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The Home Server Cometh
narramissic writes "Apart from Apple's 'I'm cooler than you' ad campaign, you don't hear much about the Windows versus Mac battle these days. The reason: Today's battle isn't about 'what brand of computer sits on the desk in your spare room, or even what operating system it runs, it's going to be about who gets to dominate the market for home servers that will control your entertainment, television, telephony, and your home automation system,' argues Dan Blacharski in a recent article."
http://files.myopera.com/agony_/sig/linux.png - any questions? :-P
Dan Who?
It's clear that Microsoft is winning the war for the home market.
Microsoft has Windows Media Center which, in its Vista iteration will provide support for HDTV recording, CableCard support, and downloadable content (much like iTunes). Then add in Xbox 360 which can do much of the same along with IPTV (just announced), extend Windows Media Center, and also play games. The online part (Xbox Live) is a great addition to all that.
Apple's AppleTV product is kind of lame, and I was rather disappointed in it. It only plays items from iTunes and locks you in further. Doesn't play Divx, doesn't record anything -- it's more of an 'extender' than anything else. And if the sales Linksys shows anything in regards to how well extenders do, we know we can write it off for the die-hard Mac fans.
That said... I love Apple and the way they innovate. Some products are hits (iPhone) and some are misses (AppleTV). Time will tell either way, but Microsoft is definitely gearing up to be the dominant force in the living room.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
> home servers that will control your entertainment,
> television, telephony, and your home automation system
My goodness. This strikes me as being a little out of touch. Most folks I know don't have a home automation system and they use whatever the phone company brings in for their phone lines, with maybe a little Skype. And that's a small maybe.
I think a more interesting battle is to secure and improve communications within and around the current stuff. So while I still have email accounts and mailing lists and such, I use indi to share pictures with my relatives. It's our one spam-free and ad-free comms mechanism...
The Army reading list
[...] you don't hear much about the Windows versus Mac battle these days. [...]
These guys must not read slashdot... wait...
What the consumer wants is full interoperability so that there is competition. I might buy an iPod today and a Zune tomorrow. I want to be able to port my music or video or whatever without being locked into a particular vendor. But the tech companies want to carve the market into multiple walled gardens. Theoretically free market should react and break it up. But free market depends on customers being informed and making rational decisions. In the tech world, a huge majority of the customers are not well informed. So all the fuddged studies like TCO, columnists paid and bought out by money or laptops or praise will continue to confuse the customers. And DRM and patent lawsuits will proliferate. And it will be business as usual.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
TFA is written from a world in which there are two OSes: Windows and Mac. In an ideal world - and I'm fully aware we don't live in an ideal world, but let's move on for now - the rise of the home server would be a boost to Linux, as people finally twigged they were being asked to pay for the same product over and over again when they use Windows, say, and decided to use something else for their home server (which can be more of a "workhorse" than a desktop system, thus circumventing some of the remaining usability issues for desktop Linux).
If Ubuntu have their wits about them, a home server edition of Ubuntu would be their next plan: a single CD which you can drop into an old, spare PC to turn it into a home server without paying the Windows Tax all over again.
Sounds like Microsoft Home Server = Xbox360+XP Media Center, but without Gears of War.
Someone in their marketing department needs to find a better produce name. "Home Server" isn't going to catch on.
Then Sony is well positioned? Or Charter's cable offerings?
For the past few decades, I'd say the trend has been to bring toy/home systems into the business. For example, desktop PCs of the '82 vintage eventually became mission-critical servers and the Linux you played Doom on in '93 eventually became a viable business OS. If this keeps up, will we see Nintendo rack-mounts in the server room in 10 years?
"what in the world do I want a server in my home for?"
Newb User: Pretend I'm happenin' (calls his neighbor)
Average user: Check this out (calls Geek Squad)
Super user: I'll be the hit of the party now! (wastes 3 weeks trying to stream a video to his fashionable 98 box)
IT Guy: But will it run Linux?
God: When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.
