Corn-based plastics are nothing new (your takeout food box may be made out of them), but their use in consumer electronics is. Fujitsu recently took the bold step of using corn-based polymers, at least in part, in one laptop, the FMV-BIBLO NX95X/D. (Now that's a name!)

Available now, but only in Japan, the BIBLO uses 50 percent corn polymer in its case and 50 percent traditional petroleum plastic. Why not all corn? Corn-based plastics aren't rigid enough for laptop use, and a bigger problem, they aren't nearly as flame-retardant. Considering laptop batteries' propensity to burst into flames these days, I'd say that's a big issue.

I checked out the BIBLO in person, and if no one had told me it included corn-based plastics, I'd never have known the difference. The case feels just like any plastic laptop case, with none of the greasiness or odd sheen that some corn plastics exhibit. But the corn-based plastic components of the case break down in a matter of months, ultimately halving the amount of physical waste a trashed case would create. Pricing is virtually the same as that of traditional laptops.

Fujitsu wants to bring the technology here, but certification takes time, and that flame-retardance issue is a big deal for UL and ISO, which need to sign off on the machine before it arrives in the States.

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