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Content-Gobbling Media Servers Set to Invade Homes

by Tim Stevens on July 21, 2008 at 07:01 AM

Content Gobbling Home Servers Set to Invade HomesThe end of physical media is nearly upon us. For ages we've been stacking books, music and movies on shelves and racks. We clutter up our homes with whatever we're into at the moment, and then keep those books or CDs or DVDs (and now Blu-ray) around for years, collecting dust. Now, all of that can be stored on computers -- even books -- which means our precious collections of discs and paper are set to be replaced by home media servers.

Servers have long been the domain of large corporations, but now, thanks to a shift to digital content and easier-to-use management software, servers are making headway into the home. For example, the Microsoft's Windows Home Server makes sharing music and videos with your Xbox 360 ridiculously simple.

While only an estimated 400,000 U.S. homes currently have such boxes at home, it's estimated that in four years that number will grow by a factor of 10, and by 2015 will jump to over 21-million. That's some huge growth, and while we do enjoy showing off our obsessively-organized music collections, we can't wait until the day when we can ditch all of our shelving and finally clean out our offices. [Source: Reuters]

Tags: linux, media, windows home server, WindowsHomeServer

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