It will involve a conversion from the traditional ownership model of not just software and media, but of hardware as well. One of the reasons I haven't invested in any DVR schemes even though it would fit in very well with my TV viewing habits or more accurately, lack there of, is it would be a waste of money given most schemes are propietary and short lived. Going to a subscription model would be better since I'm not out anything if a vendor goes out of business or changes protocols and/or formats.
NO TEXT
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
If home servers are a commodity, they will not be worth the expense of maintaining them, much like PC's right now.
To diagnose problems with a PC, back up user data, reinstall everything, restore user data is still quite a time consuming task. Usually the cost of this task is greater than the worth of a PC.
Will people sign service agreements, such as with HVAC ( heating/AC ) units, or will they die from slow neglect like many PC's. Are people selling their home going to "brag" about the cool server their house comes with, or will they take their server with them when they move?
If the bandwidth to the home ever reaches a critical level, will people even want a server in the home? Would a simple router/switch/local non-hd based cache appliance be all they need?
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
I would even run with it should there be such a thing to try it out... but for the mass audience, if it's not easy to use and pretty, it will never fly.
And that's not to say Ubuntu isn't easy to use -- it is. But it's easy to use in comparison to other Linux distros. That doesn't make it as easy as a Mac or Windows (which is the standard, and thus 'easier' to learn).
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I've been hearing the same "the future of computing is home automation" line for at least 15 years. Yeah yeah, the computer's going to turn on the coffee maker in the morning, shut off the back porch light at night and keep tabs on who called during the day.
I call fluff piece. Weren't we supposed to be vacationing on the moon by now?
for various java components licensed from Sun. or embedded Linux. why would any manufacturer want or need to run the bloated Vista for this type of application?
*fade into the server room, 2017*
... doesn't sound half bad :).
Network Administrator, BOFH, is monitoring the networking from his Nintendo console. The screen gleefully displays the Mii's of all of the network users. LameUser253 tries for the 3rd time to post his personal information on a phishing site despite the warnings.
The Administrator locks onto LameUser253's Mii with the Wii-mote and administers a fierce wacking with the nunchuck.
This
I built my own server in a Coolermaster Stacker case with an 8 channel SATA RAID controller and hot-swappable drive bays.
But then again I'm a geek who does this for a living and wouldn't expect your average home user to do anything even remotely similar.
I think the real truth is the PC manufacturers are scared because the market is saturated and they're trying to come up with new ways to get consumers to buy their shit.
You're using her as bait, Master!
...in Linux
I have a Linux server to store all my media. It has grown to over 2TB of storage over the years.
I have a Linux desktop with outputs to my TV and my stereo system to play it all.
I even have a Linux server running Asterisk for my home phone.
Total software cost: $10 (for the Asterisk G729 codec)
I suspect that he's right, there's a battle brewing for the home server market. I mean, ubiquitous access to everything is both cool and useful. Whoever controls your home server will control your music, you photos, your work... That's pretty big. ...And we can all envision the world moving that way. But the article is still sensationalist.
There's the big fight for the home server to control our digital content. HD and Blu-Ray are in a big fight to control our digital media. Plasmas/LCDs are mounting a big push to muscle out old CRTs and change how we watch television. Apple is throwing down the gauntlet in how we call people. It's the nature of capitalism; corporations are always looking for a way to dominate a market and lock in their customers. If you can't control the content (what you watch, what you listen to, who you talk to, what you create), control the medium. There's a fight brewing in televisions, phones, servers, storage media, etc... The trick is, however, as the content/need changes, so must the medium. Sony's VHS won the Beta-VHS war and much was made about it in the news, but they've since lost out to DVRs, PVRs, and other digital formats. Was there mourning for VHS??
So the battle for home servers? Another Linux-OSX-Windows battle. Yawn. I'm more intrigued by the new battle for cell phone dominance.
Convert everything to MP3.
:)
Don't ever worry about DRM.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Keep servers out of the home, dammit!
10 million+ people disagree with you.
You're in a minority. I don't have a 360 yet, but I want one. I'm waiting for the refresh and I'll pick it up.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
"When you control the Mail, you control ... information"
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
It's kind of interesting that Apple did not get the URLs for either iPhone.com or appletv.com. The iphone link is to some internet phone provider while I can't read the AppleTV site (non-English). The Apple fanboys were all over Microsoft for not getting zune.com. What's the RDF input on why apple doesn't have the new product URLs?
