According to Microsoft's beta tester site for Windows Home Server, they "will be notifying all applicants this week that they can now access the Windows Home Server RC build in order to download the software." Folks in the beta program can already access the latest release but others may join by completing this participation survey. Ars has more.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-06
Agreed. This is "just" a budle of useful services coupled into an appliance with ultimate goal to make simple hardware devices.
Anyone having a LAN in your house should instantly understand how good this could be. Well, actually even if you have a single PC (expecially if that's a portable PC like notebooks or laptop) might find it very handy.
It's a good product: I would buy it (if I ever knew how much it will cost ;-)
Member since:2005-07-06
"It's a good product: I would buy it (if I ever knew how much it will cost ;-)"
HP has mentioned full WHS systems w/ 1TB storage for under $1,000. Google HP MediaSmart for more info. No one knows what retail price will be for just the OS, though it'll be a good idea to purchase an OEM supported system until MS gets the kinks ironed out of the installation routine.
Member since:2007-02-22
Microsoft puts it like this: "OEMs will set the final pricing for their products, depending on the storage capacity and additional capabilities." They're just making the software that will let others build the toys.
Since the average home user won't be willing to pay $1000 (much less the many thousands a full-scale industrial recovery/backup server could cost) for a machine that basically does nothing until something goes wrong, OEMs will almost definately try to keep the price down.
What I want to know is whether or not we'll be able to have two WHS boxes on a network. Not right away, of course but if you buy a new WHS-box every so often and the old one still works, will they be able to work together so your backups are twice as redundant?
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2006-06-24
Of course the .Mac upgrade coupled with Leapord's backup features does exactly the same thing.
I don't think it is quite the same. From what I understand, the 'Back to Mac' stuff will allow you to access and copy files to and from your Mac. So I imagine that your home mac disk will appear on the desktop of whichever Mac you are running it from.
The WHS thing is more of a remote desktop function, so you can do anything on your computer (copy files, run applications) as though you were sitting in front of it.
That's how I understand it anyway.
The other difference is that the remote access for WHS is free; to do the remote thing with Apple will require a .Mac account which will set you back $99 a year.
Member since:2006-05-11
Member since:2007-03-04
"Why release Windows Home Server that doesn't work with the "Home" versions of their operating systems?"
Because MS is a loathsome monopolist that abuses customers. I am sure the Windows Home Server EULA will be totally reprehensible. People should be seeking higher quality alternative products.
Member since:2006-02-28
Member since:2006-02-28
WHS gives you remote access to not just the files you share on it, but to your computers themselves (for those with OS' that support it -- XP Pro does, but not XP Home; Vista Business/Ultimate but not Home Premium).
I mean that the OS needs to support Remote Desktop, not Windows Home Server. All Windows versions XP on up can be used with WHS. Anything that supports SMB can access its shares.
I apologize for the miscommunication, but don't blindly hate on the product just yet. 
Member since:2007-02-22
WHS is NOT a webserver.
I've read, however, that they're looking into including IIS and company in later releases.
What will happen to the Internet as an industry when PC users find it's cheap to buy their own server, and want to host their own websites and webservices on their own machines?
Member since:2006-06-24
Member since:2007-04-11
Member since:2006-02-28
I was accepted into the beta program when they opened it up to testers and each version has gotten better. I've been really impressed with how it works and the ideas behind it.
I wouldn't be surprised if future versions (Windows Home Server 2010 or whatever) weren't as good, but they're really on the ball this time, if you ask me.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."
Member since:
2006-02-28
While remote access to files certainly is a feature of WHS, the -main- feature is its backup capabilities. Think of it more like FreeNAS ( www.freenas.org ), but a Microsoft release.
WHS automatically backs up your home computers, for one. It does so in a manner that does not use very much space on the Server itself -- I have 1 TB in my WHS and between 3 computers totaling ~1.5 TB of data, I use ~300 GB, I believe. Should any of these computers lose a drive, I can put a new drive in the system and recover it as if nothing had ever gone wrong.
WHS provides a centralized place to share files among your home computers. You can dump your wedding pictures on it and everyone at home can browse it, easily. You can turn on 'Folder Duplication' (on a per-share basis) so that should you lose a drive in the Server itself (assuming it has more than one), you don't lose your precious pictures or your 20 GB of smooth jazz music.
WHS gives you remote access to not just the files you share on it, but to your computers themselves (for those with OS' that support it -- XP Pro does, but not XP Home; Vista Business/Ultimate but not Home Premium). You just open up your WHS webpage and you can log in and have your full desktop. It's like VNC but uses MS' Remote Desktop instead.
WHS has a service by which you can acquire a DNS name. Similar to DynDNS or No-IP, WHS keeps your *.livenode.com address up to date with modem IP changes. It also automatically configures your router for all this, provided it supports uPNP.
WHS is NOT a webserver. It's a means to back up your computers with little to no human interaction. It's a way to store and share files and provides a means to access them remotely. It's not a new Windows release for end-users and it's not based on Vista. It's a highly modified Server 2003 release that is intended to be purchased pre-installed on hardware. It will be available for box-builders like you and I as an OEM release, but that isn't the commonly intended function.
Yes, these are all features that are available with other programs -- FreeNAS, VNC, Apache, etc. -- but it's bundled together in an easy-to-use fashion such that Real People with a 1 GHz, 256 MB RAM old doorstop laying around can set it up and use it.
From my own experiences with it, I can honestly say that WHS is probably the best Microsoft product released in a very, very long time.