Windows Home Server

Dyson has done it, DirtDevil too; now Neato Robotics' introduces XV-22... just kidding its XV- 21 but that didn't rhyme. 

We are talking about a robotic vacuum geared for households with resident pets and excessive allergens. The new robot is shaped familiarly like its original cousin (see our review of the Neato XV-11) yet features a new filter for 3x improved airflow and suction and new bristled brush that works specifically to pick up pet hair.

Set for an April 2012 release with a reported price tag of $429. The great news is that is you already have Neato you can get  away with simply an upgrade to the latest firmware via USB and a $60 Pet and Allergy kit.

A big thank you to all our supporters and beta testers, unfortunately the project did not gain enough traction to warrant further development.

After careful consideration we have made the decision to suspend development of Grid Junction 2.0 for the foreseeable future. We have decided not to release the source code or any unfinished versions of Grid Junction 2.0. If you currently have Grid Junction 2.0 beta installed, please uninstall it at your earliest convenience.

We felt it was time to share with our readers the latest project that we have been crafting for months.

This is not a home server app, but something even better... an app for smart mobile devices (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone) PC and Mac which makes it easy to transfer content across your devices, so without further suspense... Meet TWORB!

Currently TWORB is in a private beta but we invite you to take a look, encourage you to get in touch and await for your sign-up via our newsletter.

A few months ago we announced that our Windows Home Server add-in, Grid Junction, designed to manage an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) via the Windows Home Server Dashboard, was being revamped for WHS 2011 and SBS Essentials 2011. After months of private beta testing Grid Junction v2 is now released for public testing.

In case you are not familiar with Grid Junction, which means you're not jumping for joy just yet, the original add-in was designed for Windows Home Server to manage an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) via the Windows Home Server Dashboard. Grid Junction integrates seamlessly to issue power alerts and help protect Windows Home Server from power problems such as brownouts, or blackouts by safely powering down the Windows Home Server when battery levels reach a set threshold.

Protect your Server!

Whenever your Windows Home Server 2011 or Windows Small Business Server Essentials 2011 suddenly looses power or otherwise halts or restarts without warning there's a possibility that the file system may have been in an inconsistent state at that time due to data writing or disk balancing activities. If you are unlucky, this can not only corrupt your file system requiring a reinstallation of the Operating System but possibly destroy important data.

Which Battery Backup (UPS) Devices are Supported?

Generally speaking, the most commonly used industry leading uninterruptable power supply manufacturers such as APC, Belkin and Tripp Lite (among others) are known to be supported. But given the vast number of models and variations please check the supported UPS devices list.

• Supported Uninterruptible Power Supply

Do I need Special Drivers or Software?

In most cases the vendor supplied battery driver or the generic windows battery driver should be sufficient. Unless the manufacturer included specialized software for explicit use on Windows Home Server(s) we do NOT recommend any manufacturer supplied software to be installed besides the driver (if required). In addition we recommend that any users who already installed any of such software to uninstall it before installing the GridJunction Windows Home Server Add-in.

Beta Version

We welcome everyone to make full use of it but do issue a warning of caution as how it is still NOT the final version please try not to use it on your production/live servers.

Please visit the following link: Grid Junction v2.0 BETA  to download your free trial version, put it to through the ringer and let us know what you find.  This beta trial will run until January 31, 2012.

More: kentdome.com | home-server-addins.com