Microsoft has lowered the price on Windows Home Server -- good news for home-based businesses with up to 10 computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista.

The reduction, which the company implemented earlier this month, places the cost of Home Server right around the $100 mark -- signifying a 30 percent drop in price. Of note, this is the system-builder version of Home Server, though the savings have trickled down to the retail channel (such as NewEgg.com), as well.

"The home server team knows that there are quite a few people ("enthusiasts," "do-it-yourselfers," etc.) that will take on the support burden that comes with the System Builder version of Windows Home Server to build their own custom rig," says an entry in the Windows Home Server Team Blog.

What's to love about Windows Home Server? PC pro and Home Server enthusiast Philip Churchill sums it up with this one 36-word sentence: "WHS will automatically backup and restore your PCs and allow you to share and access files from any machine in the house as well as giving you remote access to those files and PCs as well."

To date, however, Home Server has appealed to the more tech-savvy of home-based businesses (and chaps like Churchill) thanks to the complexity involved in the software's setup. "Everyone who uses Home Server loves it, but it just intimidates the hell out of home users," a system builder told ChannelWeb.

The fact that the product's debut late last year was followed by a months-long crippling bug, which corrupted data on a number of well-known Microsoft and third-party apps, couldn't have Home Server's cause. But that bug was zapped in mid-June when Microsoft issued Power Pack 1, which also included a handful of new features, such as support for Vista x64 editions, improved remote access capabilities and energy efficiency, and the ability to back up Home Server shared folders.