Windows Home Server (WHS)

If you’re like me you’ve been interested in the possibility of the Windows Home Server sitting in your house and you know, servin’ stuff, since it was first mentioned on this site awhile back.

Debra Shinder at WXPNews has some great information about the features and possibilities in her recent WXPNewsletter.

The Windows Home Server also automatically backs up not just everything on the server, but files on all the other PCs on the home network, too. There’s a full PC image of each computer so that if any computer has to be restored, it’s easy to do. And WHS monitors security related settings on all the PCs so that you can know whether all the computers have their anti-virus software turned on, for example.

One great use for a home server is to share media files such as music and recorded TV programs. And it’s not just other computers that can access these files on WHS. Media Center PCs and Xbox 360s can also play songs and shows from the server. And if you’re at the office or out there on the road, you can access the information on WHS remotely over the Internet.

I can’t wait till this is available to the public. I believe this will be a threshold that the personal computing space has been waiting to cross for years. I believe it will lead to even more widespread integration and use of computers in our homes. Imagine the potential options for hooking functionality and 3rd party applications on through the WHS platform.