Profits have soared since the dark days of 2001 and companies are so flush with cash that they are buying back their own shares, merging and acquiring each other as if the good times will never end.

Black silicon provides an added benefit on top of any other improvements in efficiency a company can get.

After years of targeting business users with its conservative, black ThinkPad laptops, the personal-computer company is going after everyday consumers with a flashy new notebook line called IdeaPad.