What do you get with PP3? Windows 7 Library support, better Windows Search, the ability to automatically transfer Windows Media Center recordings to the Home Server storage (off your recorder's hard drive) and various fixes.

These Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Windows Home Servers can back up to ten PCs and serve all the files you want. It has two 3.5-inch bays for up to 2 terabytes of storage space, with one Gigabit Ethernet port, and six USB 2.0 ports to add more storage or whatever you want. [Asus via Hot Hardware via Engadget]

What it still does

HP's Windows Home Servers are exceptional because they take the standard Home Server build and add a bunch of extras on top of it. For example, HP was the first one to introduce support for Apple's Time Machine, which has been improved here so that you can do a complete restore in the event that you have to start your Mac up from scratch.

They've also still got the media streaming (DLNA compliant), web/iPhone streaming and iTunes server built in, as well as a media collector that sucks in media from all your regular machines on the network into one place on the server. All of this stuff is just improved.

What it does even better now

The greatest group of improvements is how the EX495 now works with Macs. Time Machine functionality was there before, but ran into problems when your Mac went down and you tried to do a fresh restore directly off the network. Now you get a separate disc to use so you can treat the Time Machine backup on the server as a standard Time Machine backup for restores.

But the most important feature on a day-to-day basis is the fact that the Home Server console works natively on Macs—even though it's just a remote desktop connection to the server anyway. You can now do on your Mac all the management actions you could on the PC, like setup new users, update your Home Server, perform diagnostics or configure video conversions.

Then there is the added ability to do media collecting on Macs, basically sucking off any videos or music you've accumulated into one network-accessible place so other machines can access it. It beats having to remember to manually place those things on the server yourself.

Of course, Macs can also access the web interface for Home Server management just like PCs can.

More power, more storage and better processing

Shoving a Dual Core 2.5GHz or a 2.2GHz Celeron processor and 2GB of RAM on these machines might seem like overkill for something that's just used to hold stuff and stream it around the network, but HP puts that to good use.

In our tests, the EX495 was able to convert a DVD movie into a full resolution h.264 and a phone-streamable 300MB movie in about an hour and a half, give or take. Very useful for not sucking up your main machine's horsepower to convert videos when you can just vomit them onto the network and have it be done by a slave machine.

The improved processor is very noticeable from just using the remote console. Clicking around to set up the photo publisher, or the media server, or adding BitTorrent plugins were much faster than the previous generation EX485 and EX487 machines. It's not even comparable to the LX195 budget versions.

At $700 and $550 respectively, the MediaSmart Servers definitely aren't cheap. If you've got an older version, like the 485/487 series, the improvements probably won't be enough to warrant you spending so much for another machine that has similar functionality. If you're new to the Windows Home Server realm, this has pretty much everything a PC or a Mac user would want to hold their data, stream their media and backup their information. [HP EX495 and HP EX490]

And, even if you'd rather buy a pre-made box—built-in Time Machine support for Macs is a good reason to go with HP's, for instance—they've got some essential add-ins and performance tweaks to get the most out of your Home Server. [Maximum PC]

One of the most important additions is the ability to do "bare metal recovery" on a Mac from Time Machine. This means you can completely restore your Mac from the network backup using the disc recovery utility that's bundled in. Also upgraded is the ability to do administration on a Mac.

There is also an included video conversion feature, which handles unprotected DVDs, as well as increased power (the 490 has a 2.2GHz Celeron and the 495 has a 2.5GHz Dual Core Pentium) and a "better" user interface. The ability to stream media from your iPhone or iPod Touch via a free app is included as well. And, of course, you get the standard Windows Home Server functions that we love using on a daily basis.

Preorders start today, but there's no solid word on a ship date.

The $349 IdeaCentre Q110 has 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard disk, versus the $249 Q100's 1GB RAM and 160GB hard drive. Both use a lowly single-core Atom 230 processor, but I guess they are tiny systems, and Atom is a requirement for Ion.

Each also has Gigabit Ethernet, an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi dongle, and run either XP Home or Vista Premium. No keyboard or mouse is included.

Meanwhile, the IdeaCentre D400 will start at about $499, and support up to 8TB of storage over four hard drives. Specs include an Atom 230 single-core CPU, 1GB memory, Gigabit Ethernet, plus 1eSATA and 5 USB ports.

