HP drops MediaSmart servers and Microsoft Home Server
Hardware vendors cancels plans for 'Vail' OS
By Agam Shah | Published: 13:50, 02 December 2010
Hewlett-Packard has dropped plans to offer Microsoft's next version of Windows Home Server OS, codenamed Vail, in its products, after retiring a line of servers carrying the current version of the OS, Microsoft said on Tuesday.
Microsoft said in a blog entry that HP's decision to not support the upcoming Windows Home Server OS is tied to its decision of retiring MediaSmart Server products, which run the current version of Windows Home Server.
"As such, HP has told us they do not plan to provide a platform for Windows Home Server code name 'Vail'. HP has told us they will continue to sell the existing version of MediaSmart Server through the end of the calendar year 2010 and will honor service and support agreements," Microsoft wrote on the Windows Team Blog.
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However, Microsoft said it is working with partners such as Acer and Tranquil to bring products with Vail to the market. Vail is due out in 2011.
HP's MediaSmart servers are generally used in homes to serve multimedia files across a network, and also used as a data backup device. The EX490 and EX495 servers are listed as being out of stock on the company's retail website.
HP officials did not respond to requests for comment. However, the company has said it wants to put more focus on bringing out a range of new products based on the WebOS operating system, including smartphones, tablets and printers. The company got WebOS after it bought Palm earlier this year.
