Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

Be sure to register in our forums and post your comments - we want to hear from you!


Zune Thoughts

Loading feed...

Apple Thoughts

Loading feed...

Laptop Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "mediasmart"


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

No Drive Extender? No HP MediaSmart!

Posted by Hooch Tan in "Digital Home News" @ 12:30 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/...s-wont-be-hitt/

"More bad news for fans of little Windows servers for home. HP, makers of the MediaSmart boxes that defined the first release of Windows Home Server, has confirmed that it is canceling plans to support the next major release of the OS, codenamed Vail."

I can hardly say that I am surprised that HP is pulling out of the Windows Home Server market. Whether the removal of Drive Extender support in Vail is a good move or not, the negative buzz across the Internet makes it seem like no one is going to buy a server based on Vail. I do admit that Microsoft's decision has affected me and am already looking at alternatives to Windows Home Server and Drive Extender for my next NAS solution. Maybe Microsoft is right and with multi-terrabyte drives, drive pooling is not really needed anymore by the average home user. What I can see is that Vail no longer looks like a step above other NAS solutions and if my own needs were meager enough, cloud computing would even be enough.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

HP Makes Sure You Got Served

Posted by Hooch Tan in "Digital Home News" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.mediasmarthome.com/artic...ands-On-Review/

"It hasn't all been teddy bears and fluffy bunnies. HP's focus on simplifying the MediaSmart Server has left enthusiasts, like me and others who read in-depth reviews of Home Servers, wanting more power, flexibility, and control over features like the Video Converter and Media Collector... without resorting to registry edits and other complex hacks. Is it even possible to give power users the features they want without overwhelming the everyday user?"

It seems it was just the other day that I was talking about the release of the HP MediaSmart EX-485 and EX-487 servers and here HP has pulled a trick from the video card industry and announced the EX-490 and EX-495 less than a year after the release of their previous generation. Maybe sales are disappointing and they feel they have to "upgrade" things to get more attention. At least the upgrades seem substantial for the premium server. HP has changed up their hardware for the MediaSmart servers with every generation, and now they're creeping into dual-core territory. It would not surprise me if in a few months, they announce a quad-core server! Still, the focus of their upgrade, and rightfully so, is the software, which seems to be getting better with every iteration. It is almost enough to consider not doing home-brew. Still on the fence? Check out MediaSmartHome's review, which goes through a lot of detail of what a Windows Home Server can do!


Featured Product

The Canon PowerShot S100 - The incredibly fun and small camera that offers you 12.1 megapixels with a bright f/2.0 lens and full 1080p video recording . MORE INFO

News Tip or Feedback?

Contact us

Thoughts Media Sites

Windows Phone Thoughts

Digital Home Thoughts

Zune Thoughts

Apple Thoughts

Laptop Thoughts

Android Thoughts

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...