The company has had a bunch of new gear of late, including the IdeaCentre C100 All-in-One and IdeaCentre Q700 HTPC.

The picture above shows the D400 has four hot-swappable drive bays, and what little English there is on its Chinese site mentions 1 eSATA and 5 USB ports. We'll let you know when Lenovo coughs up U.S. pricing in the next week.

The company has had a bunch of new gear of late, including the IdeaCentre C100 All-in-One and IdeaCentre Q700 HTPC. [Lenovo (Twitter page) via Engadget]

The update includes support for full Windows 7 image backups, shared folders, Windows Search 4, and interactivity between WHS and Windows Media Center, such as video archival. Stability risks aside, definitely seems like a worthwhile upgrade for Win 7 RC users. [WHS Blog via Windows Team Blog via Engadget]

Brent Freidman lays out exactly how to get Time Machine backups to work with any Windows Home Server machine in a point-by-point method that's pretty easy, despite some Terminal tinkering to make it work—follow that here.

If you wanna use just a generic NAS, you can do that too. Personally, I followed this guide by Adam Cohen-Rose—though there are others—to get it going on a 4TB WD ShareSpace several months ago, though WD now has a much cheaper consumer version. It's a hack that also takes a little bit of work, but ditching the USB cable is totally worth it.

If you're in the market for a NAS (if you don't have one, you are, even if you don't know it yet) check out our guide to finding the perfect networked storage.

Definitely a good weekend project, so let us know how it goes or if you have any tips in our fancy new comments if make the the attempt. [CompuGeek via MS Windows Home Server]

The Price: $390

The Verdict: Quite good. If you weren't quite sure Windows Home Server was right for you, and you have a family with both Mac and PC machines, the LX195 is an easy way to experiment without paying the $600ish dowry to hitch yourself to a full-blown EX machine.

The Catch: Like the EX HP Home Servers, you can retrieve individual files off the Time Machine backup, but you can't use it to restore your machine at boot time. Which means if you don't have a spare Mac in the house to grab the files off the server and load it onto a USB drive from which you can do a restore, you'll have a more roundabout recovery process than you'd like.

The Point: The LX195 works just fine as a Home Server and a Time Machine target backup drive (its Gigabit Ethernet makes file transfers rather speedy), but lacks the extras the company just introduced to the EX485 and EX487 that allow users to stream and convert video to iPhones and PSPs. If all you want is the base functionality, this is definitely a fine choice. But at the same time, you have to look at Acer's $400 solution that does have four expandable drive bays. But Acer's might not have the iTunes server and media capabilities that HP does. [HP]

Relatively cheap, but maintains most of HP's Home Server functionality

Doesn't have the newer EX updates

No internal-expandable storage, only USB

New Acer® Aspire easyStore Home Server

Provides Access to Family's Digital Data From Anywhere in the World

Networks PCs, centralizes data and provides daily data back-ups for just $399

SAN JOSE, CALIF., May 21, 2009 – Acer, the third largest vendor in the PC market,(1) today announced the new Acer® Aspire easyStore Home Server for customers in the United States. Designed for households and home-based businesses with multiple PCs, Aspire easyStore offers a simple way to network home computers, centralize, share and protect digital data as well as access it remotely from anywhere in the world.

Outfitted with Microsoft® Windows® Home Server, the Aspire easyStore offers many benefits. For example, parents can access their children's homework while traveling for business. They can also upload videos and photos from sports events or summer vacations to the server, even while away from home. At any time, from anywhere, every family member with a PC in the home network can access photos, videos, music and other documents from the home server. This centralization of digital data saves significant time by eliminating the need to transfer data from one PC to another, every time someone wants a photo, video or other document that's stored on another PC. It's also a safeguard. If a netbook or notebook is damaged, lost or stolen, users don't lose their data along with it, since it's backed up at home. In addition, when a new system is added to the network, it's quick and easy to upload data from the computer to the server.

