December 29 - 10:00pm EST   HP has launched an updated home storage/media server with new Mac-specific functionality. Based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 functions as a central repository for digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network. The device automatically organizes files across all PCs (including Macs), streams media across a home network and the Internet, and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites. [full story]

April 28 - 2:45pm EDT   Netgear has debuted a new series of small form-factor, 6-bay network attached storage (NAS) devices under the ReadyNAS nameskae. They include 1.5TB, 3TB and TB offerings, delivering centralized network storage to up to 200 users. The devices support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and auto-expandable X-RAID2. They also feature dual redundant Gigabit Ethernet ports for failover protection. The ReadyNAS Pro products support up to six SATA I or SATA II hard drives via six lockable, hot-swappable disk trays. Three USB 2.0 ports enable the connection of USB drives or printers. [full story]

November 27 - 3:10pm EST   Google is working on its first network storage service, says a claim from the Wall Street Journal. The paper refers to anonymous sources which say the company plans to offer a mixture of free and paid service plans that would primarily serve as backup but also as a way of merging Google's various web-only and software services. A user could search through the Google drive and find photos stored locally in Picasa as well as text files stored online through Google Docs, the paper says. File management would also be virtually transparent and behave more like a drive local to the computer than a website. [full story]