Crave

(Credit: Acer)

Acer plans to unveil its first home server for the U.S. market on Thursday, called the Acer Aspire easyStore Home Server.

The server is intended for home use as well as small businesses that have a need for networking multiple PCs. The easyStore will run Microsoft Windows Home Server. It enables users to access files, including photos, videos, and documents on any other computer connected to the network, and creates an image-based backup of each PC daily.

The home sever is an 8x7x7 inch shiny black box, powered by Intel's Atom processor 230 and 2GB of DDR2 memory. There is a 1TB hard drive as well as three bays for swappable hard drives. Together, the easyStore can hold up to 7TB of data. There are also five USB ports, one eSATA port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The total price is $399.

Acer follows HP into the consumer home server market. Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP recently refreshed its MediaSmart server, and Acer's server has very similar specifications, including running Windows Home Server.

(Credit: RipNAS)

RipNAS announced their latest network attached storage devices this week--the Statement series--in solid-state drive and hard-disk drive formats. The RipNAS Statement is purported as the first CD ripping NAS device to come equipped with the former.

Based on the Windows Home Server OS and housed in a silver aluminum casing (designed to eliminate noise pollution), the Statement is capable of CD ripping, media streaming, and networked storage on either the 500GB SSD configuration (2 x 250GB SSDs) or the 3TB HDD configuration (2 x 1.5TB HDDs). The entire case measures 10 x 43 x 38 cm and is powered by a dual-core Atom CPU, has 2GBs of memory, and 4 USB ports.

It looks like the UK will get first dibs on the RipNAS Statement SSD and HDD for now, but no pricing information has been announced, nor the date it will be available in the U.S.

Microsoft has largely succeeded in getting a PC into the home, but its effort to put a server there will be an uphill battle.

Bill Gates announced the product to much fanfare at last year's Consumer Electronics Show. However, even folks who are bullish on the concept, such as Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder, say it's destined to be a niche product for years to come.

In a soon-to-be-published research report, Gownder figures that home servers (not just those running Microsoft's home server product) will reach 4.5 million households by 2012. That's up from just 190,000 such servers last year.

"That's a pretty good growth rate," Gownder said, though he added that "it's still a niche product, at that point," with his forecast representing home servers in only about 3 percent of American homes five years from now.

Gownder said the rise in multiple-PC homes, the increase of broadband, and the fact that people now store their music and photos on computers creates the necessary conditions for a home server to be practical. "We really are at a point in history where a home server might actually make sense," Gownder said.

But, he said, it's still a tough sell. Most people don't know what a server is. And even those who do have an understanding of servers from work may not have such a favorable impression. "They know that it goes down sometimes," Gownder said. "They know that it causes problems for them."

The one thing that could speed up the slow path to the mainstream, Gownder said, is if a cable company or other TV provider chose to deploy home servers as part of their service.

That concept is not so far-fetched, he said, given the fact that providers are having a tough time keeping up with on-demand TV requirements as content shifts to high definition. Such an approach could lead to growth 10 times what Gownder has forecast.

Microsoft has its own challenges with its Windows Home Server software. The company has struggled to get it into products and onto retail shelves. Hewlett-Packard delayed its shipment until late last year, and few other big-name computer makers have followed with products of their own.

The biggest recent news was negative, with the company announcing a bad bug that could lead to file corruption and data loss. Not exactly the kind of news that makes Middle America want to rush out and buy one.

Microsoft's Steven VanRoekel said the product's sales have exceeded the company's expectations, though he declined to give specific numbers.

"It's definitely tens of thousands," VanRoekel said, "which in a month and a half is good."

One area that Microsoft may look at to boost the popularity of the Home Server is having the software work better in households that have both Macs and Windows PCs.

"That's something we are taking a close look at," VanRoekel said, though he added that Microsoft has "nothing to announce."

(Credit: CNET)

We fell in love with HP's MediaSmart Server this past fall. You can imagine then, that we're glad to learn about HP adding even more features to its poster child for Microsoft's Windows Home Server, the software at the heart of HP's MediaSmart Server hardware. The three updates will bring server-side McAfee antivirus protection, Windows Vista 64-bit support, and improved data handling for things like quicker photo thumbnails and the ability to stream video. Even better, these updates are all free and will come to current MediaSmart Server owners this February via download.

HP's MediaSmart Server has been pushed back.

(Credit: CNET)

When last we left Microsoft's Windows Home Server software, it was off to manufacturing and we expected to see WHS-equipped hardware show up at our doorstep shortly thereafter. After a post on Microsoft's official Home Server blog, we get the company line as to why we haven't seen HP's MediaSmart Server yet. As follows:

"We've identified a number of ways to make the product even better since the initial release. As with most Microsoft products, updates to Windows Home Server will be automatically available throughout the lifecycle of the product, and the WHS team is working on an update that will be available in September. These updates will enhance the usability and improve the out-of-the-box experience of home server solutions. Additional updates will occur over the lifespan of the product as we receive feedback from the user community, our hardware partners, and software partners. Microsoft's current plan is to make this update available as part of the monthly Windows Updates process in September.

HP has decided to include these first software updates in their MediaSmart Server. Both HP and Microsoft believe that these updates are in the best interest of potential customers and will ensure the best out-of-the-box experience. All of our Windows Home Server partners and customers will automatically receive the update once posted to Windows Update."

Will Velocity Micro brings its Home Server to market first?

