For quite some time now I’ve been frustrated by a lack of home server technologies. In my house I have at least 3 PC’s and an Xbox 360, and for as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a server based solution to rule them all. Well it looks like Microsoft have seen this problem and are soon to release a product for the home server market.
Rumor has it more details will be forthcoming at CES 2007 but the current word on the grape vine is that it has some exciting features, for example:
- Email Collection - Essentially a home version of Microsoft exchange.
- Centralised Backup - A much needed feature in my house.
- Profile Management - Roaming profiles for home users. Having three PC’s shouldn’t mean having three profiles!
- Media Server - One centralised storage place for all your media! I’m hoping this means I could save some Xbox Live market place content to it.
- Home Automation - This seems more unlikely to me but would be fun to play with all the same.
- Centralised Microsoft Update Services - Update all you computers from your home server, help save on bandwidth.
Needless to say, I think a home server solution would be very well received in my household, especially if the price is right. Hardware prices being what they are (and the relatively low demand a home based server would make on system resources) Microsoft and partners could price these devices very aggressively. I’m sure a single core Intel/AMD chip would be more than enough to power a home server which means more ROI on older technologies. Sounds like a win/win for everyone. I can only hope this goes somewhere and if Mary Jo Foley is to be belived we should know more following CES 2007.
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