"The trend of multiple computer devices per household continues to grow, particularly with regard to mobility. A significant pain point for consumers is how to consolidate and protect their digital data that's spread among multiple devices," said Sumit Agnihotry, Vice President of Product Marketing for Acer America. "Aspire easyStore is the ideal solution for networking home PCs and providing round the clock data protection. Offering remote access to digital data at home from anywhere in the world and automatic daily back-ups, it's the perfect companion to netbooks and notebooks. It's an extremely practical and affordable way to simplify and manage one's personal digital life."

"It's great to have Acer as a valued partner for Microsoft's Windows Home Server in North America. Acer's solution gives consumers new options for purchasing Microsoft Windows Home Server. And Acer's reputation as a key contributor in the PC and consumer electronics field further demonstrates the industry's commitment to this growing product category," said Kevin Kean, General Manager, Windows Home and Small Business Server Group at Microsoft.

Small and Stylish Design, Significant Storage Capacity
Smaller than standard servers, the handsome black tower measures just 8.3-inches (H) x 7.8-inches (W) x 7.08-inches (L). HDD status LEDs emanate a soft blue light and complement the handsome black bezel. The power button is located on top for easy access and reach. One-touch USB copy enables quick file uploading. Users just plug in the USB device and push the button. The data is automatically sorted and stored by file type into designated folders.

Outfitted with an Intel® Atom™ processor 230 and 2GB DDR2 memory, the Aspire easyStore AH340-UA230N Home Server has the guts to organize and back-up files quickly. The 1TB hard drive and three hot-swappable hard drive bays available for storage expansion provide enough room for filing, storing and backing-up a vast library of songs, videos, photos, games and documents.

The hot swappable HDD cage enables users to increase their data storage, by adding up to three 3.5-inch internal hard drives, which means it offers up to about 7 TB of total data storage. The cage is outfitted with release levers for each drive to keep them secure. In addition, a recovery/reset pinhole provides additional data protection by enabling system restores and data recoveries with just one-touch.

The server works with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) 1.5 Certified Home Server (DMS) and digital media player (DMP) to enable music playback as well as photo and video viewing on a TV. For internet security, Aspire easyStore comes with a six-month free trial of McAfee Total Protection Service.

Windows® Home Server Simplifies Home Computing, Enables Remote Access

Microsoft® Windows® Home Server centralizes digital media in one location, making it easy to access files, photos, videos and music from any PC on the network. It also protects critical data by creating an image-based backup of every home computer every day, so users can restore a single file or an entire PC. With Windows Home Server, users can access the home network from the office or the road, for full access to their files and applications, just as if they were sitting in front of their home PC.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability
The Acer® Aspire easyStore AH340-UA230N Home Server is available in the U.S. via leading online technology retailers and authorized resellers.

Acer® Aspire easyStore AH340-UA230N Home Server: Available now for a MSRP of $399.99

* Intel® Atom™ Processor 230 (1.6GHz)
* Microsoft® Windows® Home Server
* 2GB DDR2 Memory
* 1TB Hard Drive (2)
* Three Empty Hot Swappable Hard Drive Bays
* Five USB 2.0 Ports
* One eSATA Port
* 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
* 200 Watt Power Supply
* RJ-45 LAN Port

[

[Acer]

Inside is 640GB of storage, expandable with its four rear USB ports. Like the rumors said, there are no internal hard drive slots, but there is Gigabit Ethernet. The internals are also less powerful compared to HP's higher-end EX487 machines, but is enough to run everything the bigger ones could before the recent update.

The question is, is $390 low enough to get people to jump on the Windows Home Server train? We think it is. It's not quite as cheap as to be throwaway moneyyou can buy a decent netbook for $390but it is low enough to be worth it just for its OS X Time Machine capabilities alone, not to mention all its standard Windows-integrated functionality.

You can order now at eCost. If you wanted to give your relatives who don't regularly backup their machines an easy (networked) way to do so, this is it.

