LaCie Ethernet Disk mini - Home Edition

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10994' target='_blank'>http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10994</a><br /><br /></div><i>"With the Ethernet Disk mini - Home Edition, your household’s digital library becomes accessible from inside and outside your home in just a few minutes. The LaCie media portal, HomeLaCie.com, enables access from anywhere for uploading or downloading files to your Ethernet Disk mini at home. Simply drag &amp; drop your photos, for example, and make them accessible to your relatives and friends via simple email invitations. The pre-defined folders and personal shares enable easy management of your family’s digital library. Listen to your music from your networked sound system with the embedded iTunes server. The Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition provides peace of mind by automatically backing up all of your home computers at your convenience."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/cgg-lacie-11202007.jpg" /><br /><br />If you have multiple computers in your home, it just makes sense to explores centralized data storage or at least a centralized backup process. At $199 for 500 GB and the ability to remotely access your data, this looks like a nice option.

[DroboGuy]

It seems to me that if you have a number of systems on the network, wouldn't it be just as easy to drop external storage onto one of the systems (especially if you have a media system that stays online all the time). That would allow a system like a Drobo (www.drobo.com) for safe storage, that also allows for expansion (which could be important if the whole family is putting stuff on the system).

Check out CNET's review (http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/drobo/4505-3186_7-32470303.html?tag=prod.txt.1)

Give it a look!

[Jason Dunn]

It seems to me...

It seems to me that with a name like "DroboGuy", you're probably not going to be all that unbiased. ;-) I think the Drobo hardware is very, very impressive (I'd be using one if I wasn't running a Windows Home Server system), but when you look at the software functionality of HipServ, man, they're really not even in the same ballpark:

http://www.axentra.com/hipserv.htm

[Chris Gohlke]

I'm reviewing a similar product right now and a few advantages include that they use a lot less power than having a system powered all the time, the one I am testing only draws 11 watts. Also, these come already set up so are good even for the non uber users. Basically, you plug them in, run some setup software and then you can access the drive from anywhere on your network as well as remotely over the internet.

[Chris Gohlke]

It seems to me...

It seems to me that with a name like "DroboGuy", you're probably not going to be all that unbiased. ;-)

Especially given that the posts IP address can be narrowed to within a few miles of the drobo headquarters. :D

[DroboGuy]

No, don't work for Data Robotics. They are in SF Bay Area, I am in SF Bay Area. Just a fan, lots of them at the Drobo community - drobospace.com

Regardless - for low power, Drobo isn't it. It's 4 drives and even when at rest is at or near 11 watts - I think it spikes up to 40'ish with 4 drives spinning, but most of that is drives. I think Drobo itself is in the 9-11 range, drives extra.

Cheers