[Macworld]

Post your comments for Iomega's Mac Companion hard drive nicely complements the Mac here

[wingsy]

Has too many restrictions and is priced even higher than I would pay for a Thunderbolt drive. And Iomega doesn't make a Thunderbolt drive of any kind. You'd think they would have joined the party by now.

[bastion]

wingsy, on 15 November 2011 - 04:49 AM, said:

Has too many restrictions and is priced even higher than I would pay for a Thunderbolt drive.

Not sure what restrictions you're talking about, but the price isn't bad at all. 3TB 7200RPM drives (the article doesn't mention RPM, but the product spec sheet does) run about $350 bare. A FW800/USB2 case is tens of dollars, but you're probably looking at minimally $50-60 for one that includes a USB hub.

[mojo66]

The article doesn't mention noise. Even the device doesn't emit any noise, it would be worth mentioning.

[DanNeesley]

Apple can make tiny devices with internal power supplies: MacMini with two internal drives, for example.

Why does one need to put up with 3rd party junk that doesn't engineer their gear properly?

[tln1ltj2]

I like Iomega's options for connection. And it's great that they supply cables for all options. How often do we buy externals without cables. It's like "batteries not included" when you buy your first printer only to discover you have no way to connect it to you Mac. Iomega eliminates this concern and doesn't make you decide in advance which cable you want, but provides all 3.

I do agree with the one drawback. To use it as a USB hub, you have to have it connected by the slowest option, USB. Since it is a powered device, it would be much better to have its USB hub function even when connected via FireWire. I've chosen to take advantage of the USB hub, but for my first Time Machine backup, opted to use the FireWire 800 connection, and then switch to the USB connection so I could use the hub capabilities.

[bastion]

DanNeesley, on 15 November 2011 - 06:40 AM, said:

Apple can make tiny devices with internal power supplies: MacMini with two internal drives, for example.

Why does one need to put up with 3rd party junk that doesn't engineer their gear properly?

Yes. Of course. It's an engineering failure that iomega couldn't cram an internal power supply into a case with a smaller footprint (and barely taller) than a Mac mini along with the 3.5" wide, >1" tall drive that's in there.

Amusing fact: The drives in this iomega product are 23.8 cubic inches. The drives in the Mac mini are 4 cubic inches. A set of mini drives stacked 2 wide and 3 high has a smaller footprint that the mechanism iomega's using and is less than 0.1" taller.

You can kibbitz when Apple comes out with their 6-drive model and still has no brick.

[kirkmc]

I'm interested in the noise as well. Does it have a fan?

[wingsy]

bastion, on 15 November 2011 - 05:18 AM, said:

wingsy, on 15 November 2011 - 04:49 AM, said:

Has too many restrictions and is priced even higher than I would pay for a Thunderbolt drive.

Not sure what restrictions you're talking about ....

The ones talked about in the article. (1) Can't charge an active iPad if using the USB to host connection, (2) USB to host connection is via a dedicated USB port -- don't know why that is, and isn't THAT big a deal, but it's a funny requirement, (3) Can't use the USB hub if your connection to host is Firewire -- now why is THAT?, (4) Can't sync if connected via Firewire, (5) And as I mentioned, no Thunderbolt. And maybe #6, Why didn't they at least include USB 3 for the host connection? It's coming to Macs soon.

[CapnVan]

Pardon my confusion: If the ports are at the back, and it's designed to sit on the stand of the iMac or Cinema Display, aren't all those ports pointing directly at the vertical part of the stand? Doesn't that grossly restrict your ability to plug in cables, let alone something like a USB drive?

Am I just confused, or is this the height of a design misstep?

[cemedigital7]

Let me dust of my zip drive first

[bastion]

wingsy, on 15 November 2011 - 08:58 AM, said:

bastion, on 15 November 2011 - 05:18 AM, said:

Not sure what restrictions you're talking about ....

The ones talked about in the article. (1) Can't charge an active iPad if using the USB to host connection,

A bummer, yes. But as a first-day iPad owner I'm not thinking it's a major inconvenience. YMMV.

Quote

(2) USB to host connection is via a dedicated USB port -- don't know why that is, and isn't THAT big a deal, but it's a funny requirement,

Which is shared by every single USB peripheral ever shipped.

Quote

(3) Can't use the USB hub if your connection to host is Firewire -- now why is THAT?, (4) Can't sync if connected via Firewire,

These are a single issue, and the answer is: Because you can't have a functional USB hub without it being connected a USB host controller. There are very few enclosures on the market that do any better than this.

Quote

(5) And as I mentioned, no Thunderbolt. And maybe #6, Why didn't they at least include USB 3 for the host connection? It's coming to Macs soon.

USB will be on Macs soon? News to me.
You might note that there are very few vendors shipping TB devices to date. You might also have noted recent coverage in some outlets offering a plausible reason *why*. (Less expensive controllers on the horizon.)

[tony_d]

wingsy, on 15 November 2011 - 08:58 AM, said:

bastion, on 15 November 2011 - 05:18 AM, said:

wingsy, on 15 November 2011 - 04:49 AM, said:

Has too many restrictions and is priced even higher than I would pay for a Thunderbolt drive.

Not sure what restrictions you're talking about ....

The ones talked about in the article. (1) Can't charge an active iPad if using the USB to host connection, (2) USB to host connection is via a dedicated USB port -- don't know why that is, and isn't THAT big a deal, but it's a funny requirement, (3) Can't use the USB hub if your connection to host is Firewire -- now why is THAT?, (4) Can't sync if connected via Firewire, (5) And as I mentioned, no Thunderbolt. And maybe #6, Why didn't they at least include USB 3 for the host connection? It's coming to Macs soon.

Have to agree with wingsy on this, no Thunderbolt is no sale. If this had a TB port it would be an awesome external drive with a breakout box for a MBA. All the weird restrictions he points out would be solved with a TB connection. Don't know why so many external drive makers are missing out on this.

[bonesb]

mojo66, on 15 November 2011 - 06:38 AM, said:

The article doesn't mention noise. Even the device doesn't emit any noise, it would be worth mentioning.

I'm wondering if it makes the "click, click, click" sound?