Geoff Coupe's Blog

Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…

A Damp Squib Splutters Into Life

I see that Windows Home Server 2011 has been released to manufacturing. So it should be available on the market in April/May.

I’m sorry, but I can only raise a faint cheer about this product. It doesn’t strike me as a major step forward from the original Windows Home Server, and in some respects – notably the removal of the Drive Extender technology – it is a step backwards.

The comparison datasheet is long on marketing and short on actual comparison with WHSv1, and that’s not really surprising.

What really gets to me is that Microsoft had the chance to build upon the base of WHSv1 as a server and media appliance that could be used by the average consumer, and they’ve thrown that chance away.

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4 responses to “A Damp Squib Splutters Into Life”

  1. WeeHappyPixie Avatar
    WeeHappyPixie

    I also think it will be a damp squib and Microsoft could have made this such a great product.

    John.

    P.S. I love the picture on your blog. Nice house and garden. I used to work in Zootermeer and like you love the country. I almost move there.

    Reply
    1. Geoff Coupe Avatar
      Geoff Coupe

      Thanks, John. I think all we can do now is sit back and let the market deliver its verdict.

      Re the Netherlands. I’m fortunate that I’m able to live in one of the few parts of the country that isn’t totally built up. There are still traces of the countryside around here. Being able to walk to a wood along a track running between fields in under ten minutes is very good for the soul.

      Reply
  2. My WHS 2011 Experience (Thus Far) | Geoff Coupe's Blog

    […] I think it’s safe to say that the development of Microsoft’s Windows Home Server 2011 (version two of the original Windows Home Server product) has not exactly been plain sailing. Fairly late on in the development cycle, Microsoft took the decision to pull the Drive Extender technology (the unique selling point of WHS v1) from the v2 product. The decision was greeted with howls of protest from WHS customers (including me), but Microsoft soldiered on and released WHS 2011 in April. […]

    Reply
  3. RIP, Windows Home Server… | Geoff Coupe's Blog

    […] the betas over the months leading up to April 2011, that things were not going well with WHS 2011. As I wrote at the time: Microsoft had the chance to build upon the base of WHSv1 as a server and media appliance that […]

    Reply

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