Folks in the territories covered by Sony Europe have a new VAIO laptop to crow about. It is the rather stylish CS11 and looks to be available in five rather vivid colors.

The Sony VAIO CS11 is described by Sony as being a “companion, not a tool.” While you can be the judge of that for yourself, it is nice to see this 14.1-inch laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics comes with an integrated Blu-ray player and “original VAIO software” to help organize your digital media stored on it.

Another new Microsoft mouse offering this week is the computer giant’s latest wireless gaming mouse. It is called the SideWinder X8 and it will run you around $100.

The SideWinder X8 makes use of Microsoft’s new BlueTrack technology to offer more advanced tracking abilities. It has a 2.4GHz wireless connection and up to 30 hours of gaming before its battery needs recharging.

One of Altec Lansing’s newest digital audio docking speaker systems is the inMotion Moondance GLOW. This hippie-sounding bedroom system will cost you around $180 when it emerges from a cloudy haze in October.

The Moondance GLOW is called as such because you can choose a color and intensity and then project it onto the wall. It is a strange feature but, if it gets you some bedroom action, so be it. Besides lighting the night bedroom sky, this compact digital player-plus-alarm clock has two 3-inch full-range drivers to produce sound and a dock for your favorite compatible iPod.

Niveus Media is rolling out a new storage device for custom home theater installers based upon the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform. It is called the Niveus Storage Server – Cargo Edition.

The Cargo is scalable to hold up to 16TB of data in one server, with the ability to add more to a home network as necessary. It is housed in a custom-designed, 3U rack-mountable chassis, measuring 18.5″ in depth, marking what Niveus says is “the most compact storage server in the custom electronics industry.”

Microsoft said this week its new BlueTrack Technology is the world’s “most advanced tracking technology” for consumers and their comptuer mice. Two new mice – the Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse – are the first to debut with BlueTrack, pricing around $100 and $80, respectively.

Microsoft says this of BlueTrack: “The large, blue beam and specular optics architecture, in conjunction with a Microsoft-designed image sensor and proprietary pixel geometry, generates a high-contrast picture of the mousing surface that allows exceptional tracking accuracy. The BlueTrack Technology light beam emanating from the bottom of the mouse is more than four times as large as the average laser beam used in today’s mice, enabling reliable mouse tracking even on difficult surfaces such as carpet.”

Andrea Electronics believes it has an affordable solution for turning run of the mill PC sounds into more premium audio. It is called the PureAudio USB High Fidelity External Sound Card (USB-SA) and you’ll find it pricing around $45.

The USB-SA from Andrea Electronics takes the form of a USB flash drive but it is, in fact, a USB sound card. It is designed to be used to enhance the sound of any existing legacy headset, microphone or speaker by replacing “the computer’s existing integrated sound system” and eliminating “external noise, simultaneously increasing both the intelligibility and performance of stereo microphone input and stereo speaker output.”

Sony’s got a new heavyweight multimedia notebook it is throwing around Stateside for those seeking a desktop replacement model. It is called the VAIO AW series, and you’ll find it pricing with starting pricing of around $1,600 for standard or $2,000 for premium.

The Sony VAIO AW series comes in at a chunky eight pounds, sporting a 18.4-inch widescreen display and standard Blu-ray Disc drive. Select models will also be able to record, store and play back personal content on BD media. HDMI connectivity is offered as well for those seeking output to a larger HD display.

Altec Lansing is giving itself a face lift today, unveiling a fresh logo and some interesting new products. One of these is the new Expressionist BASS desktop speaker system, priced around $130.

The Expressionist BASS system is what is called the industry’s first 2.2 desktop speaker system. Altec Lansing deems it such because the speaker housings host dual down-firing, radiating subwoofers built into each base. These 4-inch long throw subwoofers radiate sound off hard surfaces and reflect audio in a 360-degree field. They are teamed as well with two 1½” (40mm) drivers for mid- and high- frequencies.

A new Sony docking station being made available for VAIOs makes use of DisplayLink technology for USB-enabled displays. It is called the Sony VAIO Docking Station (model number VGP-UPR1) and you’ll find it available now for around $200.

The VGP-UPR1, according to DisplayLink, allows Sony notebook users to connect an analog or DVI display to a laptop using USB 2.0. It supports a resolution up to 1600 x 1200 and works with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, including support for the Windows Vista Aero interface.

StarTech.com unveiled today its new USB to VGA 4-in-1 Docking Station. This laptop computer accessory is priced around $130.

The USB to VGA 4-in-1 Docking Station houses, according to StarTech.com, “a DB15 High Density (female) VGA port, as well as four USB A (female) ports, one USB Mini B (female) port, one RJ45 (Female) 10/100Mbps network port, and two 3.5mm audio (mic, line out) ports.” A single USB connection is all that seems necessary to access all of these ports.

HP announced late this afternoon it was partnering with fashion designer Vivienne Tam to create a “special edition notebook positioned to become the ultimate tech accessory for fashionistas around the globe.” There really isn’t much information available on the HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition, but we can tell you it is expected to be available early next year.

This new fashion notebook was being shown off today at Tam’s fashion show during New York’s Fashion Week at Bryant Park. HP said the “top of the notebook is gleaming red and bursting with peony flowers. The peony design is meticulously carried inside the notebook, under the keypad. The notebook also features a complementary embroidered storage sleeve that helps keep the exterior protected while being carried as a clutch.”

The much chattered about Microsoft Arc Mouse officially made its public debut today, which probably wasn’t the best planning given all of the updated iPod buzz. This slinky mouse will set you back around $60 when it debuts later this month.

The Arc Mouse comes in a thin crescent shape with your choice of black or red body colors. It sports a foldable design which reduces it by almost half for portability when snapped shut. Its micro transceiver, said Microsoft, snaps into the bottom of the mouse using a magnet, sticking out less than 1 centimeter while plugged in.

Remember back in June when HP dropped 16 new laptops in your lap? It is now claiming one of these – the EliteBook 6930p – can offer up to 24 hours of continuous notebook operation on a single battery charge. There are, of course, some specific caveats to this claim.

HP says that, in order to get the 24 hour battery life promoted, you have to have “separately purchased [the] Ultra Capacity Battery and [that the] customer [must have] download[ed]…the latest Intel graphics driver and HP BIOS. Notebook must be configured with optional Intel 80 GB SSD drive and HP Illumi-Lite LED Display (planned to be available October 2008) and requires Microsoft Windows XP operating system.”

Pinnacle Systems is launching yet another wave of new USB TV tuners for those who want to bring television to their computers. These compact tuners are known as the HD mini Sticks and they’ll be available in PC or Mac offerings for around $120 or $130, respectively.

The Pinnacle HD mini Sticks are USB-powered tuners which, in general, let you view and record digital over-the-air TV (ATSC) and unencrypted digital cable TV (ClearQAM) for SDTV and HDTV with resolutions of up to 1080i. One can make use of these devices as PVRs with timeshifting capabilities that enable users to record, pause or rewind live TV. Recordings can be scheduled as well via programming data from an Internet-based guide.

HP has its sights set on offering up some new computers to desktop PC business users. This line is called the HP Compaq dc7900 and you’ll find starting prices set around $600.

HP’s new Compaq dc7900 line will be available in ultra-slim desktop, small form factor or convertible minitower models. The company hasn’t yet unveiled a lot of technical details, but we do know these models will be Energy Star 4.0 qualified as well as running something new called the HP Firefox Virtual Browser. This is a real-time Web surfing environment which “corrals malicious content from a user’s Internet interactions and removes unwanted programs with a single click.” The dc7900 is apparently the first HP PC to have this offering.