Our guess is that the upside is the unit is going to be very cheap (but somewhat underpowered in terms of hardware). There's Gigabit Ethernet on this thing at the very least, but the LX195 is definitely aimed at people with less than an obscene amount of storage, but still have the need for a Windows Home Server. [Gizmologia via Engadget via Crunchgear]

No other real details can be seen from this low-rez box shot, but it's likely that this LX195 doesn't have Mac support, so don't hold out for that if you were hoping of a less expensive Windows/Mac compatible server. [MediaSmart Server via Engadget]

Among the features are improved and simplified remote access handling (it's just a one-click affair now), as well as media sharing through Windows Media Center extenders. Previously, you could grab files off of a WHS machine with your 360 through the videos app from the dashboard, but now you can go through Media Center Extender and keep the snazzy UI intact. There's also MP4 support, plus a bunch of bugfixes that you'll be happy to see.

Grab it tomorrow (the 24th) via Windows Update.

To automatically read the most recent Windows 7 posts, hit this tag (and bookmark it).

Windows 7 Beta Installation Advice
(Note: The beta is available until February 10th, though downloads may be limited, so hurry!)
" How to Download and Install Windows 7 Beta
" How To Install Win 7 on Macs with Boot Camp
" Understanding the Windows 7 Beta Agreement Fine Print

Windows 7 Feature Analysis:
" Why Microsoft Should Give Windows 7 Away
" Why the Windows 7 Taskbar Beats the Mac OS X Dock
" Why It's Smart To Go 64-Bit With Windows 7
" Windows 7 Runs Better Than Vista On Netbooks
" Why Windows 7 Will Beat Vista Overall

Windows 7 Beta Tips
" The Calculator Now Calculates Your Mortgage Payments and More
" Miss Vista's Quick Launch? Here's How You Get It Back
" Registry Tweak Fixes Window Gadgets and UAC Incompatibility
" Adding Extra Monitors Is So Easy a Caveman Could Do It
" 'Play To' Media Control Might Take Over Your Whole House
" Xbox 360 Streaming Is Buggy For Now, but it Still Works...Kinda
" Windows Explorer Preview Pane Works Much Better Than Vista's
" The Windows Key Is Actually Useful Now!
" Maximize and Dock Your Windows by Dragging to the Screen Edge
" Where the Hell is Add/Remove Programs?
" ISO Disc Image Burning Is Built Right In
" Device Stage Gadget Interface Is Gorgeous (When Supported!)
" Libraries Replace the Antiquated Virtual Folders Feature
" Now You Can Choose Which Folders to Back Up and Create System Images
" Fix That MSI Installer Bug And Get Apps Running Again
" Windows Home Server Almost 100% Compatible Already
" Gadgets Integrated to Desktop (But Still Buggy in Beta)
" New WordPad Opens Word 2007 XML Docs
" Careful: Windows 7 Beta Sleep/Hibernate Is Still Buggy
" Windows 7 Taskbar UI Tips
" Inside the Amazing Problem Steps Recorder

Windows 7 General Observations
" Huge Security Flaw in Windows 7 User Account Control
" Windows 7 Is OK, But Can It Run Crysis?
" Windows XP, Vista and 7 Tested For Multicore Performance, XP Still Wins For Now
" Windows 7 Performance Meter Goes Up To 7.9, Still Not Fantastic For Gaming Measurements

Funnyand Not So FunnyWindows 7 Experiences
" The First Windows 7 Blue Screen of Death
" 131 BSODs We'd Rather See
" 25 Features You Definitely Won't See in Windows 7

Two small inconsistencies that you should note. One, in the backup screen, WHS will display your machine as "Windows Vista Ultimate" instead of Windows 7. Not a big deal. Two, you can't use the newer Windows 7 backup option, where you can choose which folders, specifically, to back up. You can only back up entire drives, but you can (one by one) exclude folders from the backup. Tedious, but it works.

Other than that, everything else is snaztastic. Time to get one of these Windows/Mac compatible HP MediaSmart servers with Windows 7.

Though it looks the same on the outside, the hardware received a bump, now using a 2.0 GHz Celeron processor and 2GB DDR2 RAM. It comes in 2 storage configurations a 750GB server or a 1.5TB server. The MediaSmart server is still built on top of the Windows Home Server platform, but makes use of a couple of additional software to enhance functionality.

First, HP tapped Twonky Media to handle their remote streaming backend. As such, you can access all your audio files and photos from any web browser with a broadband connection. You can either enter your home IP address or set up a free custom HP domain that will quickly forward you to your server. From there, a media player UI appears and your entire library is at hand. The only downside is that, when not streaming over LAN, it transcodes your MP3s at a 128kbps bitrate, apparently to minimize choppiness in streaming (bleck).

