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DEL.ICIO.USThe future of home computing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Home computers are pretty much like appliances these days - with two ugly differences.
(1) Computers are not intuitive, appliances are. No one needs the read an instruction manual to make popcorn in a microwave.
(2) You don’t need to perform a long list of maintenance chores to successfully operate a refrigerator (although it sure helps to remove the old stuff before it gets moldy). But with a computer you should make back-up copies of your data, keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software updated, and set up a fire wall to keep intruders out.
There’s a way to make some of the routine tasks easier and to automate many of the maintenance chores. The notion is to install a separate computer on a home network with only one job - serving you. It takes care of the back-up, makes sure that your music and video is available to the computers you use and act as a sort of boss for the network.
That would be a home server. And that’s why servers will be the next big thing in home computing. Microsoft has recognized that future with its new home server software - you can read about it using this link.
The software is just part of the equation - you’ll need computers that are designed from the ground up to act as servers, not general purpose machines. (Any home computer could do the job but hardware designed with that purpose can be less expensive and offer more built-in storage).
That’s happening too, with several manufacturers - including HP - preparing relatively inexpensive machines for the server market.
By using a more complex system for a home network, life will be simpler. Whatever you think of Microsoft’s technology, it would be hard to second guess its marketing skill. There will be other entrants in this category - and I have no idea what system will prevail. But I do think home servers represent the future of home computing.
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Comments
By Lex Luthor
July 17, 2007 10:19 AM | Link to this
I have to disagree somewhat. The new 4 core machines are more than capable of being the server and a PC. Most of them support RAID now — disk redundancy, in most cases. The only thing that is really not covered by a modern PC is a backup strategy. This can be easily accomplished by attaching a large capacity USB drive. The hard parts would be setting up the backup software and finding off site storage (a fire will destroy all of the hardware in your house).
One thing I’ve begun to see is companies providing off site storage via the Internet. As bandwidth increase and fiber becomes more available, sending large amounts of data to a third party is not out of the question. Privacy will be reasonable.
I’ve been attempting to tinker with home based servers as you describe for the last couple of years now and the big problem boils down to 24/7 availability. No a home user doesn’t really need this, but if a machine dies the home user will need to drop what they are doing and repair the failure. If this is the backup machine, then getting it back on line is most critical. $30-$50 a month paid to a third party is well worth the piece of mind.
I like to run my own e-mail server. I also subscribe to a mail relay service. The stress of keeping the mail server on line all of the time got to the point of sleepless nights when I was on the road. Now that I know someone will hold my mail for me when the server goes down provides a lot of comfort. (I run my own server so I have unlimited space and can connect to the server via my M$ based cell phone.)
Bottom line, look for more online based backup becoming available over the next 5-10 years. Fiber should become more common giving blistering fast speeds (500+ mb/s in both directions back in the late 90s.) Even cable will start getting much faster soon. It will still suffer from slow upload speeds, but it fills the gap until fiber becomes more widespread. I saw one company testing their network at 20 mb/s a couple of Sundays ago. Then I saw an article taking about over 5x that speed. The upload was near 1mb/s. Most companies only have 1.5mb/s in both directions (T1). DSL will probably remain about where it is. Wireless networking shows some potential but physics alone dictates it will always lag behind mediums like fiber. Fiber is impervious to electro-magnetic interference and lightening strikes. Cable, DSL, and even wireless (due to the fact the antenna can get a surge from a near by strike – I got zapped hard enough a two years ago to make my hand fly back and hit the couch while sitting in my basement during a storm using the Wi-Fi and a cellphone, all three no-nos during a storm) all make your equipment susceptible. (The rebar in the basement can act as an antenna too.)
By John
July 17, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this
Don’t know if this is in your area but maybe you can direct to right party.
I have a rental house on Lake Sinclair that I advertise on 3 or 4 websites. One particular site has never generated any rentals but … I’ve gotten a dozen fraud attempts. Usually they want to rent for week or two and tell me money is being sent but more than my bill so will I please forward balance on to some other party.
Of course, I don’t. But, bet some folks do. Its a subtle change in the “Nigerian” scam.
If interested in warning others, give me a buzz at 912-659-1502. Thanks John Hildebrand, Sr.
By Bill
July 17, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this
Lex, I agree that online storage is going to be great when and if ordinary homes reach t1 or t3 speeds. But I think it’s gonna be a while (and do agree that it will happen some day).
By PatrckB
July 17, 2007 5:37 PM | Link to this
For the adventure some, there is the Linux distro FreeNAS.
From the FreeNAS About page: FreeNAS is a free NAS (Network-Attached Storage) server, supporting: CIFS (samba), FTP, NFS, AFP, RSYNC, iSCSI protocols, S.M.A.R.T., local user authentication, Software RAID (0,1,5) with a Full WEB configuration interface. FreeNAS takes less than 32MB once installed on Compact Flash, hard drive or USB key. The minimal FreeBSD distribution, Web interface, PHP scripts and documentation are based on M0n0wall.