Why You'll Want Your Own Home Server

Lost amid all the excitement over the Apple iPhone and Apple TV, Microsoft previewed its own piece of technology awesomeness, Windows Home Server. The idea is to make operating a server user-friendly enough to appeal to casual computer users. Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows explains why this is such a big step forward:

When you think about the market for a home server-type product, you obviously need to consider how many people there are out there who would want and could take advantage of such a product. According to Microsoft, the market for WHS is quite big: There are over 40 million people worldwide that have broadband access and 2 or more PCs at home. They've got important data stored on those PCs, including digital memories (photos and videos), work and personal documents, financial data, and more.

The problem, of course, is that as more and more people use PCs to store their important data, the user base, overall, gets less and less technical, and the needs of the market migrate down to the mainstream. For this reason, WHS needs to serve the needs of average users as well as more advanced users (you guys). What Microsoft expects is that most of the people who acquire the first version of WHS will be enthusiasts. But they'll be so excited about the product that they'll evangelize it to others. And the product needs to work for these people.