Its not about max number of features. Never was, never will be. iPod is a piece of crap functionality wise when compared to my old Archos device that was several years old before iPod even came to market. Yet today Archos is barely alive while iPod dominates the market (and I have to admit, I own an iPod). The reason is that iPod was not really competing with other mp3 players - it was competing with CD sales via iTunes. It offered a way to BUY music and listen to it and it made it VERY SIMPLE. Now AppleTV wants to do the same with video content. The main competition is NOT your PC, mac or X-Box, it is Cable TV and DVD sales and Tivo. Its the ultimate device allowing people to turn on their tv and watch whatever they want, whenever they want without all the mucking around with the recording and buying DVDs. Of course a computer with up-to-date choice of software will always be more powerful in functionality, but its not a simple to use one-size-fits-all package that will sell. Thats the reality of it all.
I am not a bit fan of Apple, but I must admit this product has some serious potential. The question is - are the people ready for it?
-Em
RelevantElephants: A Somatic WebComic...
I have a Series 2 TiVo and a Series 3 TiVo (HD-TiVo). The HD-TiVo has two HD/digital CableCards. I can record three programs at a time, I can listen to web radio stations, and I can get quite a bit of Internet content. All of this and more (including the TV) can be controlled with one easy to use peanut shaped remote.
First it was the PowerPC vs. Intel "megahertz myth"-that was shattered when Jobs touted the Intel processor as "superior". Then they made fun of Windows (not Linux, oddly) users as a bunch of uber-geeks who do nothing but spreadsheets and corporate stuff and no nothing about computers, while Mac-ies are the mega-intelligent people because they can make an album in iPhoto (one of the most clunky and limited catalog programs I've ever seen by the way), all the while touting they want to break into business, which *gasp* uses BUSINESS software. Finally, they tout them selves as environmentally above the fray, and Greenpeace (algore's best friend by the way) is protesting Apple's use of toxic materials. Yet when we see Job's we're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy because it's Jobs...gag me!
We at the International Spammers Assoc (also known as "Total Bastards") hope that whatever server system you choose for your home that you purchase the most bandwidth you can for your connection to the internet. We also encourage you to keep your system unpatched, use dictionary word passwords (we suggest "aardvark" or "password"), and keep the port for IRC open. Leaving your system on 24 hrs a day will also greatly help ISA members in other time zones who like to sleep in.
Thank you!
p.s. Please click on the attached file named "freescreensaver.exe"
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
I think many Linux users were caught off guard to hear the home server was coming. Mainly because many people using Linux already turned some tired, old box into a home server years ago. A server that has a web interface, does incremental backups, file and print sharing and just generally most of the things Microsoft is touting for their home server.
Some of you even have your home server running your zone heating system and performing other automation tasks.
Yes, the home server idea caught me completely off guard. And people say MSFT is behind the curve in technology. :>
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
But from a home automation standpoint, who would ever want a machine that doesn't have crond?
From this perspective, only OSX and linux are contenders. Vista is a total loser.
"My prediction: Microsoft's Home Server will put an end to the perception of "Apple cool, PC geeky" once and for all -- and hopefully an end to those annoying commercials. " Hmmm, now who seems to be on the Microsoft Advertising Department payroll. For gods sake, these people writing these articles must think everyone reading their articles are only 7 years old. And these people want us to think of them as journalists?
.... it was MY grandmother who went "tits up" in the middle of jeopardy, not her server!
There is no "home server" market, except for .1% of the population that is geeky enough to need one. Home DVR setup? Rent a Tivo from your cable company. Who rips all their DVDs to a PC to watch on demand? Who needs their own mail relay? Who needs a media server to share pictures with? The media whores that this guy is talking about already have iPods and camera phones, what else do you need?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I don't care what nifty hardware products Microsoft comes up with. If they have to depend on Vista, then its going to be a while before they sell much of anything. The consumer is going to have Vista forces upon him when he buys his ordinary computer, decide it really sucks, and then will be unlikely to want to shell out big money for Microsoft hardware.
