I´m with spline here. The ABS+"AirDrive" combo offers so little over a genuin MacMini (which is able to act as an ABS in itself) which in return is a computer in itself with all the flexibility that gives you. Probably there is a marked for an "AirDrive" but Apple can´t make everything just because a handful of people finds a need for it.
Just one example: When I get my MacBook Pro I am taking my MacMini and placing it high on a shelve as a "home server" for files for the other computers to access. BUT I am also routing an audio cable to the bathroom for speakers so I can listen to internet radio and iTunes while in the bath. I will use Salling Clicker to control it (Salling Clikcer isn´t just for iTunes. If you can AppleScript it Salling Clicker can do it). Salling Clicker solves a very specific need I have for that use that I don´t share with that many people. But other people have other needs. Thats the great thing about software on top on an OS: Its comparable easy to code a program that solves a specific problem so even if only few people need it it makes sense to make the program.
ANother use for a "home server" type of machine is fax. Or IP telephony. Or answering machine. Or home automatisation. Or iSight surveillance. Or combinations: If the iSight see movements in your house the computer calls you and sends a picture to your mobile phone. That can be done with AppleScript. If Apple were to build in features like that (and there is a lot more different things people use headless computers for) into the AirDrive it would be mindboggling complex and still not meet the needs of everybody.
So Apple should spend their R&D on something else more exiting than an AirDrive, sorry.
I'd buy it. I want a drive I can stick in a closet and not have to look at it and do my nightly backups over the network to it. I use super duper to smart copy my entire iMac hdd and it would be nice not to have another freekn hdd on my desk.
I suppose the Airport Express might theoretically be upgraded in a second version to support a USB drive through what is now just a printer port. That might make the Airport Express worth my buying though I would want the drive linked to the wired network.
There's the problem that wireless bandwidth will always be slower than wired bandwidth, and networked bandwidth will always be slower than local bandwidth.
802.11n is called "well over ten times faster than 802.11a/g", which gives us, say, 700 MBit/s. Judging by previous 802.11 versions, only about 75% of that will effectively be used, and that's very optimistic.
Even worse, wireless is half-duplex, and that hurts bandwidth a lot. Last time I saw tests, 54g doesn't go much faster than 20Mbps in practice even when connected at the best rate, so that's about 40%.
To build on that, instead of copying/selecting media, it can just store all of it and make it available over an internet connection, just like Orb does it with Windows and Tivo.
So your really store everything on that drive, and while at home, stream it thru your LAN, but when away, you access your media on the AirDrive through iTunes and files/data thru a drive in the Finder.
On second thought, the streaming to the internet part can be in addition to copying/syncig because currently, there are still places with no Internet.
Also, this can somehow tie in with .Mac.
Is that really so much better than a network drive? I am using a Lacie, and the price was good and it works like a charm. All it wants is an ethernet port, something any router, wireless or otherwise, anywhere on the network can provide. Building an aiport into the drive would only up the cost.
I suppose the Airport Express might theoretically be upgraded in a second version to support a USB drive through what is now just a printer port. That might make the Airport Express worth my buying though I would want the drive linked to the wired network.
At the present time, the problem with the Express regarding a network drive is that it doesn't route, and so it's USB and Ethernet are incapable of routing IP traffic. I don't have the technical knowlegde to know how much would be required to include a router, especially in such a small enclosure.
The StorCenter Wireless Network Storage product has a capacity of 1-terabyte and features wireless network connectivity. The new wireless model will feature WEP and WPA security encryption as well as a gigabit wired Ethernet interface aside from the 802.11g standard implementation. The total physical capacity of the wireless device is 4 PATA drives. It is not clear as to what model and capacity of drives are used to bring it to 1-terabyte; four 250GB drives or two 500GB drives, but hopefully the unit can accommodate larger drives in the future.
Wireless drives will become the standard once you step off of entry level stuff.
Wireless drives will become the standard once you step off of entry level stuff.
Now that I think of it, I'm lost as to why a non-mobile drive really needs wireless capability built in, especially that drive.
My wireless APs have a built-in wired switch or are connected to a switch, so I'd just plug such a drive right into said switch. The current wireless standards are pretty slow, IMO inadequate for moving large files.
