Few topics kill a conversation faster than storage. Yet thanks to our PCs, cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, and other gadgets, we're drowning in data. Last year, the world amassed 5 exabytes of new information, according to a recent UC Berkeley study. That's 800MB of fresh data for every man, woman, and child, most of it stored on hard drives.

Suddenly, hard drives are hot. By sticking drives in all sorts of gadgets--Apple iPod, anyone?--big-name electronics companies have already given the storage industry a lift. But computer companies are taking a more innovative approach, adding smarts to the drives.

Suddenly, hard drives are hot.

One of the more interesting solutions is XiMeta's NetDisk. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary external drive, albeit a well-designed one. But it has a trick up its sleeve; in addition to USB 2.0, it has an Ethernet jack. Just plug it into your network at home or at work, and all PCs on the network have access to it.

XiMeta NetDisk

XiMeta has taken the enterprise concept of network-attached storage (NAS) and shrunk it down to the personal level. The company calls it NDAS, or Network Direct Attached Storage. The NetDisk, which starts at about $190, is simpler and cheaper than an NAS appliance because it skips the server part. Instead, you plug it directly into the hub or switch on your home network, typically the one in your wireless base station. Theoretically, you could also plug it into a wireless bridge, then put it wherever you like within range of an access point.

The 3-pound NetDisk measures 1.3 by 4.8 by 8.3 inches, fitting easily into most laptop bags. It's color-coded by capacity: the 80GB version is blue, the 120GB white, and the 160GB red. I've been testing the blue one both at home, connected to my network via the switch on my Microsoft MN-700 wireless router, and at work, connected to my PC via USB.

I can shuttle my entire music collection between home and office.

Like any hard drive, NetDisk can be used to store documents, run applications or play games over a network, or back up your system (it comes with mirroring software). But I found it to be most useful as a digital wallet for my MP3s, snapshots, and home videos. Judging from the user comments online, that's what most early customers are using it for, and it makes sense. I can shuttle my entire music collection between home and office, so I don't need to rip all my CDs twice, and I don't have to worry about transferring gigabytes of family photos every time I upgrade to a new PC. If you run out of space, you can even stack multiple NetDrives in a cluster arrangement, making an 80GB drive and a 120GB drive look like a single 200GB drive.

NetDisk has some limitations, but most are relatively minor: It has no power button, and when I let it run continuously, the aluminum case got mighty warm. Nor does it have FireWire. And though XiMeta says it's hot-swappable, when I switched between USB and Ethernet modes--there's a tiny switch next to the ports in back--I sometimes had to reboot to get things going again.

The software issues are more serious. First, to use it on a LAN, every computer must also have the included software. That's no big deal for a home or small-business network. But currently, the software is available only for Windows XP and 2000 (an alpha version of the Mac OS X software is available on XiMeta's site, but it doesn't support all of NetDisk's features). Second, only one PC on the network can access the NetDisk at a time. Finally, because it isn't truly plug and play, it will be difficult to attach to electronics, which are increasingly sprouting Ethernet jacks. XiMeta hints, however, that it's working closely with manufacturers to integrate NetDisk support into DVRs, DVD recorders, set-top boxes, and related products.