A couple of other nice features that are new for the EX485/7 are the media collector feature, which will scan and watch any folders or drives from your computer, and will gather them on the MediaSmart Server. Also new is that you can connect to Amazon's S3 cloud, and gain another layer of data protection.

Secondly, HP worked with Apple to get MediaSmart Server up and running OSX. Not only is there a Mac version of the software, but they also got Time Machine working with the device, which can do scheduled backups over the air. However, being that it is Windows Home Server, you still need a PC to set up the server, and cannot carry out any admin functions from a Mac.

That aside, much of the same functionality from the last version of MediaSmart Server is still there, such as UPnP streaming of video, photos and music, photo albums that can be published directly to the web, downloadable add-ons (like a bittorrent client), and storage in a RAID-esque, "balanced" configuration. It also has 4 drive bays, 4 USB drives and an eSATA port for adding additional storage.

As far as availability and pricing goes, the updated MediaSmart Server will be available for order on January 5, with the 750 GB EX485 selling for $600, while the 1.5 TB EX487 costs about $750. [HP MediaSmart Server on Giz]

HP Launches New Home Server for PCs and Macs
HP MediaSmart Server centralizes digital media and files for backup, remote access, sharing and uploading to social media sites

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 29, 2008 – HP today launched a home server designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers.

Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(1)

The MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet,(2) and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

“A growing number of digital-savvy households have both Windows and Mac computers, with hundreds and sometimes thousands of media files and documents scattered across these devices,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of strategy, Worldwide Attach Group, HP. “The HP MediaSmart Server protects, stores and organizes this content from anywhere on a network so consumers can access and share it any place they are connected.”

“HP continues to innovate on the Windows Home Server platform giving consumers even more options to enjoy and protect their precious memories and valuable data,” said Charlie Kindel, general manager, Windows Server Solutions, Microsoft. “We believe consumers will embrace the new MediaSmart Server as one of the most exciting computing products for the home.”

MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 features include:

· HP Media Collector: conveniently schedules the MediaSmart Server to copy and centralize digital files and libraries from networked PCs

· Media Streaming: remotely streams photos and music to any Internet-connected PC or Mac

· Server for iTunes: centralizes iTunes music libraries on the server for playback to any networked Mac or PC running iTunes

· HP Photo Publisher: easily upload photos to Facebook®, PicasaTM Web Albums and Snapfish(3)

· HP Photo Viewer: allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family

· PC Hard Drive Backup: backs up networked PCs via the Windows Home Server backup feature

· Mac Hard Drive Backup: backs up Macs running Leopard using Apple Time Machine software

· Server Backup: duplicates designated shared folders to a separate hard disk drive

· Online Backup: duplicates designated folders to Amazon’s S3 online backup service for an additional layer of protection

· Smart Power Management: can schedule times for server to go to ”sleep” and ”wake up,” saving on energy costs

· Processor: Intel® Celeron®, 2.0 GHz 64-bit. Two gigabytes (GB) of 800-MHz DDR2 DRAM now standard on MediaSmart Server

· Expandability: additional drives can be added for up to 9 terabytes (TB)

"Customers are always looking for the right mix of features and ease-of-use when choosing digital home products," said Danielle Levitas, group vice president, consumer, broadband and digital marketplace at IDC. "HP's focus and investment in software allows it to deliver a home server with compelling features for Mac and PC users while offering a great customer experience that helps simplify the complexity of the connected home. This unique offering will help expand the home server market."

Pricing and availability
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server ex485 with 750 GB of hard disk storage is $599 while the HP MediaSmart Server ex487 with 1.5 TB is $749.(4)

The HP MediaSmart Server can be pre-ordered beginning on Jan. 5, 2009, from Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, Frys.com and NewEgg.com; it is expected to ship in February.

The first 200 consumers who visit HP Home & Home Office (www.hpshopping.com) or call +1 888 271 2982 between Jan. 5 - 11, 2009, to reserve a MediaSmart Server and use coupon code “AC5674” will receive a $50 savings off their purchase.(5)

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/mediasmartserver.