If the wireless standard changes, then the wireless drive might need to be upgraded so as to not slow down the wireless network. Any drive connected to a wired switch would not do that, a 10bT device does not throttle the rest of a gigabit network because it is a switched medium rather than a half-duplex bus medium like wireless, which a wireless "g" network slows down a lot when a "b" device attaches, and even more if that device is being asked to communicate a lot of data.
I've just bought a Lacie ethernet mini drive for my iTunes and movie stuff and I'm having allsorts of problems with it. The disk comes formatted in win32 and it's playing after I formatted it in HFS+. I'm ready to throw the damned thing out the window....
A simple solution that would copy my songs that I've bought iTMS from my laptop that I take to work - to a central location would be fantastic. I've got a desktop computer in my study and an intel mac mini under my TV so a solution that could stream my media (and synchronise without duplicates) to all three computers would be fantastic... Plus if it's as easy to setup as other mac stuff then I think it's a winner.
All need is some sort of handheld mini mac remote thingy so i don't have to turn my telly on to play a song them I'm happy....
BUT I am also routing an audio cable to the bathroom for speakers so I can listen to internet radio and iTunes while in the bath. I will use Salling Clicker to control it (Salling Clikcer isn´t just for iTunes. If you can AppleScript it Salling Clicker can do it).
I'll be cheeky and reignite an earlier argument I had with someone on a different thread. All I need after I buy my appleNAS is for apple to liscense Fairplay and I could buy a sonos for the lounge and I won't need to have a computer on to access all my music...
I've just bought a Lacie ethernet mini drive for my iTunes and movie stuff and I'm having allsorts of problems with it. The disk comes formatted in win32 and it's playing after I formatted it in HFS+. I'm ready to throw the damned thing out the window....
A simple solution that would copy my songs that I've bought iTMS from my laptop that I take to work - to a central location would be fantastic. I've got a desktop computer in my study and an intel mac mini under my TV so a solution that could stream my media (and synchronise without duplicates) to all three computers would be fantastic... Plus if it's as easy to setup as other mac stuff then I think it's a winner.
All need is some sort of handheld mini mac remote thingy so i don't have to turn my telly on to play a song them I'm happy....
I have the same drive. If you want to hang it off of a router, you cannot use HFS+. Format it from your USB in ETX3 and then put it on your network and use IP Configurator to get and setup its IP address, and administer it using that IP through your web browser. Once it is setup, it works great, and their tech support line is very helpful.
One thing to note - as of Saturday, even though they claimed that their software was MacIntel compatible, it is not. If you are using a MacIntel, download their Windows utility from the website to format the drive if you have access to a PC or are using Boot Camp.
Have patience and get tech support on the line if you need. This is a great solution. Setup is just a bit of a bear as what you actually have in that drive is a little server with embedded Linux.
Thanks alot for that Netdog. I will try this tonight. It's attached to an airport express and I was avoiding using ext3 as I thought it meant I couldn't use USB. Plus it takes an age to tranfer my iTunes library by WiFi. How do I format the drive in EXT3?
I can already see the benefits as I had my iPhoto library on it and could use the desktop to edit and maintain the library and see the results on my mac mini connected to my TV through front row. My wife has accounts on all the computer so there were many different instances of the same pictures - some with red some without etc....
So as you can see - I'm all for an apple / bonjour solution.. Gig E - .Mac plus 802.11n...
Quote:
Originally posted by netdog
I have the same drive. If you want to hang it off of a router, you cannot use HFS+. Format it from your USB in ETX3 and then put it on your network and use IP Configurator to get and setup its IP address, and administer it using that IP through your web browser. Once it is setup, it works great, and their tech support line is very helpful.
One thing to note - as of Saturday, even though they claimed that their software was MacIntel compatible, it is not. If you are using a MacIntel, download their Windows utility from the website to format the drive if you have access to a PC or are using Boot Camp.
Have patience and get tech support on the line if you need. This is a great solution. Setup is just a bit of a bear as what you actually have in that drive is a little server with embedded Linux.
Thanks alot for that Netdog. I will try this tonight. It's attached to an airport express and I was avoiding using ext3 as I thought it meant I couldn't use USB. Plus it takes an age to tranfer my iTunes library by WiFi. How do I format the drive in EXT3?
I can already see the benefits as I had my iPhoto library on it and could use the desktop to edit and maintain the library and see the results on my mac mini connected to my TV through front row. My wife has accounts on all the computer so there were many different instances of the same pictures - some with red some without etc....
