Home Server is based on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, so it's a fully capable operating system. The good news for home users is that all the advanced features that Windows Server brings to the business environment are either automatically managed or disabled in Home Server. That leaves the good parts running on autopilot and easy to use.

The Connector software that runs on each PC is necessary only if you want to be able to manage the server, back up your PC and otherwise be an active part of the network. Without the Connector, it's still possible to view the server's public directory structure from a Web browser on your networked PC. That also means that if your server can be accessed from the Internet, you can browse it from a Web browser on any PC via the Internet.

The trick, though, is to make your server accessible via the Internet. To do this right now, you need to use a service like DynDNS or tzo.com to route a Web address to your cable or DSL modem's dynamically assigned IP address.

Before Home Server ships, however, Microsoft expects to offer a service through Windows Live that will let you choose a domain name for your server under the homeserver.com domain. For example, my domain could be "scott.homeserver.com" if I happened to get to it before any other Scotts. This service should be available when the systems appear on store shelves.

Once your server is accessible over the Internet, you can browse the server and download files to any Net-connected computer. (You will, of course, need the correct username and password to access private files.) If the remote device is Media Connect-enabled and uses a high-speed connection, you can even view or listen to media files streamed from your server.