By Andy McCue, 8 January 2007 09:37
NEWS
Not content with his earlier goal for a PC on every desk and in every home, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates revealed plans for a Windows server for the home at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Sunday.
More than 40 million US households now have more than one PC and Gates said a server for the home is necessary to cope with the explosion in digital content created and stored by individuals and families.
Microsoft has been working with HP, which will release a MediaSmart Server running new Windows Home Server software in the second half of this year.
Windows HomeServer will be able to back up a family's photographs, music, videos and documents automatically and can be accessed remotely. Gates said there will be "no complexity" and that additional storage can just be plugged straight in.
He said: "You can get up to literally terabytes on this. We think it's a category that can explode in importance."In a somewhat low-key speech, with no major new announcements, surprises or guest appearances, Gates revealed next year will probably be his last CES keynote appearance when he steps down from his day job at Microsoft to pursue his philanthropic ambitions.
With the consumer launch of Windows Vista at the end of this month - the business Vista launched back in November - Gates also showed off a few new features in the operating system.
One of these, called Windows DreamScene, allows users with the premium version of Vista to set videos as the background wallpaper on their computer instead of the current static picture.
Microsoft is also aiming to extend its reach to in-car computing and announced a new partnership with Ford for a voice-activated system for drivers to control their mobile phones, iPods and MP3 players and to have new text messages read out. The system, called Sync, is based on the Microsoft Auto platform and will feature initially in around a dozen of Ford's new cars.
Gates also hailed the "digital decade" and predicted speech- and touch-activated devices will be the next big things over the coming five years in an increasingly connected world.
He said: "The idea of connected experiences can go way beyond what we have got this year."
Comments
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1. Nicholas Azazel
Being a neo-luddite I must say the whole idea of home based servers storing all your photos, music and countless other pieces of personal material fills me with dread. This fear is doubled when the prospect of remote access is added. There are three reasons for this:
1) What happens if there is a massive power cut either deliberate or due to natural forces?
2) Aren't we moving yet another step closer to Orwells "Telescreens" as described in 1984?
3) No doubt the whole system will be closed and run by Micro$oft who will then even more control on your daily lives than it does already.
2. D Fletcher
That will do wonders for carbon emissions reduction. Not. Millions and millions of additional PCs humming away 24/7. Presumably they will need to be power hungry beasts too, in order to run the bloatware.
Actually, I'm designing my own home server, intended to run 24/7 to collect and sort email, serve the printer and provide backup storage. The difference here is that it will be based on a fanless mini ITX board to cut power consumption to the absolute minimum. I'm hoping it will only consume about as much power as a couple of low energy light bulbs but that depends mainly on the hard drive(s). And it will run the free Kubuntu Server software, with the Boinc client installed so that it can run work units for SETI, World Community Grid etc. when it's not working for me.
What I'm saying is there's nothing wrong with having a server at home, but please people of the world don't go adding gigawatts of additional electricity consumption for machines that will spend much of their time doing absolutely nothing useful.
3. Richard Barrington
It's the environment stupid!
What planet is Bill on? It's bad enough that globally Vista will 'force' 250 million PC's to be scrapped, without continuing on the hardware everywhere road to perdition.
Pull all of the complexity back onto the network, share services and resources and the world could be connected within todays IT environmental footprint.
4. Dick Winchester
Gates is behind the times. I've had a "home server" for ages. I bought one of these http://www.ecobyte.co.uk/NASD4SX.htm and it works like a dream. It stores all my data, photos, videos, music etc and is accessible by PCs/Laptops over a wired and wireless LAN. I also use a free backup software package that will run happily with XP home or anything else.
5. anonymous
What do i actually need a server at home for. My ISP hosts my e-mail for me including several mail boxes, My PC has more than enough storage on it for my needs. If i actually wanted to i could even set up raid on the PC to protect files. I regualrly back up onto an external Hard disk so if the PC gets stolen or hdd fails i have a copy of data, my laptop is networked to my PC so i can access files and printers without any problem.
Just more ways of making us spend money we don't need to.
I have enough fun with servers at work, dont want the hassle at home. Just imagine the calls i would get from friends and family that are PC ludites to fix their servers, get enough of these with pc problems.
6. Simon
I too have had a server at home for years - but of course, by not running Windoze it's both reliable (up over 6 months at the moment and then it was only turned off for a power cut) and efficient (I bet Windoze home server bloatware won't run on a 500MHz Celeron with 284M ram !). As well as storing some of my files, handling all the families email, etc, it also gives me secure encrypted remote access to my home network.
Of course we know the real reason such a product appeals to Microsoft don't we ? It's another oppportunity to sell the first hit cheap and get the punters hooked into their overpriced, bloated, buggy, crap - and using their famous proprietry 'open standards' they'll use the opportunity to make sure that no other products will work easily with it.
Sad thing is, enough punters will fall for the marketing bull to make it work out for MS.
7. anonymous
I have to agree. IT Execs and marketing people make up these "wet dreams" for themsleves in their HQ dark rooms. PCs will suck up more and more unecessary power.
8. zakala
Do you think that M$ has realised that they've hit OS saturation point?
Most, even reasonably spec'd, modern PCs have more storage and processing power than the average user actually needs. This is just "market creation" - we'll convince you that you need one and then sell it to you.
9. Dev Null
A Windblows Server in the home ? Most homes don't have enough desktops or laptops to warrant a "server". Besides, those homes that do have two or more Windoze PCs simply utilise one of them as the server. What exactly will this new server provide that desktop Windoze doesn't already feature ?
It won't sell.
10. Guy Harris
I think MS are well behind the times most people either are already sharing files etc with PC's at home.
The key for the future is to link the PC to the television (LCD / Panel) and Sky Systems and then that becomes more interesting - but it is nothing new
Shame they are lacking vision