We’ve been talking up Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Home Server platform for a while now [1] but its nice to see someone finally getting their hands on the newest flavor of Windows. Ars Technica decided to give WHS the full review treatment and as you can probably guess, they didn’t slouch on the write-up, churning out a seven page summary of their experiences with the new OS variant. What did they like? Simple backup-and-restore, easy-to-use control app and remote access and acceptable performance on legacy hardware. What didn’t they like? Configuration options that are perhaps overly-simplified, the lack of compatibility with Vista x64 and no support for Xbox 360 backups. “Although the Connector and Remote Access are easy to use, the choices presented via these interfaces have been simplified for a consumer audience,” Ars writes. “The lack of x64 support and integration with Media Center will also frustrate some users, but Windows Home Server gets a surprising lot right for its first time.”

For the full scoop:
– read the full review [2] from Ars Technica