Why on earth would your average joe want a home server? This is a bit out of touch if you ask me. Either joe has regular cable or the newer fancier digital cable. Or maybe digital satellite. Down the road joe may upgrade to a TV that allows for HDTV (still not happening in numbers), and that may include a cablecard capability (for north american digital cable). That's not going to help him with M$'s server or with Apple TV. No, the poster is wrong, M$ will have nothing to do with the cablecard. That's all Java based OCAP stuff, that means standards in the industry, that means M$ wants to void it. :-)
IPTV has been deployed in small numbers in the US for 5 to 10 years now, and in larger numbers in europe for some time. Those developers and companies associated are moving towards a joint standard between MHP in europe and some OCAP capabilities from US cable. Sadly US telcos have been duped into following M$ off the cliff with something new and incompatible and frankly frighteningly pathetic and crappy. It will take them a few years to get out of the mess. Regardless it will be years away from anything the user will see in large numbers, partly because of this mess.
So given those realities and time frames, it's hard to see that there is any battle going on for any mythical needed home server.
Here's the problem to having a home server be any more than a niche market - you have to have people understand they want or need a home server. People already have "home servers" - they are called "The Computer".
That's why Apple has come in with a device that realizes the computer you already have is going to be the "Home Server" for some time to come. Most people are not going to want or need anything but the computer they use every day, and they would like a way to display that easily on TV...
I'm not sure how well the AppleTV will sell either though, as Apple has to educate people as to how they can have computer video hooked to a TV AND has to sell to consumers who are able to set up a wireless network. I think it's an easier problem to address than convincing people to buy home servers, but it's still a problem.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Well, quite. But the point is that until MS do something, most computer users see it as "weird" and "geeky". Last week it was weird and geeky to have a home server. This week it is normal. (See also: tabbed browsing.)
Isn't the "dominant home server" right now some sort of generic video hard disk recorder or PVR? Or if not that, maybe Tivo (in the US) or Sky+ (in the UK)? Not many of them are networked (unless you count sneakernet of DVDs), but they tend to be what has replaced the VHS.
I don't know that there are that many people using Windows "Media Center Edition" actually as a media center.
Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
The only way to get 5.1 Audio from a 360 is through the Optical Out port on the HD connection cable.
Wow, sounds like the pot and the kettle. All the GP poster did to support the PS2 was to explain the reason why it did so well (and it did... actually it still does, you can't dispute that). He mentioned impressive graphics, but didn't say they were better than XBox, just that they were impressive, and that graphics were just one factor out of several that came together at the right time for Sony in the previous round.
He's also not saying that the XBox 360 sucks, or even that the PS3 is better (so calm down a little already), or that the PS3 will "win" in the long run. He just said that the XBox 360 isn't currently in enough homes to pull the whole world over to Microsoft-based entertainment systems, because the factors of the console war are different this time around. Pay a little more attention to the context in which he was writing, and read his whole comment before flying off the handle to defend the XBox's graphics.
Bytheway, the only console I currently own is an N64, so I'm not really for or against either Sony or Microsoft, although I do believe that both of them make some weird decisions and bad assumptions regarding how they approach the market.
With the growing size of iTunes files, with video added it'll only get worse. I think Apple would do the world a bit of good if they came up with a server dedicated to backups. Something that joe AOL doesn't have to think about, it just wirelessly connects and backsup iTunes files once a week or something. The beast would need lots of space, perhaps a Raid array so the thing itself is redundant in case of failure. It could have gimpy specs otherwise. If the beast has reasonable specs it could act as a file server as well, freeing up space on laptops and desktops that are now being hogged by iTunes files. Because you know the problem will only get worse.
Is this a step in the right direction? http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070108-8569 .html
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
If its possible to stream just the video out over a wireless connection... Imagine putting a small transmitter through the spare VGA out of your computer, and having it connect wirelessly with a receiver hooked to your TV through various ports...
Now that i would buy... Not a new computer just to spare me the hassle to put my laptop close enough to my TV...
Anyways, home server will dominate the market? Tagged Bullshit.
