iTunes Server? & mac mini.... I have a plan?

Hey guys,

I was wondering if there was an server version of iTunes in progress??

The reason I ask is I've been waiting to buy a Mac for sometime now & still can't as I do not have enough funds. So I was thinking of buying the entry level Mac Mini to see me through....

So the general thought is this; I buy a Mac Mini to re-encode all my music to .aiff (As this, in my opinion, is the best format for quality & it supports Album Art). At this moment in time it will support web browsing, basic web design, basic photo editing and other basic stuff...

My question related to this would be, would the mac be a good contender to encode DVD's via Mac The Ripper & Handbrake? I have access to my dads iMac 2.16Ghz 1Gb Ram & would use that providing it makes a difference. Not bothered about timing to encode but quality on the encoding!!!

>>> The next part to my question is... Will there be a server version of iTunes? Whether this be Software or Hardware related (kind of like "Time Machine/ AppleTV), as I would be interested in this. Otherwise, once all my DVD's/ Albums/ Vinyls & Rarities on Cassettes are on, I would then like to use my Mac Mini as a Home Server. This will not only be for Media, but for Photos & other types of Documents.

The Network will be wired all around the house, the only thing that will be wireless will be the iPhones/iPods/MacBooks once these are all purchesed. Eventually I would like to have my HD content in my Media Library so I can pull it up whenever I like & never have my hard copies damaged in any way shape or form....

Has anyone else achieved this? My theory is that, if I can have iTunes encode CD's & Apple store save/encode direct to the Media Server then it clears up the hassle of having a HDD for each Mac. Please note that I do not want to Share the library within iTunes as this limits me, I want to be able to have every person to have there own library, but share it with everyone else (With the exception of purchased items). This way only one drive for Music & a seperate drive for Video.

I do not want to use the Server verion (XServe) as this is making it too pricey, this is just for a home server.

Any suggestions would be welcome...


(Sorry if I've posted in the wrong Catagory)

Its a shame that Apple haven't recognised the market, I know with MicroSoft, there was/ is a product called Home Server or something, where there was an ability to burn a CD onto your Laptop & it saves temp locally then transfers to the server... I think? If apple could do iTunes Server to burn straight to the Server itself & register to the local iTunes account/ library, which is what I'm trying to achieve, I can then hide the server & leave it on 24/7 which can then be accessed anytime. I would use linux, but I would like my network with Mac only, don't get me wrong, I like Linux & windows, I just want them all to talk with each, with ease. & I know this is possible, I just can't be arsed with the hassle.