One of the headline features of Windows Home Server at launch was its ability to stream videos, music and photos to Windows Media Connect-compatible devices, including Microsoft’s own Xbox 360 console. If you don’t fancy leaving your desktop switched on just so you have instant access to your media, it’s a neat feature – and doubly so when combined with a low-power microserver.
If you’re concerned about how well an open-source Linux-based solution might support Windows and Xbox client devices, don’t be: media streaming is something Linux does well, and in this instance better than Windows Home Server itself.