Windows Home Server is coming

Our homes have become more and more sophisticated hubs of technology over the last several years.  We each have at least one computer, the kids have computers, in some advanced households even the dogs have computers.  There is dedicated Windows Media boxes connected to the TV, and …  However, there has been no server solution to connect all of these and help us manage all the information that sits on these disparate islands.  For the last two years, Microsoft has been working on a project codenamed Q, and now that Bill Gates announced it at CES, I can talk about it.  We have chosen a boring retail name in line with our fine tradition of choosing very boring long names to replace cool internal code names.  Now we call it “Windows Home Server.”  The product is currently in beta2.   
  With Q, sorry Windows Home Server, losing data on your home computers because of hard drive crashes will be a thing of the past.  Home Server automatically backs up your other computers and your shared folders on the Home Server.  You can restore an individual file or folder, or an entire computer easily.  It employs a revolutionary new storage technology that easily allows you to add both internal and external (USB or FireWire) hard drives of any size to your server and the technology to automatically replicate folders across multiple hard drives. It is also easy to remove older hard drives, the Home Server copies their content to other drives.  It even comes with predefined shared folders for photos, music, and videos which can be enabled for media streaming from the Windows Home Server Console.  Any digital media receiver attached to the home network like Xbox 360 can now access this media., … The Home Server also monitors 1) your backups to make sure they are successful and up to date, 2) The success of replication of folders across multiple drives, 3) and it gathers the data from multiple Vista Security Center Status consoles so you can see the security situation for all your computers from a central point.  Using a web browser, a user can now access the home server remotely and upload or download files, or run applications on your home computers.  You access the Home Server by registering a free internet address (<yourname>.HomeServer.Com). Home Server was designed from the beginning to be easy to use and to be fast.  All of this is the tip of the iceberg.  Windows Home Server has extensibility endpoint that allow software developers to build add-ons, such as home web cameras, family information management software, home automation and home security solutions that work with your home server.  The greatness and usefulness of this platform will ultimately be decided by the partners and independent developers that will innovate on it in the coming months and years.