Microsoft Announces Home Server Power Pack 2 (PC Magazine)

[Marik]

Microsoft plans to release Power Pack 2 for Windows Home Server on Tuesday, tying the server more closely to Windows Media Center and extenders like the Xbox 360.

This coming Monday, Microsoft will also add WHS to its MSDN subscription, allowing professional developers to download and play with the software package, and hopefully develop it as a platform, a Microsoft WHS executive said. In January, the WHS platform had 70 or so add-in pieces of software; now it has over 100.

When will Power Pack 2 roll out? Microsoft wasn't exactly sure until the last minute. Power Pack 2 is still in its final stages of testing, and will roll out as a part of Windows Update, which releases twice a month, said Steven Leonard, a senior product manager for Windows Home Server. But a spokesman said the release made the last "Windows Update train" for the month.

In the meantime, Leonard said, the company is still pleased with the WHS backing.

"We're really happy with [WHS]; it has had a lot of momentum behind it, especially during the holiday timeframe," Leonard said.

On a hardware note, Acer will ship the Easy Store Home Server, first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, beginning in the U.S. this April. Acer will also ship the product in Europe and Japan. HP was the launch partner for the original WHS, launching the second-generation EX487 this past February. Shuttle, Via, and Tranquil PC have also announced Windows Home Server devices.

Software, however, will be the focus in the next few weeks. Leonard said that a WHS presentation at the last Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) was sold out. "These are kind of people that kind of get it," Leonard said. "We're hoping to get great applications from people who are going to fall in love with the product."

Source: Yahoo Tech

[donizme]

come on microsoft release sp2 for vista!! really need the speed improvements specially after trying windows 7 which is very quick... 8)