Windows Home Server is Toast
I have been using the Windows Home Server at home for a few months now and I love it. The reason I love it is because it's just like making toast. What I mean is that when you wake up in the morning and go downstairs to make breakfast, you put the bread in the toaster and push the slider down. That's it. Brilliantly simple. I just want to make toast and the toaster does that one thing perfectly every time. Oh sure I could get the toaster oven which makes toast and bagels and sandwiches and whatever else but that is just too much when all I want is toast. Windows Home Server has been a just making toast experience for me. I installed the software one afternoon after a couple of simple questions like the name of my server and password. After that I haven't touched it. It just sits on the top shelf and runs. No rebooting, no messing with settings, nothing it just works, just like my toaster.
If you are not familiar with Windows Home Server, it is a new Server SKU that allows you to store files on a central server for your home. What is great is the way the files and drives are handled. You just add a bunch of random hard drives and they all appear as one logical space. You don't need to think about running out of space on the X: drive. You just have space and if it gets low, throw another drive in and now you have more space. The server deals with the magic of how this happens. Also the drives don't need to be the same size or type. So you can buy just enough space now and as drive prices fall you can buy more space later. What happens when you run out of room in the case? No problem you can also attach external USB drives and they just get added to the pool of available space. And if a drive fails just stick in a new one and the server makes sure that no data is lost. The server will also backup your home computers as well and intelligently store the files. You can browse the backups and go back in time and recover individual files from a particular backup. You can also access the server from the Internet to get your files or Terminal Serve in to your home machines from the road.
Here is a great ad for Windows Home Server with Billg.