Maxtor Shared Storage Plus

[G9]

I have several questions about Maxtor's Network Shared Storage plus external harddrive.

Firstly, does it have a firewire unit, or just the 2 listed USB connections along with an ethernet device?

Secondly, does a firewire unit run faster than a USB connection?

In conclusion, will the network storage be preset as connected to your network, or must you set it up? I am just drawn to the idea of having it only for my computer, not my home network, as I am planning to use the 500 GB as the harddrive for my computer.

Some Information

 

[Tro1086]

Well from looking at it on the link you gave, it looks like it only connects with ethernet (RJ45) cable. So you wouldnt use Fire Wire or USB, and for the record I beleive USB 2.0 is rated to 480MB/s and FireWire is 400MB/s.

How much are you buying it for? If you just want a 500Gb HD for your computer you could just get an internal HD and it would probably be faster, and more secure atleast, someone cant just take it off ur desk and walk away with it. I think Internal drives are usually cheaper then external drives, and there not hard to hook up or setup. Infact if you buy an internal drive, they come with real good instructions that tell you completely how to install them, if youv never done it before.

 

[G9]

I'm looking for portability here. Additionally, would you be able to answer my concluding question? Thanks by the way, I never knew USB was faster than firewire...

 

[Tro1086]

Well I have never used one of those before but from the description on there site it says it sets itself up for all computers to see it as a local disk, whether or not there is an option for only one computer to see/use it, I dont know. You could probably email Maxtor with your question and get the best awnser.

And Im just curious, you say you only want to use it for your computer and not on the network, but then you say you want the portability. Do you mean you only want it to be used on your computer at home, but then you want to be able to disconnect it and take it with to work/friends house? If so then this would be a good solution for you, but if you never plan to disconnect it and take it elseware, then I would still sudgest an internal drive.