Amahi to Demo at Computex with Intel

The news is out – Amahi will be at Computex in Taiwan, in the Intel pavilion.

Amahi will be demonstrating the latest release of the Home Digital Assistant (HDA) home server running on an Intel Atom processor N270 series for embedded computing. The HDA is what Intel calls an “Open Consumer Applications Platform.” A new class of deviceĀ  integrating a home server with home router functionality. The demonstration will take place in the Intel pavilion from June 2nd to 6th, 2009.

Amahi at Computex with Intel

Above: Partial image of Intel Demo Brief with Amahi at Computex 2009

The demonstration will showcase an HDA operating in the booth at Computex as well as VPN access to a remote system (in California). The demo will cover:

  • the basic platform functionality for user and share creation, and networking control
  • one-click application installation
    • applications demonstrated will include media management, media serving, photo galleries, video surveillance applications and more!
  • cross platform support for Linux, Windows and Apple client machines will be highlighted

We have heard from many new users that they had no idea Amahi exists (there has been little if any marketing to date). This show might be what just changes that perception.

This is an exciting time for the community and Amahi – enjoy it!

Home Network Application Expansion

The home networking space is starting to evolve. Many device manufacturers and creating targeted devices to meet specific needs. Even AT&T is marketing a simple device, the AT&T home manager. Of course this is a limited, “fixed” device. A home with Amahi and any browser capable device (netbook, iPhone or even a desktop) delivers all the functionality of the “Home Manager” plus a whole lot more. Take the applications announced today: there are even a few home inventory applications!

So, on to the meat of today’s message: thanks to the community (special thanks to damato, rampage and thoseĀ  members of the tester sub-community) the flow of one-click installable applications available on Amahi continues.

The new applications being announced today (in now particular order) are:

portaNEO Integrated portal creation and management system
OpenDB Flexible, home inventory management application
php Address Book Shared phone and address book
Torrentflux Popular bit torrent client
WikkaWiki Standards compliant, lightweight Wiki
VCD-db DVD/VCD/CDs collection manager

As the number of applications expands on Amahi, the team is feeling the pressure to make it easier for the community to:

  1. find the specific application that does exactly what is wanted
  2. review applications (there are already multiple applications that do the same/similar “jobs”)
  3. propose new applications to add

Be rest assured, we are doing our best to get this done for you. And, to tease those who are actually reading this, there is some exciting news coming in early June. Stay tuned!

Dilbert Wants Amahi (does he know it?)

Now someone famous is asking for Amahi, and he does not even know it!

Scott Adams recent blog entry addresses his personal need for a home server. Quoting him directly:

If you’re wondering where the next economic boom will come from, I think it will involve a central computer for your home that handles all of your entertainment, home controller, and computing needs.


Before you rush to tell me “That already exists,” and then provide links to things that only do a few functions, let me assure you that it doesn’t exist. But there is no reason to think it won’t be developed in the future.


I came to this conclusion while searching for a home system that would deliver recorded TV shows and music (iTunes) to several rooms in the house, with each room controlling its own content. I was surprised to learn that no such thing exists.

Not surprisingly, as a member of the Amahi community, I take offense at the comment “let me assure you that it does not exist.” It does exist – Amahi is designed with just this objective in mind!

Scott lists his immediate requirements as delivering recorded TV as streaming music (iTunes). Well, those in the community know that MythTV (backend server) for recording and streaming TV is in alpha for one-click deployment on Amahi, and AmahiTunes is already available as a one-click install for streaming music from/to iTunes.

Scott continues in his blog to dream about more advanced home control: lighting, video games, home security, climate control, etc. Well, Amahi already delivers on some of these (eg. video surveillance with ZoneMinder one-click installer), and as an expandable platform it is only a matter of time before the open source community packages more solutions for one-click deployment.

My question for Scott Adams is, “What would Dilbert say about the quality of research Scott did searching for a home server?”

Application Eruption!

The community is starting to buzz. Here’s a list of the 25 applications currently available as one-click installs on Amahi.

And, there are hundreds of applications in the pipeline. Good work Amahi community, with a special thanks to our newly minted testers and to #DCoT at Twitter for his app suggestions) — everything from a DVR to a complete home security system.

If there’s an application you’d like to see on Amahi let us know and we’ll help you get it done. The core team is available to help those who are having problems, and at the same time is working on making it easier to find the type of application you are looking for!

Application Name Type of Application
AjaXplorer File Browser (amazing!)
AmahiTunes iTunes Media Server
Ampache Media Manager and Server
Gallery2 Photo Gallery
Home Inventory Household management
Jinzora Media Manager and Server
Joomla Content Management System
Maps Mapping
PBA Backup (network based)
phpMyAdmin System Utility (database)
phpSysInfo System Utility (hardware)
Piwik Web analytics
Recipes Household Management
RPM Fusion (Free) System Utility (increased functionality)
RPM Fusion (Non-Free) System Utility (increased functionality)
sabnzbd Newsreader
Slideshow Picture Gallery
TorrentFlux Bit torrent downloader
Transmission Bit torrent downloader
uShare UPnP and DLNA media server
WebVNC System Utility (remote access)
Weightwatcher Household Management
MediaWiki Content Management System
WordPress Content Management System

For an up-to-date list just look at the App Gallery at Amahi.org.

App: phpMyAdmin

For those who are interested in understanding more of the inner workings of their Amahi Home Server, we are announcing (in conjunction with phpMyAdmin) the availability of a one-click install phpMyAdmin.

phpmyadmin_scrnphpMyAdmin is the most versatile web-based MySQL administration tool available. With one-click installation on Amahi you can, not surprisingly, install phpMyAdmin with a single click.

If you like phpMyAdmin, feel free to donate to their effort.