When Microsoft asks for innovative design, coolness like this flying saucer-looking Windows home server comes out of the woodwork. This one is a prototype commissioned by Microsoft, and as you can see by the inset in the picture above, it's not the smallest PC we've seen, but still it's only slightly larger than the palm of your hand. Even though it's relatively tiny, there's still room for two 2.5-inch hard disks inside.

That pleasantly eerie lighting effect actually has a function, glowing green when all is well and flashing red when the Windows within have crashed again (or maybe if the server is overburdened). While this design was created to spark creativity, Microsoft says unfortunately no manufacturers have chosen to build it yet.

On the next page, see a quartet of close-ups of this unusual server, and join us in wondering why no computer builders have snapped up its first-rate design yet.

This is such a pretty and practical prototype, we hope this innovative hockey puck-like server design will match the goals of some enterprising computer manufacturer. — Charlie White

Windows Home Server Blog