After months of reading and reporting about Microsoft’s Windows Home Server, it looks like there’s finally a product to house the super-secret software—at least a product for pre-order.

The idea behind the product is to bring business-style storage to the home. That way, your family can store and share various digital media, whether it’s songs, vacation photos, or PowerPoint presentations. It’s a nice set-it-and-forget-it solution, meaning that instead of relying on mom to back up the family photo collections, this system will automatically tackle that task.

Other features on the HP unit include:

1TB of storage space on two 500GB hard drives; expands via two additional hard drive bays.
Stream photos, music and videos to PCs on your network or to your TV or stereo system.
Includes free Windows Live web address for remote access.
Powered by Microsoft Windows Home Server and 1.8 GHz, 64-bit AMD Sempron processor.
Compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista.

Microsoft is expecting other Home Server-style products from companies such as Fujitsu, Gateway, Iomega, Life|ware, and others. There’s also a ton of software in the making. For now, however, HP seems to have the U.S. exclusive on the hardware. (The Tranquil PC T7-HSA Tranquil Harmony Home Server is available in the UK.)

The MSRP for the 500GB model is $599 and $749 for the 1TB model. Amazon has the 1TB for $680. Best Buy, Buy.com, Circuit City and CompUSA all also have it for order online, in case you want to do some comparison shopping.

Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.