WHS: HP MediaSmart EX vs Acer easyStore H340

[Pandamonium]

I'm looking at getting a WHS box in the very near future, and I had my eye on the Acer easyStore H340. Reviews of the easyStore are few and far between, and the one I just linked to says that the Acer (MSRP $400) is not compatible with Apple's Time Machine, whereas the HP (MSRP $600) is. Does anyone know what difference is responsible for this?

For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I can't see how an Atom vs Celeron MB would be responsible, and I thought that both machines include WHS and little else. If it's a software thing, then why is the easyStore getting the "incompatible" label? If it's hardware, what the hell is it?

 

[California Roll]

It's strictly due to software. HP includes software that enables Mac compatibility, Acer does not.

 

[Pandamonium]

Do you happen to know what software it is? Is it safe to say that HP's included software is proprietary? Is there alternative software that accomplishes the same thing? I've looked into iTimeMachine, but it seems to be software for client computers and I think the publisher's website is down indefinitely.

 

[California Roll]

Yep, the software is proprietary. HP WHS's have another "OS layer" on top of the WHS OS. A lot of it is fluff, stuff you can do with free addins, but the Mac compatibility is not. Last time I looked there were no free addins that could do this. HP also has the ability to encode video on the fly and stream to your Iphone, which is pretty sweet.

I'm a big fan of the Acer and DIY servers, unless you HAVE to have Mac support. In this case the extra money spent on the HP boxes is worth it.

Check this out for articles and info on the HP servers and software: http://www.wegotserved.com/tag/hp-mediasmart-server/

HP Software: http://www.wegotserved.com/200...t-server-ex487-part-3/

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.redmondpie.com/how-...-server-from-mac-os-x/