Thanks to Paul Scott who sent us the link to an article about running both Linux and Windows Home Server on a HP MediaSmart Server.
The guide goes through the 14 steps necessary to accomplice this using a free copy of Microsoft Virtual Server and a Linux distribution of your choice.
Software Architect Eric Charran had an eHome vision for his household. His goal was to access music, photos, videos, movies and TV shows (both live or recorded) from any TV or computer in the house and stop relying on physical media. For example, he no longer had to walk upstairs to get a DVD that he was watching in the bedroom to bring downstairs. Because its on shared hard disk storage, he can now access it from any media center (or extender) in the house.
He also wanted his eHome to have the spousal acceptance factor. It had to operate easily, intuitively and efficiently and his setup would also need a safety net using cloud concepts where critical data would be backed up “in the cloud”.
Using a copy of Windows Home Server, the KeepVault online backup add-in and copies of Vista SP1 Charran’s eHome is now complete.
The full story including details on how to make a DVD Library available from any computer are available in the post Architecture of the Charran eHome.
One guy is throwing a few components together and building a Windows Home Server into a wooden cabinet. A beautiful symphony of woodworking and computing all in one project. The details and part list are available in part 1 Building a Windows Home Server – Craftsman Style.
As you may have noticed (and if not..tutt, tutt) We Got Served vanished from our web browsers from Thursday after being intermittent from the evening before. This was due to a lot of people hitting the site at the same time, owner Terry Walsh told us and added that he pulled down the shared server and is in the process of rebuilding the server on a new host. Terry says hi! to you all and says that the site should be backup over the weekend.
Microsoft’s code man Brendan Grant tells us that badly coded add-ins should not break the console no more. How? By some clever code being added to Power Pack 1 that watches out for tabs which take too long or throw exceptions on load.
If either of these occur the Console will stop trying to load it and on the next load of the Console offer the user the choice if they want to continue to try to use it.
Read the full story here.
On June 25th there will be an informative webcast on how to extend the functionality of Windows Home Server. Hosted by Allen Buckner, Senior Product Management at HP and Terry Walsh of We Got Served. The live demonstration will show why the HP MediaSmart Server is the ultimate solution for:
Windows Home Server add-ins will be highlighted and representatives from Microsoft will also be on-hand to respond directly to audience questions related to the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 software upgrade.
The 60 minute webcast will begin at 10.00AM Pacific Time (see here for other time zones) . You may register for free at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9045040.
In episode 160 of The Media Center Show Podcast host Ian Dixon chats to Terry Walsh about the Release Candidate of Power Pack 1 over in Berlin at HP’s Connecting Your World event.
You can listen or download the podcast from here.
Author Charlie Russel over on The unofficial x64 FAQ says that Power Pack 1 (PP1) just ROCKS! Charlie also states that the restore facility just works as it should. Over to him:
I’m completely convinced – this is the single best ordinary user PC backup I’ve ever seen. And I’ve written dozens of chapters on backups in our various books, and used many, many different programs to do backups. None have been as easy, as space efficient, and as painless to restore with. I love it. If you never use WHS for anything else, buy it for the backup alone. But while you’ve got it, take advantage of all the other stuff as well. Make it your TiVo server. Store your family’s files, music and photos on it. Use it to connect to your computers at home when you’re on vacation (it uses the Remote Web Workplace technology from SBS, and we all know how well that works!)
In short? This is a winner.
Read the full article here.
Home Automation Inc (HAI) is a manufacturer on integrated automation and security products who will shortly be releasing WL3 for Windows Home Server. The add-in will allow you to monitor and control a HAI Home Control System from any device with a web browser including iPhone, iPod and a PDA.
WL3 will allow you to adjust your home’s lights, security settings or temperature as well as allowing you to view supported security cameras. Traffic and weather information from public cameras can also be viewed as well as the ability to add RSS feeds for custom data such as weather forecasts, sports scores, news and personal blogs.
By continuously monitoring your home. WL3 can inform you of events such as the alarm being disarmed or activated or a car entering the garage/driveway. WL3 for Windows Home Server can record video based on an event and/or send e-mails or text messages to inform you when an event has taken place. Recorded videos and snapshots are categorized and can be viewed anytime you log into WL3, locally or from over the Internet.
WL3 for Windows Home Server will be with us from July with more information being available from here.
The Release Candidate (RC) of F-Secure Home Server Security 2009 has just been released and includes the following:
Bug fixes:
For more information or to signup to the beta program, do so here. Release notes and an installation guide are also available.
