On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

I spent time on the phone with HP tech support, helping a friend get his MediaSmart home server back up and running. Working with it, I am struck that it seems to run far more quietly than the Netgear ReadyNAS I returned last summer (because of the ReadyNAS's malfunctioning fans producing noise). The unit is also a lot more hardware for the buck.

Yet, while Windows Home Server is a relatively interesting product, it feels somewhat rough around the edges. I cannot help but wonder if the fact that the system needed to be factory reset speaks of the unreliability of Windows being carried over into something on the verge of being a consumer electronics-type device. I really wish Apple would offer a full fledged NAS-like product done right.