(Credit: Velocity Micro)

The post doesn't mention the other Windows Home Server hardware partners, like Medion, Gateway, La Cie, and Velocity Micro. I assume they're all now weighing whether it's worth coming first to market against possible fallout from shipping with enough known issues to slow down a competitor. Any want to enlighten us as to the specific issues? Our experiences with a few WHS betas were fine, but then we didn't qualify our test bed to move 100,000 units.

At least from the left, Velocity Micro's new Home Server product looks sharp.

(Credit: Velocity Micro)

We don't know its name, what it will cost, or even what its right side looks like, but you can add Velocity Micro's new mystery product to the list of others coming out this fall with Microsoft's newly finished Windows Home Server software. According to Velocity Micro, its Home Server will come in several different configurations, but across all of them it will feature a Conroe-based CPU and a high-end chipset. The idea is to limit bandwidth bottlenecks and account for future third-party software add-ons that may demand more than the basic system requirements of Windows Home Server itself. It will also be selling an expansion module with the goal of making it easy to add extra hard drives.

Velocity also told us that the feet come off, which will let you orient its new product either vertically or horizontally. That looks like a more flexible approach than HP's boxier MediaSmart server, although aesthetics probably matter less with these systems. They don't need a mouse or a keyboard, or even a monitor, so you might as well store it in a closet.

We don't have pricing yet from any of the Home Server hardware makers, Velocity's Chris Morley informed us that his product will likely be less than $1,000, and probably by a fair amount. He also answered with a noncommittal "no comment" when we asked whether it would be selling in Best Buy or Circuit City in addition to its Web site. He also wouldn't tell us exactly when the product is coming out, only that it will be available in time for Windows Home Server's official launch, expected roughly this fall.

Right on schedule, Microsoft announced that its Windows Home Server software is off to the presses. This clears the way for HP, Gateway, LaCie, Medion, and now Iomega and Fujitsu Siemens, (both also announced today, the latter in Europe only) to begin selling their Home Server-powered hardware later this quarter.

HP's Windows Home Server-equipped MediaSmart Server

(Credit: HP)

If you're unfamiliar, Windows Home Server is Microsoft's attempt to solve the growing problem of fragmented media collections. Through , you can organize and manage access to your media files (or any other kind of data) from one centralized location, rather than having to look through multiple PCs for your various photos, music files, and videos. Windows Home Server even has a Web-based client that will give you full read and write capability from any PC connected to the Internet.

Under Microsoft's current plan, it won't be selling Windows Home Server as a standalone software product. Instead, you need to purchase a full-blown server from one of Microsoft's previously mentioned hardware partners. The good news is that the hardware requirements for Windows Home Server are relatively modest. All you really need is a hard drive and the basic guts of a PC. The servers don't even need mice or keyboards. Unless you really load up on hard drive storage, we don't expect prices of the Home Server-equipped hardware to jump beyond that of a basic home desktop.

You can check out our slide show, posted last week, for a rundown of the main features of Windows Home Server. We don't want to award anyone before the final product is out, but we'll say that we came out of the closed beta very impressed. We suspect it will take a while for the non-tech-savvy to really grasp the benefits of Home Server, but thankfully, this week Microsoft threw the doors open to the general public to download and check out its newest Home Server release candidate.

Don't be scared, setting up Windows Home Server is simple.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Go here for the download. You'll of course need a dedicated PC to install it on as well. The activation period is only good for 30 days, so it's not a long-term free trial. We also learned that the release candidate will be only be available to download for a brief period, as Microsoft is apparently very close to sending the final code to off for manufacture. If you're curious about what Home Server has to offer and want to try it before it's out, now's the time.

We look at cool, modern Transformers toys; a GPS device that does so much, it required four CNET editors to test it; a preview build of Microsoft's Windows Home Server; and two slim phones comprise this photo roundup.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Photos: Transformers
Transformers hits the big screen this July 4, and that means there's a whole lot of merchandising going on. Among the hordes of Transformers toys is Hasbro's Real Gear Transformers, a series of toy electronics that turn into robots. Remember Soundwave, the Transformer that became a tape deck? Well, this is the next generation of Transformers. And as a bonus, we've picked out which real electronics these toys remind us of the most.

Photos: Eclipse AVN2210p

(Credit: CNET Networks)

It took four members of the CNET Reviews team to tackle this device. An in-car GPS device and CD receiver, the AVN2210p can also be used as an iPod interface, a Bluetooth hands-free calling system, and a portable GPS device. Check out the photos of the Eclipse AVN2210p.

Photos: Windows Home Server preview

(Credit: CNET Networks)

We've spent the past few weeks playing with a preview build of Microsoft's Windows Home Server. The idea is to give anyone with a home network a robust but easy-to-use means to back up, organize, and access their data, especially media files. What we've seen so far looks like a hit. We imagine early adopters will be all over Home Server when it's released this fall. Have a peek at the photos of Windows Home Server.

Photos: Pantech DM-P205

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The Pantech DM-P205 brings the thin-phone concept to Disney Mobile. Its unique features are attractive to both parents and kids, so it actually looks like a real cell phone, and parents can control how the phone is used while kids still get Bluetooth and a camera. Learn all about the Pantech DM-P205.

Photos: Samsung Wafer (SCH-R510)

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The Samsung Wafer brings a familiar thin-phone design to Alltel. Lacking a unique front view, when you turn the phone to the side, you can see it's superslim. The Wafer offers respectable features, including a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 player, an expandable memory slot, and stereo Bluetooth. See the Wafer's trim profile in our slide show.