The big unanswered question with Windows Home Server is how much it'll cost you to get one.
Dell's cheapest possible Dimension PC meets the Home Server requirements, and features:
Processor AMD Sempron 3400+ (2 gigahertz core)
Operating system Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
Memory 512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM
Hard drive 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Optical drive 16X DVD-ROM Drive
Price $359
Now, for comparison,
if Microsoft is smart, a price equal to that of Vista Home Premium at retail the sweet spot at which it will be a good seller is $150 higher than XP/Vista Home, or about $240, making the cost of our fictional system builder Home Server at:
Total: $632
With a gigabyte of storage coming to about $400, and some people having hard drives lying all over the place (and keep in mind, external drives work just as well), I'd say $600 for a base Home Server and $1000 for a 1-terabyte Home Server to be right in the sweet spot. Now, the question to be answered in the future is: Can I build a system for less than $390, and buy Home Server elsewhere? If any of my readers want to answer that one, I'd be very interested.
Nathan Weinberg writes the popular
InsideGoogle blog.
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