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admin
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 Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:29 pm Post subject: WD Unveils New My Passport Drives for Mac |
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WD Unveils New My Passport Drives for Mac
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Posted by: Staff
Western Digital today announced the release of their new line of My Passport portable hard drives for Mac users. The new My Passport Studio drive comes in capacities of 500GB, 750GB and 1TB. It features an all-metal enclosure with USB 2.0 and dual FireWire 800 interfaces. Pricing for the line starts at $140 and tops out at $180. The new My Passport for Mac drive also comes in capacities 500GB, 750GB and 1TB, but only includes a single USB 2.0 interface. Pricing for this line starts at $100 and tops out at $130.
http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/1713.html |
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Bandit Bill
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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They look really good and the FW800 is a nice touch.
The big questions for me:
-Did WD integrate the controller into the drive on these models?
-Are the drive utilities built into the firmware? Can you get rid of them?
-When you first plug in the drive is Time Machine and immediate option or do you have to opt out of the WD software first?
-What's the warranty?
-Are they using 7200 RPM drives in the FW models?
Last edited by Bandit Bill on Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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aquaman
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:34 am Post subject: |
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The Studio drive looks really nice. Based on this PDF, it looks like they come with a two year warranty.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/AAG/ENG/4178-705215.pdf
I don't imagine any the software they provide now will get in the way. I've owned several desktop and portable drives from WD. You can just pretty much ignore it in the tools/software folder. It's not built into the firmware. |
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Grasshopper
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:49 am Post subject: |
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I like the looks of the My Studio enclosure in black and silver. I think they should have toned down the graphics though. The WD badge alone would have been enough if you ask me. I also like that it has FW 800 ports. I'm not sure like Bandit Bill on what speed drive it has though. Does here anyone see that info?
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g5g5
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:14 am Post subject: |
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The 500GB and 750GB drives could be 7200RPM, but I don't believe there is a 1TB 2.5" drive on the market yet spinning at that speed. Therefore, my guess would be 5400RPM drives across the board.
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jb
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:39 am Post subject: |
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| Bandit Bill wrote: | They look really good and the FW800 is a nice touch.
-Are the drive utilities built into the firmware? Can you get rid of them?
-When you first plug in the drive is Time Machine and immediate option or do you have to opt out of the LaCie software first?
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Why does a WD drive have LaCie software on it? |
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Bandit Bill
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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| jb wrote: | | Bandit Bill wrote: | They look really good and the FW800 is a nice touch.
-Are the drive utilities built into the firmware? Can you get rid of them?
-When you first plug in the drive is Time Machine and immediate option or do you have to opt out of the LaCie software first?
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Why does a WD drive have LaCie software on it? |
That should have read Western Digital, I edited it now, thanks.
LaCie drives (most) have LaCie software that loads when you first plug in the drive. WD drives I have had in the past, do the same thing. This can cause issues. Even current drives that are sold today, can contain PPC based installation software. As soon as you plug in the drive, it tells you that it is incompatible with Lion.
Now if you have software like this loaded into the firmware on the drive, every time you plug it in, you get an error and you may never be able to get rid of it.
I've contacted WD techs in the past in an effort to get rid of the software built into the integrated controllers firmware. It was a no go situation. In this case the drive worked, but you were unable to unmount the drive. Every time you threw the drive icon in the trash to eject it, the built in firmware would remount the drive within seconds.
I can't be bothered with unnecessary non sense. I took the WD drive back.
I still use WD drives, but unless things have changed, I'm not a fan of their drives and enclosures.
I've had a customer come into my store with similar complaints about 2 weeks ago, so this may still be how they are set up.
At least with a LaCie drive I can remove the software if I wish. If the drive dies inside the enclosure I can replace the drive inside (typically Hitachi).
I'm not bashing WD, but I've had bad experiences in the past. I'll shy away from them or do a bit of research before I ever purchase another WD external. |
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jb
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Good explanation Bandit, and thanks. |
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