WinHEC: BillG, Home Server partners...and Jade

Today in Los Angeles at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) Home Server was featured in Bill Gates' keynote.  The key takeaway:  The Home Server partner ecosystem is expanding and the product category is quickly taking hold.

In his speech our chairman announced that, in addition to HP, hardware makers Gateway, LaCie and Medion will be building Home Server products.  An image of Medion's box on display at the conference is here.  He confirmed that we will provide Home Server software to system builders, as well, which will further broaden the choice of products available to customers.

We also announced 8 software vendors - the first of many - that are going to support Home Server, providing solutions for home automation, security, off-site data storage, improved system performance, and media management/sharing.  Some of these companies provide more info in press releases, available here.

Senior product manager Steven Leonard did a great demo during the keynote.  My favorite part was when he remotely accessed a home video I gave him, showing my 4-year old Jade playing in the backyard. :)   

Stay tuned for more updates from L.A.

Joel