Retailers prepare Windows Home Server systems

Windows Home Server recently went RTM, which means it won't be long before we see it on shelves as part of retailer lineup. Some vendors are already releasing details on what they plan to offer, such as Velocity Micro.

They recently released some details on a complete system they plan to feature WHS on, aiming at the living room to fill a variety of rolls. Coupled with an Intel processor and chipset in the Bearlake family, they claim it will be a quiet running machine – though all hardware aside, the real interesting point here is the inclusion of WHS.

Windows Home Server may have only a very small niche market at the moment, if it has one at all. However, particularly for enthusiasts who are looking more for all-in-one solutions, vendors like Velocity might actually do well in catering to them with WHS machines.

Of course, it all boils down to responsibility – how many people will be snagging WHS machines because they sound cool, rather than because they have a use for its features. With so many more homes having multiple PCs, the need for grouped maintenance, backups, file sharing, administration and all sorts of other things come into play. But is there truly a need for it? Will it offer that much more over a NAS?

Come October, we'll find out. Vista is standing out quickly as the one edition of Windows with the most iterations. WHS is yet another to add to the list.