So as you can see - I'm all for an apple / bonjour solution.. Gig E - .Mac plus 802.11n...
You can't use it on the USB once you format with EXT3. Get the IP address of the drive by using IP Configurator. I found it best to not use DMCP to assign an IP, but rather to pick and assign a static IP outside of the range that your router uses for DMCP using IP Configurator (remember to enter the amdin password on that screen when updating, which by default is admin).
Format by calling up the drive in your browser by IP address that you have assigned to the drive, and then click on administrate. You can format it within the browser. When you are all set to use the drive, mount it from the finder by choosing G0->Network Server and then type the address as smb://ip.address.of.drive (the IP address that you have assigned). You will probably need to enter a password there. Once it is working fine, unmount the drive and mount it again, this time telling your Mac to keep the login for the drive in your keychain.
FWIW, I recommend changing the admin username and password, only because wireless networks are so easy to hack, and your music collection is valuable to you. Be sure to back up this drive too. Drives fail.
Cheers - I'm trying this now but am still transfering the files (takes forever over WiFi) tried accessing the disk half through the transfer and didn't get any problems. so far so good....
Quote:
Originally posted by netdog
You can't use it on the USB once you format with EXT3. Get the IP address of the drive by using IP Configurator. I found it best to not use DMCP to assign an IP, but rather to pick and assign a static IP outside of the range that your router uses for DMCP using IP Configurator (remember to enter the amdin password on that screen when updating, which by default is admin).
Format by calling up the drive in your browser by IP address that you have assigned to the drive, and then click on administrate. You can format it within the browser. When you are all set to use the drive, mount it from the finder by choosing G0->Network Server and then type the address as smb://ip.address.of.drive (the IP address that you have assigned). You will probably need to enter a password there. Once it is working fine, unmount the drive and mount it again, this time telling your Mac to keep the login for the drive in your keychain.
FWIW, I recommend changing the admin username and password, only because wireless networks are so easy to hack, and your music collection is valuable to you. Be sure to back up this drive too. Drives fail.
Cheers - I'm trying this now but am still transfering the files (takes forever over WiFi) tried accessing the disk half through the transfer and didn't get any problems. so far so good....
I made the mistake of doing a full backup to mine yesterday via 802.11g, something that will be fine for the coming incrementals, but was a big mistake for the intial full backup. I should have connected the computer to the hub via ethernet just for that event. Oh well. Live and learn.
I was browsing around yesterday, and so far, the closest product I have found to what I was talking about earlier is the mirra personal server clicky. (windows only, sadly).
This is an NAS and then it gives you access to all of your data on the NAS when you're away from your LAN.
So if this product was able to give you "instant" access to all the data on it over the web, you wouldn't need to download anything from it. Example: need access to a doc stored on the NAS when away from LAN; access the file via an App or a website (like mirra's) and open the original document on the NAS, not download a backup.
Wonder how this will work with FrontRow on a MacMini in the living room (if it were mac compatible, that is).
What else does it need? Wifi to be able to listen to music via AP express?
Comments
ANother use for a "home server" type of machine is fax. Or IP telephony. Or answering machine. Or home automatisation. Or iSight surveillance. Or combinations: If the iSight see movements in your house the computer calls you and sends a picture to your mobile phone. That can be done with AppleScript. If Apple were to build in features like that (and there is a lot more different things people use headless computers for) into the AirDrive it would be mindboggling complex and still not meet the needs of everybody.
So Apple should spend their R&D on something else more exiting than an AirDrive, sorry.
Originally posted by Chucker
There's the problem that wireless bandwidth will always be slower than wired bandwidth, and networked bandwidth will always be slower than local bandwidth.
802.11n is called "well over ten times faster than 802.11a/g", which gives us, say, 700 MBit/s. Judging by previous 802.11 versions, only about 75% of that will effectively be used, and that's very optimistic.
Even worse, wireless is half-duplex, and that hurts bandwidth a lot. Last time I saw tests, 54g doesn't go much faster than 20Mbps in practice even when connected at the best rate, so that's about 40%.
Originally posted by alexluft
To build on that, instead of copying/selecting media, it can just store all of it and make it available over an internet connection, just like Orb does it with Windows and Tivo.
So your really store everything on that drive, and while at home, stream it thru your LAN, but when away, you access your media on the AirDrive through iTunes and files/data thru a drive in the Finder.