I have a little test I use for things like, "Is it easy to use.". The test is simple. If my two year old son can do it, and you (as an adult) cannot learn it with very little effort, you are an unteachable idiot, and you are not smart enough to make a reasonable statement on the subject.
Using that criteria, Linux is absolutely simple. My son could use Ubuntu just fine at the age of 1. Now, being his father, I would love to believe that he is the smartest human being to ever be born, but even if that were somehow true, a full grown adult of below average intelligence should STILL be smarter. So, this brings the question... Just how simple does an OS need to be before the ease of use becomes irrelevant. Not to mention, while I have never set my son in front of a Mac, I have set him in front of Windows, and not only did he have a harder time using it, he had a much easier time breaking it.
That being said, as my two year old approaches the age of three, I might have to find a new test of 'easy'. While I do think it is fair to expect non-institutionalized adults to be smarter than a bright 2 year old, I'm not sure the same can be said for expecting them to be as smart as a three year old.
The home media servers are trying to differentiate themselves by using a completely different set of protocols than the HTTP we've known and loved. It's so complicated to get these new protocols to work and they seem to redundant, it's as if their only reason is to make it not a web server.
"I've been hearing the same "the future of computing is home automation" line for at least 15 years."
Has technology been standing still? If it was, you'd have a point.
"Yeah yeah, the computer's going to turn on the coffee maker in the morning, shut off the back porch light at night"
Build X10 into each device.
"...and keep tabs on who called during the day."
One of these days someone's going to invent the...answering machine...with caller ID!
Yes the Mac adverts are annoying if you don't like to hear
about how Apple is delivering products that really appeal to the home
user in functionality, user interfaces, and language that they can
relate to and get excited about.
The article is basically an MS fan boy whining about
the fact that Apple is producing a superior user end experience
without regard for how the underlying technology as characterized
by geeks. His level of annoyance is basic acknowledgment that
his idols are not looking too good in the face of the competition.
In the process of whining and expressing his hope the MS will eventually care
about end users in a meaningful way he is arguing that differences in OS's are a non issue.
I take this as an expression of dismay and implicit acknowledgment on his part that the
OS quality war is over and that OS X has won.
In fact the superiority of OS X will play a key role in coming developments. OS X is a
large part of the foundation for delivering that user experience that Apple
is rightfully proud of. The iPhone runs some form of OS X and the implications
of that for Apple and its customers is going to be big.
As a matter of fact Apple can deliver a better user experience than MS on MS Windows.
The iPod and the new iPhone deliver better user functionality through the iTunes software on a PC
than MS is delivering on the Zune on their own operating system. Even considering the fact that the Zune is a
first generation product MS should be embarrassed by the quality of the end user experience they're delivering with this
over priced geek featured product that only works with a PC in an operating system that MS produces and controls.
To listen to Bill Gates talk about this stuff at CES with all the passion, excitement
and vision that he would bring to bear on a discussion of bowel movements
really should give everyone a clue. Give me the the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field any day
over Gates' mind deadening discussion of how MS is going to provide
businesses with mundanized technology that has been poorly copied form people with passion and vision for
the future of technology and its real promise for improving our lives. The very name that MS is giving their
new product, Home Server, suggests that MS leadership remains without clue, vision, or a shred
of passion about the user end experience that they are trying emulate.
As long as creative, passionate and visionary people are on the playing field
MS will never be be able to fully realize their dream of an MS tax that must be paid by any
technology user without regard for what MS delivers.
The biggest Reality Distortion Field overlaying the technology industry today
is the one generated by MS in getting their customers to believe that they are getting what they deserve for
their money.
Gag you? With great pleasure.
EyeTV already has a transcoding step you can activate, to convert anything recorded to H.264...
But really if you are going to go there, why not buy a dedicated Mac mini and just hook that up to the TV? I use the EyeTV HD reciever on a mini dedicated to home theater and it works great. I also use the mini as my primary DVD player.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
What part of not mentioning their servers did you understand? Either the mac pro or the XSERVE are incredibly expensive.
