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Mingis on Tech: Guns get smart, Sony does VR

And while we're talking hardware, have you seen the Lenovo Yoga?
  • Ken Mingis (Computerworld (US))
  • 19 October, 2016 21:00

The idea of a smart gun -- a weapon that uses electronics and biometrics to limit who can fire it -- has been around for 15 years or so. But early prototypes often used outdated tech, weren't always reliable and would-be inventors had little R&D money to innovate.

That seems to be changing.

Computerworld writer Lucas Mearian explains how newer technologies like fingerprint sensors and updated RFID chips have opened the door to smart guns that might actually see success in the market. The public largely likes the idea, gun makers are on board and the White House has been pushing the idea as a way to curb gun violence.

One gun manufacturer thinks he's found just the target audience. And another is planning to roll out a new smart gun in the U.S. in 2017.

Shifting gears, Executive News Editor Ken Mingis gets an update from Multimedia Editor Keith Shaw -- a.k.a., the gadget guru -- on Sony's latest foray into VR and Lenovo's modestly priced but very cool Yoga Book. (Look, ma! No keyboard!)

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