Asustek Computer Inc. plans to launch two motherboards complete with phone jacks able to turn common household telephones into Internet phones using Skype Ltd.'s popular VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) software.

Rumors that Apple Computer Inc. plans to launch a mobile phone next year are gaining momentum, although the company's Taiwanese manufacturing partners are giving little away.

Microsoft Corp. said Friday it is on track to launching Windows Vista simultaneously worldwide. Less than a month ago it warned that antitrust problems could delay the launch in Europe and South Korea.

Sony Corp. will launch a pair of Blu-ray Disc video recorders in Japan this December, the company said Tuesday.

Asustek Computer Inc. launched its second LCD (liquid crystal display) TV this week, extending the growing visibility of its brand name in the digital home segment. The product comes as demand for new LCD TVs gains momentum, according to market researcher iSuppli Corp.

Google Inc. has launched Google Apps for Your Domain, a suite of hosted collaboration applications for small to medium-size businesses, universities, groups and affinity organizations, with plans to expand to larger companies by year's end.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) on Tuesday released a new version of its Opteron processor, the popular server chip that has made AMD a serious competitor of rival Intel Corp.

Microsoft Corp. launched on Wednesday an upgraded version of its MSN Spaces Web site that lets users quickly create a Web site or blog, post photos and build a network of contacts.

Intel Corp. unveiled its new Core 2 Duo processor lineup on Thursday, increasing the pressure on rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). The 10 new dual-core chips promise markedly better performance and greater energy efficiency than Intel's existing products.

Intel Corp. launched its "Montecito" dual-core Itanium chip on Tuesday, in an effort to improve its third-place position in the high-end server market.

Toshiba Corp. will launch the first HD DVD recorder next month in Japan, it said Thursday.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will consider later this year if it will launch a high-definition movie player compatible with both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats, it said Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp. Wednesday launched its widest release yet of the beta version of the Windows Vista operating system.

Yahoo Inc. on Thursday launched a new site designed to make it easier for Web users to find and share videos. The site builds on Yahoo's existing video search capability and will compete with video search services from Google Inc., AOL LLC, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN, and other video-sharing sites like YouTube.com and MySpace.com.

The launch of the consumer version of Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp.'s new operating system, could be pushed back past the stated January launch date, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will next month launch two portable computers that use flash memory in place of a hard-disk drive for data storage, the company said Tuesday.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Tuesday launched its new AM2 CPU socket, bringing support for fast DDR2 memory to the company's desktop processors. As expected, PC World's tests showed negligible performance gains from the new socket, but the change positions AMD for more notable performance gains with future products.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) aims to grab notebook PC business from Intel Corp., launching a new line of Turion mobile processors Wednesday.

Sony Corp. will begin selling its first personal computers with Blu-ray Disc drives in Japan in June, the company said Tuesday. Both laptop and desktop computers will be available.

Intel Corp. will sell its new generation of 65-nanometer desktop and laptop chips under the brand name "Core 2 Duo" when it launches them this summer, the company said.