Comments

Laurence wrote on 4/25/2008, 11:17 AM
I have several and really like them. Be aware that there are a number of models with different IO interfaces and configurations. My favorite right now is the USB2/eSata type.
MH_Stevens wrote on 4/25/2008, 12:10 PM
The one on sale is USB2/Firewire400. Would love eSATA as my laptop has an eSATA port but have not found.
CorTed wrote on 4/25/2008, 1:00 PM
They generaly are formatted using FAT32.
I recommend re-format to NTFS before using them.

I have a couple and they work quite nicely

Ted
Darth A Booey wrote on 4/25/2008, 4:22 PM
I've been using the 2TB version for about a month so far and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It's quiet and works perfectly with Vegas (I'm using Firewire 400.)
jrazz wrote on 4/30/2008, 8:17 AM
Here's a refurb of the drive for 170USD. I have 2 refurbished externals and have had both for over 2 years without incident.

The link.

j razz
Laurence wrote on 4/30/2008, 8:32 AM
There are a couple of things I like in particular about the MyBooks.

One is that they turn on and off automatically with your computer. This is so nice. No worries about what your power up / power down sequence should be.

Another is that the design has a lot of ventilation. My biggest problem with external drives is overheating, and these drives just don't overheat.

A third positive thing is that they don't make any noticable noise. This is due to having such a large ventilation grid I believe.

A fourth is that I like the book design and the rubber edges around the "book cover". The black matte finish doesn't show fingerprints or minor scratches and they stow away in a large laptop bag nicely.

I have found that the USB2 version is plenty fast enough for two streams of high quality Cineform plus a couple of tracks of audio, and that is really all I need. If you are working with native HDV you need even less throughput. You can get this drive in all sorts of I/O configurations. I personally like the USB2/eSATA version the best, but all of them, even the basic USB2 version, are fast enough.

The eSATA version feels like you are working with an internal drive. While even the basic USB2 version feels the same as you are editing, the eSATA version just flies through file copies and smart-renders.

I have one MyBook that was a Mac version. The only difference was that it was formatted for a Mac. After deleting the partition and reformatting, it works just fine in Windows.
DGates wrote on 4/30/2008, 9:37 AM
Costco has the 1TB WD for $229 with Firewire, USB2 and eSATA.

http://tinyurl.com/4m7prr
Shergar wrote on 5/1/2008, 12:45 AM
The UK Staples price seems to be currently £259 - which by reckoning means they're charging approx TWO AND A HALF TIMES their US price here. Ugggh!
Laurence wrote on 5/1/2008, 6:57 PM
Who would have thought that a 220 volt transformer would cost so much more... ;-}
DGates wrote on 5/1/2008, 10:44 PM
It boggles the mind how cheap hard drives have become.

In 1998, the same amount ($230) only bought you a 4.3 GB drive.

When I graduated high school in 1983, a 21 MEGABTYE drive cost $2500. Ouch!

I always like looking at this site for interesting details like that.



Coursedesign wrote on 5/1/2008, 11:48 PM
Mmmm, I started using 7MB disk drives that were the size of a medium office refrigerator. Each bit must have been the size of a fist...

That drive was serving an IBM 360/65 with 1 MB RAM in the form of hand-knitted core memory, all cooled by a large fountain outside the building..

And remembering 256KB 5.25" floppy drives that were so lacking in mechanical rigidity that if you moved the computer case after installation of the floppy drive, you had to recalibrate the drive...

Progress brought 5MB single platter 14" hard drives that crashed if you smoked in front of them.
DGates wrote on 5/1/2008, 11:54 PM
=]

farss wrote on 5/2/2008, 3:43 AM
I think it was last week that Seagate shipped their 1 billionth HDD. Currently they ship 1TB of capacity / second.

Bob.