Microsoft's Ballmer will ‘look into’ removal of Windows Home Server drive extender

by Pete Mason on 29 November 2010, 16:31

Tags: Windows Home Server, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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Even we were surprised at the ferocious response when news broke last week that Microsoft would be dropping the drive extender feature from the next version of Windows Home Server - codenamed 'Vail'. Not only were there hundreds of responses to the official announcement, but the thread in our own forums spanned several pages.

Now it looks like news of this furore has reached all the way to the top and that Steve Ballmer may be taking it upon himself to investigate the issue. Microsoft MVP Terry Walsh - who also edits the website We Got Server - e-mailed the outspoken CEO with a detailed explanation of the issues in search of some clarification as to why the decision to drop this critical feature had been made.

In the style that we've come to expect from men in Mr Ballmer's position, Mr Walsh received the following response (reproduced in full):

"Let's look into it"

The fact that it wasn't dismissed right off the bat should at least indicate that the people at Microsoft understand the uproar that this decision has caused among WHS's supporters. Whether the company will actually backtrack on its decision and include drive extender in the next version of Home Server, though, obviously remains to be seen.

Hopefully fans of WHS can rest assured that, even though the OS may not be especially high-profile - or even that profitable - the company may still be listening to the opinions of its loyal users. We'll be sure to post more details as this story develops.



HEXUS Forums :: 19 Comments

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Glad to hear it. But obviously it means squat if they still withdraw Drive Extender. However if they reinsert it into ‘Vail’ my respect for Microsoft will rise ever so slightly.
Reading this http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/11/has-microsoft-just-ruined-windows-home-server.ars is interesting - could this be the real reason it's gone?
One of the nice things about Microsoft is that they do actually try and listen to their users, unlike Apple who just tend to proclaim and stonewall.
If they reintroduce it a lot of people's respect for them will increase. While it might be a low volume seller in comparison to many of their products, you can't put a price on positive PR, and that's what this will generate if they listen to their customers and actually implement changes (or reinstate features) they want.
I don't see how they had any choice. WHS is a niche product, and it depends on niche users.

If the niche users turn around and say “We don't want your product anymore”, then who the hell is meant to be appealing to?

Let's hope someone sees sense.