If you read the post you were responding to again, OS X includes software RAID. You can use that with any Mac, not just the servers. Just attach an external firewire drive or two and mirror or stripe away as you please - and with the Mac mini you can get faster external drives than the internal so it improves performance anyway.
Furthermore you can get all hardware RAID systems as well.
If you don't like the Apple software RAID then you might consider SoftRAID, a very good third party software RAID - again, for any Mac.
I don't see any way your complaint makes any sense.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
With the growing size of iTunes files, with video added it'll only get worse. I think Apple would do the world a bit of good if they came up with a server dedicated to backups.
.Mac fills in a little bit of the role as well, though backing up only smaller things that don't take as much space (although they are very key small things!)
But that's what Time Machine is for, so a user can just attach an external drive to a system and things all get backed up. There is no need for a server product.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
well both my grandmother AND her RAID array went tits up in the middle of Double Jeopardy...
... waitress in cofee shop serves coffee to a customer. She thinks he is cute so she asks him out. He replies that he is a gynecologist. She says she is cool with that and they can still go out. He replied that most women don't like dating gynecologist. She asks why? He replies, "Do you want another cup of cofee when you get home?"
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Being someone who is finally ready to spend some serious cash in the home theater market I was really excited when Apple showcased the then code named iTV. I waited and waited for 2007 to roll around so I could get a look at what I anticipated would be my first major purchase in the media streaming / home theater market. Boy was I wrong. For those of you out there who are satisfied with 720p or even 1080i, this is great for you, not for me. As sweet as Apple is at making stunning UI it is the last thing I care about when it comes to this market. I want high-end quality and I see Apple's leap into this market as a joke. It doesn't make any sense to not give this component 1080p output. The market is moving that direction and those, like myself, who are new to the market are going to be looking at wanting something that will last into their next round of TV (assuming they don't already have 1080p capability). Sorry Apple but I'm incredibly underwhelmed and won't be looking to you to be a serious player in the home theater market anytime soon unless you bother to at least try and be competitive.
I am Jack's smirking revenge.
Like I said, no servers in the home, bitches! They are dangerous.
You can add Windows Home Server to the list:
* Easy setup - users are given a CD to install software on each networked Windows XP/Vista PC that provides auto detection of the server and helps users create profiles
* It's always on and administered from any PC in the home
* Expandable storage - WHS will allow users to add hard drives to their towers as needed [no need to power down] or they can connect external USB storage drives
* Automatic backups of media stored on networked PCs
* Central point for accessing and playing back shared media and DRM protected content
* Remote access of stored content with private and public sharing capabilities - includes upload features
* Remote access of desktop settings and applications when away from home
* Desktop snapshots of all configured network PCs to help bring users back to any point in time if something should go wrong
* Works as a central print server
The software is based on Windows Server 2003. The server console requires XP or Vista. File sharing appears to be bog standard SMB. No problems there for OSX or Linux systems on your home network.
No sales to consumers.
Ten user accounts, one guest account, four bays for SATA 2 drives, terabytes of storage, if you can afford it, four USB ports on HP's home server product. No information on RAID support. Gigabyte ethernet standard, wireless extra.
Images of {a Window's PCs] hard drive can also be saved on the HP MediaSmart, which can be restored without the "need to locate your original operating system disc." HP Reveals MediaSmart Home Server Details
The article linked to is lame. There are dozens of articles out there on MS announcing Windows Home Server out there. Why pick this one? For example here are a couple of articles that actually have real informaiton in them: http://www.itjungle.com/two/two011007-story01.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070108-8573 .html
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_preview.as p
I've been hearing about Home Automation for years now. All the glamor and glitz about turning your lights on or off from a web browser any where in the World has my geeky side tingling with excitement. But I have yet to see any refrigerator that can tell me when I'm low on milk or an appliance that will remind me when I leave the iron on again. I suppose this stuff just isn't that exciting when you finally go out and buy it, or that affordable. Also, I don't know of anywhere that will allow me to see if hands on. I'm not even sure that there is a complete solution which would cover Media, Security & Surveillance, Lighting, HVAC, and Appliances - all of the aspects that I could consider the chore of a Home Server. Correct me if I'm wrong, please!
