By FRANK NORTON, Raleigh News & Observer

Lenovo, for all its might in Asia, has had to bide its time for a chance to rise from obscurity and court wealthier consumers in the West.

Its wait might be over.

As a single man in Raleigh, N.C., Greg Labows likes golf, college basketball and most things American. As a 35-year-old corporate riser at IBM, his eyes are overseas. The software-sales executive is preparing for a four-week stint in the Philippines, where IBM is working to build good will and a stronger presence.

Angry customers swarmed Burt's Bees last fall as soon as the all-natural cosmetics maker announced plans to sell itself.

Critics considered the buyer, bleach maker Clorox, to be far from environmentally friendly.

So Burt's Bees CEO John Replogle decided to reach out to skeptics, read their fears and respond directly and conversationally to their objections.

Every technology trend requires early adopters, the trendsetters who embrace new gadgets before they are ready for prime time.

MORRISVILLE, N.C. -- Lenovo, the Chinese-American computer maker, is about to make its biggest push in the United States since buying IBM's PC business in 2005.