Ohana is another Microsoft project with the Windows platform at its heart that the company is not breathing a single word on, just as Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Seven. But over at Microsoft there are some connections in place between various projects, services and products. And Ohana fits right in with Windows Vista, Windows Home Server and the company's Windows Live platform. And it also seems to be a product tailor-fitted on Microsoft's general business strategy software plus services.

Microsoft is of course continually exercising projects designed to put either the Windows client or the server operating system into every room of a household. And most recent speculations reveal that Microsoft is focusing on a kitchen computing client (possibly) code-named Ohana. SeattleTimes is reporting that Microsoft did indeed focus at a certain time on building a custom machine running Windows designed to integrate into a kitchen, but that the company subsequently dropped the project. However, Ohana has been around for a while.

The efforts behind it are nothing new, news about the product is. And with Microsoft gaging all details about future plans, speculation flourishes. Microsoft Surface is a prime example of how the company could adapt Windows Vista to fit a variety of environments. And Ohana, as a central household console integrating various examples of Windows Live functionality on top of the operating system, could be just a variant of Surface for your kitchen.

Still, Microsoft could keep everything hush-hush because its research is telling it that the environment is not ripe for such a product. Or maybe Microsoft is waiting for a vital piece of infrastructure that would unite a household under a single command center. In this context, what would the connection be between Ohana and Windows Home Server?