(Credit: Sony)

Amid the parade of Sony products announced this morning, it might be easy to get lost in the crowd–unless you happen to be clad in floral patterns of bright pink and blue.

That’s how Sony’s Vaio laptops tried to stand apart, anyway, in the latest iteration of its “Graphic Splash Expression Collection.” Despite the ornate names of the newest crop–which include “Victorian Lace” and “Flora”–it’s actually quite subdued compared with earlier releases that boasted leopard prints and giant polka dots.

The patterns and colors can be mixed and matched, and personal engraving is free for the 1,200 laptops in this limited edition. But perhaps its most distinguishing aspect is under the hood: The keyboards can be customized with three new designer fonts. Other than that, the 15.4-inch widescreen laptops have the usual run of Vaio specs and options.

Tags: APPLE, GOOGLE, Intel, SONY

Microsoft’s expectations are running high for the upcoming release of Windows Server 2008. Steve Ballmer, the company’s CEO, will officially launch the server software at an event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, capping months of beta testing by customers around the world.

The launch is vitally important to Microsoft, which hopes sales of the updated server software will spur wider adoption of Windows Vista by corporate customers that have so far resisted the urge to upgrade from Windows XP.

“We think with Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, the integrated benefits that customers see will really encourage them to start looking at deployments of Vista on the desktop as well,” said Jagan Narendran, the director of Microsoft Asia-Pacific’s Infrastructure Server Business. Read more »

Tags: Microsoft, DESIGN, GOOGLE, Internet

Learn how to install and configure your wireless router.

Routers act as the gateway between your broadband connection (DSL or cable modem) and your home network. As the name implies, these devices route traffic between your network and the Internet. Most include built-in DHCP servers that automatically assign the right IP address information to each computer on your local-area network, or LAN. A separate WAN, or wide-area network, interface on the router connects your entire home or office network to your broadband modem, allowing you to share your Internet connection through the router. Most routers also have firewall capabilities, and some include more advanced security features. Read more »