekai about a PC-9801RX4 that gets reincarnated as an ultra thin laptop, made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the line. frankly I’d be pretty bummed if I reincarnated into a nostalgia offering that can’t commit to something as simple as off-white case coloring, even if I did have a V30 instead of an 80286 in my previous life for some reason.

steve jobs once said PCs would be like trucks in the future, which is a pretty funny about face for someone that used to reliably compare computers to bicycles for the mind. putting aside the stretched analogy, this is a reality I feel deep in my bones when I realize neither NEC or microsoft will spring for the pageantry of a proud moe chara to represent their current offerings in our brave new era. we’re now two years deep into windows 11 without a cute girl developed by one of microsoft’s regional branches with a punny name and convincingly sophisticated backstory. belts have tightened, passion projects are the first to get the axe, and gone are the campaigns with sickeningly cute girls voiced by nana mizuki and nao tamura. say what you want about ballmer, but at least he respected the art.

maybe it’s actually our fault — we don’t want to buy PCs anymore. even tsukumo-tan, the respected mascot for the longstanding akiba PC parts shop of the same name, had to call it quits two years ago. these are clear signs of societal rot, and they are all around us. browser vtubers are all that is left.