A new type of computer just launched for the home user that won't replace what you have now, but rather, will sit right next to what you have now.
It's Microsoft's Windows Home Server and it's a giant hard drive to store your growing collection of digital files: pictures, music, videos, documents, but since it connects to your home network, all the computers in your home use it for storage, that way all the computer users in your home have just one place to go for everything and, you don't even have to be at home to access it.
"Part of what comes with it is you get an account with Windows Live, our online service, and that will setup a website for you that you can access from anywhere there's an internet connection, log in to your machine, so if you actually want to log in and get a file you left at home while on the road or go get those videos or those photos, you can just stream them over the internet," Peter Laudati of Microsoft said.
Microsoft is not the first company to develop a network server in this form factor, but what industry insiders say they are doing first, is creating a network server that's very easy for the everyday consumer to figure out how to use.
"This Netgear box, for example, is pretty easy, but it's meant for a guy like me or small business guy," Oliver Rist of PC Magazine said. "My mom could actually walk through Home Server and set everything up. It's all Wizard based, you know, next, click, put in the value, very nice. For example, the across-the-internet stuff, any internet PC – even your PC at work – you can log into your home server, so you can share files and things like that. On a box like the Netgear, you have to understand what an FTP server is, what a dynamic DNS is, all these little acronyms."
But the difficulty for Microsoft and the hardware manufacturers of these home servers is getting across to computer users why these make sense. After all, a 500GB version of HP's MediaSmart Server costs about $600. You can get a standard 1TB external hard drive – twice the storage – for about half the price.
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Storage device
Multiple hard drives make up the new Microsoft Windows Home Server.
 
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"It's a little bit expensive for what some people might see as a dedicated backup box, but it really does a little bit more than that, so I really think that's the challenge for Microsoft: getting people to realize there is more to this product than just backing up your data," Rich Brown of CNet.com said.
Several hardware manufacturers in addition to HP have or are about to unveil Microsoft Home Servers.
Microsoft also says there are already more than 35 third party applications available, all designed to further protect the server and give it more functionality.
