WHS – One guys insight into the future
Over at CNET, a guy by the name of Greg Hoza posted this under a thread for 2008 predictions on their forums:
I predict that (qualifying): For families with more than 2 computers in the home that the WINDOWS HOME SERVER will become as common as the IPod. I say this in light of the advent of digital multimedia HD televisions and A/V components that accommodate media streaming from a Network Attached Storage (NAT) or shared computer hard drive. Coupled with the desire to protect important data (like photos, home videos, financial records, etc.) as well as the complete contents of a hard drive on a client computer, the Windows Home Server will become an integral component in a home based computer system. With analogue television broadcasting soon to go off the air and the need to replace millions of A/V components with digitally based software and hardware electronics, the home computer/AV systems will be redesigned to incorporate digital media streaming and storage. Safeguarding that digital content will become paramount. And finally, ancillary add-ins to the Windows Home Server concept will grow to include automated home security (remote monitoring, video surveillance, etc.) as well as simple automated tasks that homeowners will come to depend on (like turning on and off lights, monitoring door locks, energy use – thermostat, and other growing automated home and green industries).
I say all this because we have no longer (sadly I admit) the family environment of the Walton’s, with personal family interaction at the forefront, but have become a fragmented, time-budgeted, efficiency conscious, and somewhat narcissistic society. Notwithstanding our present cultural habits, technology like the Windows Home Server and other novel technologies can either become a reinforcing agent for either kind of lifestyle depending on how it is used. For me the Windows Home Server gets me away from the computer (and computer maintenance utilities) and back in the family room to enjoy a family home movie played from my Windows Home Server of choice, the HP MediaSmart Server. Goodnight Aaron, goodnight John Boy.
Share this WHS Article with Others:
