Windows Home Server – A Solid 9 out of 10

Website "Major Arcana" is about the rantings of 2 anime tech geeks who this week take a look at Windows Home Server and the Acer Aspire Easy­s­tore H340.

The guys give Home Server a solid 9 out of 10 and point out the products good points as well as its bad ones too, which you can read about here.

homeserver.com Domain Hiccup

On Tuesday (10th Nov 09) Windows Home Server users were receiving the following error in their Home Network Health tab within the Console:

Windows Home Server was unable to update Windows Live Custom Domains with your current IP address. Your web site may not be available on the Internet.

This was due to a problem with the Windows Live Custom Domain service, a spokesperson for Microsoft had this to say:

Today the Live DNS service had a hiccup that prevented updates for records on the .homeserver.com domain name.  Thus if your WAN IP address changed on your router, the home server was unable to update this record, and remote access was not available.  This may have been accompanied with an alert from the home server.  If your WAN address did not change during the last 24 hours, remote access was unaffected.

The issue is now resolved and the Live DNS service is now 100% functional again.

Add-In: My Movies for Windows Home Server 1.50 Build 9

My Movies for Windows Home Server has been updated to version 1.50 Build 9 to fix a problem with the playback of images.

My Movies for WHS MyMusic Settings

My Movies for Windows Home Server allows you to create a copy of your DVD/CD collection onto your Home Server.

More details are available from here.

Should a Small Business Choose Foundation Server or WHS

With Windows Home Server being used more in the SOHO space, journalist Mary-Jo Foley asks:

So which should a small business user choose: Foundation or WHS?

Although Foundation Server does allow up to 15 users, it is not a “media” server as Windows Home Server is. So I know what I shall be choosing!

You can read Mary-Jo’s report here.

Backup Strategy – From a Panic Model to WHS

Microsoft employee Raymond Chen gives his experiences of Windows Home Server. From going from a "wait until it breaks, and then panic" model to an Acer Aspire EasyStore H340, Raymond now randomly selects a file from a backup just to make sure the backups are working – Which of course they are.

Unlimited Free Local and Long Distance Phone Calls from WHS

HomeServerLand have a tutorial on how to setup a magicJack on Windows Home Server.

magicjack

magicJack is a little USB device which allows you to make unlimited free local and long distance phone calls within the US and Canada, and allows you to choose your own phone number and provides call waiting, voice mail and caller ID.

The tutorial goes through the magic behind the device and why magicJack your Windows Home Server in the first place. The tutorial along with troubleshooting tips is available here.

CrunchGear Review the EX495 and Give One Away Too

Website CruchGear have a review of the EX495 MediaSmart Server from HP.

HP EX495 CrunchGear Review

HP sure knows how to make a Windows Home Server. The company has been at it for years now and the latest model does just about everything better than the previous models. That’s how it’s suppose to be.

The pros and the cons are also highlighted but best of all CruchGear are also giving you the opportunity of winning a brand new EX495.

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 63

home_server_show_small

This weeks episode of The Home Server Show podcast has a HTPC flavor to it. Speaking about HTPC, Media Center, My Movies and Media Browser as well as Windows Home Server, you can catch episode 63 here.

Best Practices for Sharing Media on a Home Network

TwonkyMedia have put together a list of best practices for anyone wanting to share media over a home network.

The list includes network-related tips, server & storage suggestions (including Windows Home Server), digital media adapter suggestions and media related tips which are handy for any Windows Home Server user.

So head over here to have a browse.

Five Great Add-Ins According to Lifehacker

Website lifehacker list Five Great Add-Ins to Power Up Your Windows Home Server Console.

lifehacker list their favorites, which are:

  • Windows Home Server Disk Management
  • AutoExit for WindowsHomeServer
  • Remote Notification
  • LightsOut
  • Grid Junction

You can read more about them and also watch some short related videos here.