If you are talking now about wireless backup, why were you complaining about RAID?
Soultions include everything from Rsync of a mounted server (included with OS X) to Time Machine, again on a mounted server.
There's nothing to stop you building an OS X box to equal any of these home media servers. And the filesystem will be better suited to the task as well, wince it defrags on the fly.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"The future of media has already been decided: TiVo and high-resolution optical, not the Media PC."
Don't worry, GPLv3 will throw a wrench into those works.
"I find this statement to be fairly ridiculous"
By the way... Thanks. It's always a compliment when someone thinks your lying because there is no way a person could possibly be as good at something as you really are.
This device has point and click network sharing of the drive(s) attached to its USB port!
In typical fashion, Apple, Inc. has done with a radio button in the airport setup app, what M$ needs a whole new F'd up platform (M$ Home Server) to do!
Any old PC + ClarkConnect = cheap, reliable home server.
Why spend a bunch of money for something that's locked down with DRM and other restrictions?
Allow me to correct the Grand parent. Outside of slashdot, you hear practically nothing about this "battle" between windows and Mac. Might I say for a battlefield, its pretty quiet.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Based on the comments on this article, and the linked article itself, it seems like no one even has a clue what Windows Home Server is/does. Everyone seems to be concentrating on the media aspects, but according to many of the other articles regarding Windows Home Server available on the web, I think the media serving capabilities are a rather minor feature.
The true power (yes, to me Windows Home Server sounds very powerful) of this product is how easy and safe it will make data storage. Windows Home Server will automatically back up each PC on your home network every night. It will be able to restore an entire system or just specific files. It will keep redundant copies of your valuable data (digital photos, financial records, email, etc). If you need additional storage space, just buy a drive and install it--it will automatically be recognized and added to your storage pool.
And here's the real key: it will be dead simple. Pretty much a plug and play solution. The hardware will be completely headless (no keyboard/mouse/monitor). You just plug it into your network and install the client software on each PC in your network.
I feel Windows Home Server is the most exciting consumer product announced at CES. Yes, there are still a lot of people who may not need this product, but I think there is a lot of value for a lot of people. Anyone with a home network is going to want this product (or one with similar functionality).
For a lot of people, this product will have a greater impact (and be more important) than Vista itself.
People can't even get the terminology right. TFA seems to be talking about "serving" media to a TV, plus some nebulous home automation crap that no one wants. "the market for home servers that will control your entertainment, television, telephony, and your home automation system".
The real "Home Server" is a headless box that holds your gigabytes of local media and provides them to other devices. There's no "control" relationship. That home server is obviously a networked hard drive. They're readily available, the best ones run Linux, but they're so cheap that there's no money to market them. And if the O.S. is free and barely visible, there's little motivation to put SlimServer, a TV format converter, a streaming Web server, etc. onto it. All of those are available for networked hard drives, but are for hackers only.
It sounds like Microsoft is going to take advantage of the confusion and low visibility to sell something much more expensive to people.
Meanwhile there's some kind of box connected to your TV. Call that what you want, but it's not a server. Why are there lots of "Apple TV" posts here?
=S
Don't forget to backup the keys also else your drm'd itunes backups are toast.
....
No wait
Considering it is only on version .2 I figure someone will put smart home features into it before v .5 and by version one it should open the pod bay door if you reason with it.
and maybe the *AA will present convincing evidence that this harmless "little company," as you call it, is stockpiling WMDs in the backroom and there will be hell to pay.
Ahem, http://www.cs.unm.edu/~dlchao/flake/doom/chi/chi.h tml
This paper explores a novel interface to a system administration task. Instead of creating an interface de novo for the task, the author modified a popular computer game, Doom, to perform useful work. The game was chosen for its appeal to the target audience of system administrators. The implementation described is not a mature application, but it illustrates important points about user interfaces and our relationship with computers. The application relies on a computer game vernacular rather than the simulations of physical reality found in typical navigable virtual environments. Using a computer game vocabulary may broaden an application's audience by providing an intuitive environment for children and non-technical users. In addition, the application highlights the adversarial relationships that exist in a computer and suggests a new resource allocation scheme.