On second thought, the streaming to the internet part can be in addition to copying/syncig because currently, there are still places with no Internet.
Also, this can somehow tie in with .Mac.
Is that really so much better than a network drive? I am using a Lacie, and the price was good and it works like a charm. All it wants is an ethernet port, something any router, wireless or otherwise, anywhere on the network can provide. Building an aiport into the drive would only up the cost.
Originally posted by JeffDM
I suppose the Airport Express might theoretically be upgraded in a second version to support a USB drive through what is now just a printer port. That might make the Airport Express worth my buying though I would want the drive linked to the wired network.
At the present time, the problem with the Express regarding a network drive is that it doesn't route, and so it's USB and Ethernet are incapable of routing IP traffic. I don't have the technical knowlegde to know how much would be required to include a router, especially in such a small enclosure.
The StorCenter Wireless Network Storage product has a capacity of 1-terabyte and features wireless network connectivity. The new wireless model will feature WEP and WPA security encryption as well as a gigabit wired Ethernet interface aside from the 802.11g standard implementation. The total physical capacity of the wireless device is 4 PATA drives. It is not clear as to what model and capacity of drives are used to bring it to 1-terabyte; four 250GB drives or two 500GB drives, but hopefully the unit can accommodate larger drives in the future.
Wireless drives will become the standard once you step off of entry level stuff.
Originally posted by hmurchison
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1923
Wireless drives will become the standard once you step off of entry level stuff.
Now that I think of it, I'm lost as to why a non-mobile drive really needs wireless capability built in, especially that drive.
My wireless APs have a built-in wired switch or are connected to a switch, so I'd just plug such a drive right into said switch. The current wireless standards are pretty slow, IMO inadequate for moving large files.
If the wireless standard changes, then the wireless drive might need to be upgraded so as to not slow down the wireless network. Any drive connected to a wired switch would not do that, a 10bT device does not throttle the rest of a gigabit network because it is a switched medium rather than a half-duplex bus medium like wireless, which a wireless "g" network slows down a lot when a "b" device attaches, and even more if that device is being asked to communicate a lot of data.
A simple solution that would copy my songs that I've bought iTMS from my laptop that I take to work - to a central location would be fantastic. I've got a desktop computer in my study and an intel mac mini under my TV so a solution that could stream my media (and synchronise without duplicates) to all three computers would be fantastic... Plus if it's as easy to setup as other mac stuff then I think it's a winner.
All need is some sort of handheld mini mac remote thingy so i don't have to turn my telly on to play a song them I'm happy....
Originally posted by Anders
BUT I am also routing an audio cable to the bathroom for speakers so I can listen to internet radio and iTunes while in the bath. I will use Salling Clicker to control it (Salling Clikcer isn´t just for iTunes. If you can AppleScript it Salling Clicker can do it).
I'll be cheeky and reignite an earlier argument I had with someone on a different thread. All I need after I buy my appleNAS is for apple to liscense Fairplay and I could buy a sonos for the lounge and I won't need to have a computer on to access all my music...
Originally posted by VF208
I've just bought a Lacie ethernet mini drive for my iTunes and movie stuff and I'm having allsorts of problems with it. The disk comes formatted in win32 and it's playing after I formatted it in HFS+. I'm ready to throw the damned thing out the window....
A simple solution that would copy my songs that I've bought iTMS from my laptop that I take to work - to a central location would be fantastic. I've got a desktop computer in my study and an intel mac mini under my TV so a solution that could stream my media (and synchronise without duplicates) to all three computers would be fantastic... Plus if it's as easy to setup as other mac stuff then I think it's a winner.
All need is some sort of handheld mini mac remote thingy so i don't have to turn my telly on to play a song them I'm happy....
I have the same drive. If you want to hang it off of a router, you cannot use HFS+. Format it from your USB in ETX3 and then put it on your network and use IP Configurator to get and setup its IP address, and administer it using that IP through your web browser. Once it is setup, it works great, and their tech support line is very helpful.
One thing to note - as of Saturday, even though they claimed that their software was MacIntel compatible, it is not. If you are using a MacIntel, download their Windows utility from the website to format the drive if you have access to a PC or are using Boot Camp.
Have patience and get tech support on the line if you need. This is a great solution. Setup is just a bit of a bear as what you actually have in that drive is a little server with embedded Linux.
