Microsoft would like you to think that their new Home Server products are something new; affordable devices that sit quietly in the corner of your home, providing network backup for your most important files, and streaming your media around your home. While Home Server is definitely a new approach for Microsoft, it's a niche that their nemesis Linux has been filling for some time. If Microsoft wanted a masterclass on how to craft their latest assault of consumers' homes, they should look to Excito and their Bubba Mini Server.

Bubba is an endearing little beast. In many ways it looks like an external hard disk with a very nice finish, but knowing that the device packs so much extra functionality into its metal casing gives it a certain extra cuteness. It's extremely well built, and feels far heavier than I expected. It's got a single, unassuming LED on the front (which stops flashing when the device is ready), and an Ethernet, USB (x2, one for printer sharing and one for a USB pen drive), and power socket on the back. I was happy to note that it's got a single-pin power socket; most of my external hard drives sport multi-pin connectors, which always feel flimsy. Not so with Bubba.

Inside its metal chassis lies Bubba's hard disk drive, and a variety of sizes are available from Excito (Bubba is currently offered without a drive, or with an 80, 320, and 500 gigabyte version). Care has been taken when selecting their drives, and it shows: Bubba is very, very quiet. Plug the little box of tricks into both the wall socket and your network, wait for the LED to stop blinking, and you're done. All that remains is to connect to Bubba over your network, by visiting "http://bubba" with your web browser.

And that's the beauty of it all. It just works. Plug it in, turn it on, and connect to it. If you'd like to copy files across to Bubba, you simply map a drive or connect via its network path ("\\bubba \storage" if you're curious). Each user on your network can have their own password-protected account, and they're all managed through the previously mentioned web interface. It's fast, and extremely handy.

When you're signed in to Bubba as a named user, it's possible to start a number of downloads. This is neat; it keeps everything in one place, saves running your PC, and means you can (with a little firewallconfig) queue up downloads while you're out and about (for example at the office, or on the road with a mobile device). These downloads can be http, ftp, or BitTorrent downloads, which is extremely clever. Paste the address of a torrent file into the web administration console's text field, and Bubba automatically does its stuff. Give it a zip file from a website, it'll cheerfully download the file for you.