TecStream turns iMac into media server

Want to use that shiny new Front Row-equipped iMac as a media server? You can — sort of. A company called uTec is pitching a solution that adds a group of its tecStream servers to an iMac, creating a home network that can be used to stream media files on an iMac to televisions elsewhere in the home. It's a somewhat cumbersome solution — the schematic for a three television network requires no fewer than four tecStream boxes (one for each set, plus one for the iMac) and a techStream switch, all connected over an Ethernet network — but if you're determined to make an iMac the hub of your home media network, this is one way to do it. Of course, for the price of this network (estimates are that a two room system would run about $4,500, not including the iMac), you could probably set up a Front Row-equipped Mac mini in every room in your house, and get a big networked hard drive to store all the data — or just use Windows MCE until Apple recognizes that this is a real market and decides to come up with a more comprehensive media server solution of their own.