Good news...the Spanish, French and German language versions of Windows Home Server have been released to manufacturing! This means RTM of Home Server is now truly complete, setting the stage for availability in various countries around the world, in addition to North America. We hope to support additional languages and markets with future versions.
Also - good story in a recent "Technobuddy" column in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution about Home Server as the future of home computing: "Servers will be the next big thing in home computing...Microsoft has recognized that future with its new home server software."
Good weekend,
J
Windows Home Server was a secret for a long time. We had over 1,000 internal testers at Microsoft prior to announcing the product at CES 2007, some of these people used the product for over a year without leaking anything about it. I remember the early days when employees asked us - "What do I tell my family? How do I explain this to them without divulging Microsoft confidential information?"
Today and tomorrow, the Windows Home Server team has a booth at the internal Microsoft company fair. Like our booth at CES, we are busy. The benefits are easy to understand, the simplicity is refreshing and the interest in un-ending. It is amazing how many people within Microsoft know so little about Windows Home Server. Yet, once they understand the product, its value, and see a demo, they are sold with the obvious next set of questions .... how much will it cost and when is it available?
The product is winding its way through the manufacturing process and will soon hit the store shelves. It is a better product due to the 1,000 Microsoft employees that gave us feedback for over a year prior to our public unveiling. And it is even better due to the feedback from the 100,000+ beta testers!!
t.
So says Jupiter research director Michael Gartenberg of Home Server in Joe Wilcox's Microsoft Watch column, one of many, many articles about RTM this week. Wilcox, a former analyst himself, gives props to the Home Server team (and others) at MS for a rapid, focused development cycle. I always like to see us picked up by Wired, too, which says it will be doing a hands on review soon.
The fun-to-pronounce Ars Technica did a write-up on the growing list of add-ins today, inspired by We Got Served. And as Terry at WGS say, new Windows Home Server hardware is coming out of the woodwork "thick and fast now," with both Velocity Micro and Tranquil revealing plans for cool boxes. I still want to see a wood cabinet design, reminscent of my grandad's old TV. Consumer electronics-as-furniture always have a place in my heart, for some reason.