Apple May Compete With HP Home Server

HP MediaSmart Server

HP says it will add Mac-centric features to its MediaSmart Home Servers, the PCs loaded with special Windows software to be a central digital closet.

More hopeful are reports that Apple might release a competitor.

The PC versions haven't caught on since launched more than a year ago. Everyday Joes don't know they want a central computer at home. The best that Microsoft could do for marketing was to spoof the deadly "home server" name.

HP is one of the few companies to actually sell a dedicated PC, points out PCMag.com. HP doesn't help much with tags like "ex485", which PCMag says doesn't add a lot for Macs: 

Just two of the new Mac-specific capabilities that HP is touting, however, appear to actually be new: the ex485/487 can back up a Mac's hard drive and stream media to Macs as well as PCs. The previous ex470 also included an iTunes server, which the new version does as well.

Apple marketing would be a relief here. Word of a possible Mac version comes from 9to5mac.com, which says it would be based on Apple's back-up drive called "Time Capsule" (great name!).

Apple has thought about putting the services on the Internet, says 9to5mac:

The issue is that there was just too much media to move and ISPs weren't going to be too happy to be pushing around all of this data.  Not to mention the server farms Apple would have to build out to store and back up (additional to what they have now). 

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