Convergence, Like It or Not
As someone who predates home theater, I tend to like my visuals to follow the lead of the audio. By that, I mean in my house, audio is king, and theater is the crown prince. When reviewing, or deciding upon a piece of equipment, audio qualities come first, and video while important is secondary.
I am aware of the fact that for many, audio is simply a way to complete the visual experience, and for those people, the bombastic qualities of a reproducer of sound are what is most important. For these people, another factor is ultimate convenience.
This is why the media edition of Microsoft Windows XP was made, and why media center PCs are available. The ability to have such ease of control over content is truly appealing.
Microsoft, in case you have not heard, is trying to further help the home theater or music addict get their ‘fix’ with the Windows Home Server product. This is designed to be a central repository of content, and information storage, for the entire household. The idea of a streaming media server may be anathema to the purists among us [I am one, but see the other side, too] but it certainly makes sense in monetary terms, and for a busy family, the safety of centralized backup is mandatory.
The folks at Microsoft announced yesterday, that the product cycle was nearly complete, as they released the code to manufacturing. This move to RTM means that in about 90 days, possibly a bit less, the public will start seeing the appearance of the newest Microsoft home device, the Windows Media and Data Server.
I have been busy with other projects, but downloaded the ISO of the product during the beta test, and I’m waiting the FedEx man’s arrival today, as he holds my new motherboard, which will see Home Server Beta 2 as soon as possible. I will be doing this as a family project, mostly at the insistence of my children, who are dragging me into the ‘land of convergence’.
Stay tuned.
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