Slashdot Mirror
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."
> 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
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.
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...
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!
"Now the "Head On" headache remedy commercials -- those are genuinely annoying AND disgusting."
;)
Yet, you remember their name, and repeat it in your post. Sounds like the campaign might be working after all.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
It's clear that Microsoft is winning the war for the home market.
Not clear at all. We use a Dish DVR. It's basically an embedded , Linux-based tivo-like appliance. It saves all the shows we want, plays them anytime I want on either of my TVs, and it's ridiculously easy to use. Only two features should be added:
1) Ability to stream saved shows over my local LAN.
2) Ability to save videos from other sources to the DVR over the LAN.
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.
That just sounds.... complicated. When my grandfather can use it, it'll sell. BTW, our local cable company now has an IP DVR that lets you stream quite a selection of shows on demand...
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.
OK....
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.
I see - their product SUCKS, doesn't do anything that I'd like, but I like how they come up with stuff I like...(???)
I don't get it. Come back when you have a clear point to make.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Yeah, I don't get it. It's not the cost of the parts that's the problem. $400k for a house; what's a few grand in automation? Maybe the advanced education involved in construction management these days? [duck as the hammer flies by...]
Here's what I want in home automation:
1. A nice remote control for the whole house where I can get status and control on everything electronic including lights, fans, outlets, webcams hidden above the front porch and elsewhere, garage doors, music through a number of built-in speakers throughout the house, the furnace, the furnace vents and temperature in every room, all the kitchen appliances, the sprinkler system, plasma panels on walls for photos, fountains in the yard, floor warmers, window positions, the security system, etc.
2. I want it to learn how and when I like the lights, temperature, etc.
3. I want to be able to talk to the system from any room. In other words, I want to shut the light off without getting out of bed or reaching for the remote -- it's the ultimate lazy-man syndrome.
Why on earth would your average joe want a home server? This is a bit out of touch if you ask me. Either joe has regular cable or the newer fancier digital cable. Or maybe digital satellite. Down the road joe may upgrade to a TV that allows for HDTV (still not happening in numbers), and that may include a cablecard capability (for north american digital cable). That's not going to help him with M$'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.
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.
I'm really not so sure. You can't even download DVD quality movies off the internet yet, and with ('unrippable') HDDVD or BluRay being the next big thing, it seems even less likely that a computer will be the center of media. Then there's TV shows, which look better ripped off analog cable into a TiVo (which is cheaper than an Apple TV) than bought and paid for from iTMS.
You've touched about a topic that isn't covered too well in the article. There are a lot of players, here, and Apple and Microsoft may not be the most influential. As I see it, the players are:
The media companies: They'd like to keep selling you upgraded versions of the same things on shiny disks.
The cable and telcos: They'd like to sell you a big fat pipe, and then sell you TV episodes/movies as pay-per-view.
The computer companies: They'd like to sell you a place to put all this media (or at least the interface to it).
The customers: We want it all, we it cheap, and we want it to be easy. We also don't want anything we buy to be locked into something proprietary.
The media companies love DRM and other lock-ins. The consumer hates DRM (or at least would if they had any real choice in the matter). The computer companies are caught in the middle. DRM limits their ability to offer the consumers many of the products they might sell. (As you point out, if you can't get the media into hardware, the hardware's useless). However, DRM also allows them to lock you into using their hardware and software, so they could view DRM as a benefit. (Itunes and Ipods are a good example of this).
I don't where all this will end up. Us geeks might envision a system where we can store everything (TV shows recorded off the air, DVD rips, video downloads, plus similar for all our music), control it from almost anywhere, and then transfer it for viewing on any platform we wish. This doesn't mean that we'll get it.
To all you guys that responded to me: no.
Look, for $1,000 I can get a home file server that also functions as a very decent PC. I'm talking everything: nice case, power supply, motherboard, RAM, core duo, etc. Including 3 hard drives, two 320GB and a 10K 74GB drive. That's $1,000 and I'm done. I know I can do this because I'm doing it right now.
Can I do that with Mac? It's possible. I could get a MacMini and eat up all the peripherals with USB drives and software RAID. So that's close to the same cost (the PC is cheaper) if I start with a refurbed mac mini. So those are my options: an upgradeable tower with hardware based RAID running drives over SATA, or a refurbed never-to-be-upgraded MacMini, software RAID, and a bunch of peripherals.
Is software-based RAID could enough for home use? Probably. Are a couple of external USB drives really that much worse than internal drives? Well - it's certainly not as good. The Mac solution is simply more expensive, less future proof, less fleixble and less elagant. In a word: it's not as good.
In general, Mac is a better system, but for setting up a home server that can also function as a decent desktop (and why not do both since the incremental cost increase is so low?) PC is clearly better. That's all I'm saying.
-stormin
The Southern Baptist Convention has creationism. On Slashdot, we have porn.
I completely agree. I have been using the XBMC since around 2002/3 (or the previous version - cant remember its name). It is really awesome - its easy to setup, plays virtually every file and does lots of extra things. The only problem with the xbox is that its getting on now and cant play native 720p 1080p etc but so far there is no real alternative so I am sticking with my xbox. I hardly use it for games anymore but still turn it on almost daily as its such a good media player. I am surprised that neither the xbox360 or PS3 can play media files as easily or as well. Oh well heres hoping they hack them or that a cheap device like you describe does come out as I am sure I will one day want to upgrade to higher res or my xbox dies.
I agree... And that's why I use a modded 1st-gen Xbox w/ my own codecs for streaming music/video (plus DVD Region Free). With an aftermarket 100 GB hard drive added in I have an extremely convenient way of viewing whatever it is I desire. It would be in Apple's best interests to be compatible with the medium that they use...same as with Microsoft, yet for an experienced tech user we need more. more I tell you! :)