Just an FYI for those interested. Windows Home Server is now available to the public for purchase. Windows Home Server software, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com, Best Buy.com, Buy.com, Circuit City.com and CompUSA.com. According to Microsoft, Windows Home Server will be shipped to customers and available via other leading retailer Web sites later in November. Additional Microsoft hardware and software partners are also delivering new consumer products and solutions designed to work with Windows Home Server.

“Digital devices and content are everywhere in our day-to-day lives and they are more important all the time,” said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. “With the launch of Windows Home Server, Microsoft and its partners are creating a new consumer product category that will help people keep their digital media safe and make it easier for them to enjoy it with friends and family.”

HP is currently selling a Windows Home server solution in the HP MediaSmart Server, powered by AMD LIVE! The server is offered in 500GB version for $599(U.S) and a 1TB model for $749(U.S.) For those that don’t like HP, here are a list of alternatives coming out later this year and next.

Available in Europe in late 2007, the Fujitsu Siemens Computers SCALEO Home Server 1900 offers 1TB capacity across two hard drives, Gigabit Ethernet and advanced power management features.

Iomega Corp. today unveiled new details about its home server product due in early 2008, the Iomega HomeCenter Server, which will ship with one 500GB hard drive and four “easy-swap” drive bays for storage expansion.

• Available in early 2008, the Life|ware Life|storage will offer enterprise-class capabilities to consumers, including Life|ware Entertainment and Automation Server software for home management.

• The MAXDATA Belinea o.center, which will also be available in Europe soon, is energy-efficient, offers advanced management and media functions, and allows up to four hot plug SATA hard drives.

• Also available in Europe later this year, the Medion Home Server comes with up to 2 TB of storage capacity and will offer universal plug-and-play media streaming based on PacketVideo PVConnect software.

• Available now, the Tranquil PC T7-HSA Tranquil Harmony Home Server is a small, quiet and energy-efficient solution with 500GB and 1TB options.

• On sale today, the Velocity Micro NetMagix HomeServer is a small, sleek unit that can be situated in a horizontal or vertical position, starting with 1 TB of expandable storage capacity.

Third-party software developers have created more than 35 innovative add-in programs to run on the Windows Home Server platform. These solutions provide personal blogging and media sharing, home security, home automation, protection against viruses and malware, and more. Several software vendors today announced support for Windows Home Server:

• Avira GmbH in Germany today announced that its malware detection and removal technology will support Windows Home Server.

• Diskeeper Corporation today released a special edition of its Diskeeper 2008 defragmentation software for Windows Home Server.

• Embedded Automation Inc. released the mControl add-in for Windows Home Server, providing home automation functionality.

• Proxure Inc. announced the release of KeepVault for Windows Home Server, providing automatic, online backup and storage of data.

• SageTV LLC released SageTV Media Server for Windows Home Server, enabling media streaming from Windows Home Server to any PC or Macintosh, at home or over the Internet.

• SightSpeed Inc. announced SightSpeed 6.0 video chat service compatibility with Windows Home Server.

• Telligent Systems Graffiti CMS is compatible with Windows Home Server, enabling users to quickly create personal Web sites and blogs.

• WiLife Inc. announced the release of Command Center Software version 2.1 home security software for Windows Home Server.

I’m really considering picking up a copy of Windows Home Server. My family runs at least 3 Windows based machines so it would only make sense. Will you be picking up a copy of WHS or will you purchase a machine with it already pre-installed?