I can already see the benefits as I had my iPhoto library on it and could use the desktop to edit and maintain the library and see the results on my mac mini connected to my TV through front row. My wife has accounts on all the computer so there were many different instances of the same pictures - some with red some without etc....
So as you can see - I'm all for an apple / bonjour solution.. Gig E - .Mac plus 802.11n...
Originally posted by netdog
I have the same drive. If you want to hang it off of a router, you cannot use HFS+. Format it from your USB in ETX3 and then put it on your network and use IP Configurator to get and setup its IP address, and administer it using that IP through your web browser. Once it is setup, it works great, and their tech support line is very helpful.
One thing to note - as of Saturday, even though they claimed that their software was MacIntel compatible, it is not. If you are using a MacIntel, download their Windows utility from the website to format the drive if you have access to a PC or are using Boot Camp.
Have patience and get tech support on the line if you need. This is a great solution. Setup is just a bit of a bear as what you actually have in that drive is a little server with embedded Linux.
Originally posted by VF208
Thanks alot for that Netdog. I will try this tonight. It's attached to an airport express and I was avoiding using ext3 as I thought it meant I couldn't use USB. Plus it takes an age to tranfer my iTunes library by WiFi. How do I format the drive in EXT3?
I can already see the benefits as I had my iPhoto library on it and could use the desktop to edit and maintain the library and see the results on my mac mini connected to my TV through front row. My wife has accounts on all the computer so there were many different instances of the same pictures - some with red some without etc....
So as you can see - I'm all for an apple / bonjour solution.. Gig E - .Mac plus 802.11n...
You can't use it on the USB once you format with EXT3. Get the IP address of the drive by using IP Configurator. I found it best to not use DMCP to assign an IP, but rather to pick and assign a static IP outside of the range that your router uses for DMCP using IP Configurator (remember to enter the amdin password on that screen when updating, which by default is admin).
Format by calling up the drive in your browser by IP address that you have assigned to the drive, and then click on administrate. You can format it within the browser. When you are all set to use the drive, mount it from the finder by choosing G0->Network Server and then type the address as smb://ip.address.of.drive (the IP address that you have assigned). You will probably need to enter a password there. Once it is working fine, unmount the drive and mount it again, this time telling your Mac to keep the login for the drive in your keychain.
FWIW, I recommend changing the admin username and password, only because wireless networks are so easy to hack, and your music collection is valuable to you. Be sure to back up this drive too. Drives fail.
Originally posted by netdog
You can't use it on the USB once you format with EXT3. Get the IP address of the drive by using IP Configurator. I found it best to not use DMCP to assign an IP, but rather to pick and assign a static IP outside of the range that your router uses for DMCP using IP Configurator (remember to enter the amdin password on that screen when updating, which by default is admin).
Format by calling up the drive in your browser by IP address that you have assigned to the drive, and then click on administrate. You can format it within the browser. When you are all set to use the drive, mount it from the finder by choosing G0->Network Server and then type the address as smb://ip.address.of.drive (the IP address that you have assigned). You will probably need to enter a password there. Once it is working fine, unmount the drive and mount it again, this time telling your Mac to keep the login for the drive in your keychain.
FWIW, I recommend changing the admin username and password, only because wireless networks are so easy to hack, and your music collection is valuable to you. Be sure to back up this drive too. Drives fail.
Originally posted by VF208
Cheers - I'm trying this now but am still transfering the files (takes forever over WiFi) tried accessing the disk half through the transfer and didn't get any problems. so far so good....
I made the mistake of doing a full backup to mine yesterday via 802.11g, something that will be fine for the coming incrementals, but was a big mistake for the intial full backup. I should have connected the computer to the hub via ethernet just for that event. Oh well. Live and learn.
didn't realize this thread is still going!!!
I was browsing around yesterday, and so far, the closest product I have found to what I was talking about earlier is the mirra personal server clicky. (windows only, sadly).
This is an NAS and then it gives you access to all of your data on the NAS when you're away from your LAN.
So if this product was able to give you "instant" access to all the data on it over the web, you wouldn't need to download anything from it. Example: need access to a doc stored on the NAS when away from LAN; access the file via an App or a website (like mirra's) and open the original document on the NAS, not download a backup.
Wonder how this will work with FrontRow on a MacMini in the living room (if it were mac compatible, that is).
What else does it need? Wifi to be able to listen to music via AP express?