Consumer Storage Updates

It's about a month late, but I wanted to make note of some consumer storage announcements and product revelations from CES that I thought were relevant.

Windows Home Server Announcements
First, the Windows Home Server folks announced that Shuttle and VIA have joined HP in developing home servers. Here is the rundown of the Windows Home Server products:

• Shuttle: The Shuttle Home Server will be available in a basic 500GB version – the SH-4500 – and a 500GB version with hot-swap hard drive capability – the SH-K4800. Both editions offer limitless expansion with space for two hard drives and four USB ports for external hard drives.
• VIA: VIA Technologies will be releasing 2 home server products – a model with 2 drive bays (based on the Artigo A2000), and a model that can hold up to 8 hard drives (NSD-8000). The compact 8-drive VIA NSD7800 server supports Windows Home Server to provide up to 12TB of secure, manageable storage for the whole family or home office.
• HP: The HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 can stream photos and music to any internet connected PC or Mac, and it includes the ability to backup Macs to the MediaSmart Server through Time Machine. The new MediaSmart Server has smart power management capabilities, and the user can schedule times for the Server to go to ‘Sleep’ and ‘Wake up’ saving on energy costs.

Incidentally, two of us have tried to get the HP MediaSmart Server to work, and we've both failed. I think that our older computers aren't liking the Microsoft software, so we're never getting backups to work. Pity.

Expanding DVR Storage with Attached Solutions
I expect that this is going to be an interesting area to watch as television operators seek to expand DVR storage, given the rise of HD content being recorded. Seagate showed off its Showcase product, which is compatible with some DISH Network DVRs.

Apricorn has a solution called the DVR Xpander, which is compatible with the Cisco (S-A) Explorer 8300.

We've heard rumblings that 2009 could see more eSata or even network-attached DVR storage solutions being announced. Some folks have told us to keep an eye on Europe for some interesting developments.

The Era of the Netbook?

It was interesting to go from the Intel Developer Forum a couple of weeks ago to IFA last week and see the emphasis being placed on the "netbook" category of personal computers. At the IDF in San Francisco, Intel placed a great deal of emphasis on its Atom™ low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Intel breaks the MID space into three main categories:

• Productivity Notebooks and MIDs;
• Consumer MIDs (these could include navigational devices and other consumer devices); and
• Communication MIDs (these are in the next stage of smartphone evolution).

Intel defines netbooks as "small laptops that are designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet." Others have defined netbooks by their low price and scaled-down capabilities. Wikipedia defines netbooks as "a category of small-sized, low-cost, light weight, lean function subnotebooks optimized for Internet access and core computing functions."

Netbooks are being developed with the "BRIC" nations in mind (developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China), but also as secondary PCs in developed countries. Intel has a good blog that shares some thoughts on the netbook category.

We saw Atom referenced with a few netbook/ultra mobile PC (UMPC) announcements last week at IFA. Among there were the Fujitsu Siemens AMILO Mini and the LG Electronics X110. Wibrain also showed a product called the i1.

Intel is not alone in targeted processors for the MID/UMPC (ultra mobile PC market). We saw VIATechnologies at the ShowStoppers event in Berlin last week. They were showcasing their VIA OpenBook Mini-Note Reference Design based on their VIA Ultra Mobility Platform. They showed some systems, including the Elonex webbook, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, and the Brunen IT One. Wibrain, mentioned above, has a number of VIA-powered UMPCS.

Today's Wall Street Journal indicates that Dell will be getting into the netbook space, offering a sub-$400 system. The space is evidently getting more crowded by the day.