Next Windows Home Server release due this spring
Microsoft is privately testing the next release of its Windows Home Server (WHS) operating system -- an update called "Power Pack 1" -- that it plans to ship to its device/PC partners and customers some time this spring.
Microsoft is characterizing the forthcoming release (which was codenamed UR1) as a "minor" one, more like an "R2" than a full-fledged upgrade.
WHS Power Pack 1 will include a number of new features, according to the company, including:
- Support for Vista x64 PCs. The WHS Connector will be able to be installed on home computers running 64-bit Vista (although not 64-bit XP) systems.
- New backup option. When adding a hard drive to WHS, users will be given the option to use the hard drive for backing up the home server.
- Disaster recovery option. The Power Pack 1 release will allow users to back up to an external storage device, which they can store in a safe deposit box or other remote location.
- New remote access functionality. The update will allow users to upload multiple files, which can be accessed via thumbnail views.
- Chinese and Japanese language support.
Microsoft has no plans to release a public beta of Power Pack 1, officials said. (Some Most Valuable Professionals, like the We Got Served crew, have the Power Pack 1 test code and are putting it through its paces, however.) Also -- no word still on when Microsoft is planning to deliver the next "major" release of WHS.
The company will be showing off the existing WHS release on some newer systems and with various new peripherals (like digital photo frames, digital music systems and home-automation systems) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.