network storage

Get a 1TB Iomega network drive for $114.99

Sigh. I should have known this morning's Best Buy Netbook would sell out. Grumble, grumble. Well, here's something just as good, IMHO.

Dell has the Iomega 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive for $114.99 shipped. That's one of the best NAS deals I've ever seen.

An NAS (network-attached storage) system is great for backing up and sharing media between multiple household computers. It also makes any selected data available over the Internet--nice for sharing, say, photo slideshows with distant relatives.

Be sure to read CNET's review of the Iomega drive and watch the above … Read more

Synology launches Time Machine-enabled NAS

It's fair to say that so far Synology is the NAS maker with the fewest misses. Ever since the company joined the network storage arena in early 2008, it has earned three CNET Editors' Choice awards, with the newest one being the DS409Slim.

Synology NAS servers offer a vast number of features; signature among those are the advanced surveillance system, sophisticated photo sharing/managing capability, and a robust user interface. And now Synolgoy has overcome one of its only former missteps: by adding support for Apple's Time Machine.

The company announced Wednesday the launch of its new four-bay … Read more

Hands-on: Western Digital's all new WD TV Live

Awhile ago, Western Digital tackled the home entertainment arena with the WD TV, which turned out to be a success. Nonetheless, a lot of enthusiasts, including me, were turned off by the fact that the WD TV lacks support for networking and doesn't include the capability to decode DTS audio, which is popularly used in compressed high-def video formats.

It seems Western Digital took our complaints to heart as the company announced Tuesday the availability of the next generation of the device, the WD TV Live HD Media Player.

Outside, the WD TV Live has the same shape and size as the WD TV. However, on the back, apart from the USB, HDMI, and composite ports, you'll find the newly added 10/100 Ethernet port. This port opens the device to many possibilities, which, for now, include access to YouTube, Flickr, and Internet radio stations.

On the inside, the device now can decode both DTS and DTS 2.0 audio encoding and sports a faster processor.

Like the previous WD TV, the new WD TV Live supports playing back all kinds of video, audio, and photo formats, including the most popular high-def video formats such as Matroska (MKV) and DivX. In addition, it also has these new and improved features:

Full-HD 1080p video playback with support for different sound tracks, subtitles (when available), and the capability to decode DTS audio Capability to play videos, music, photos, and radio from the Internet Ethernet port for wired connection to access digital content from other network devices Supports two USB mass storage devices at the same time, including external hard drives, digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players

I tried the unit out and it was indeed a much better experience than the WD TV. … Read more

Iomega upgrades StorCenter ix2 NAS server

If you like the StorCenter ix2 NAS server, Iomega has some news for you.

The company announced Thursday the next generation of the server, the Iomega StorCenter ix2-200. This is a dual-bay NAS server that can be set up in RAID 1 configuration for data protection.

Like the previous version, the new server doesn't offer a quick way to replace the hard drive. You will have to use quite a bit of screwdriving work to get this done, which means no hot-swapping, either. Some other two-bay NAS servers, such as the QNAP TS-239 Pro, offer a tool-free way to do this. The new Iomega NAS server also lacks an eSATA port for external storage.

To make up for this, it has Bluetooth support, which has been the unique feature of Iomega NAS servers, and comes with three USB ports that can be used with both USB external hard drives and printers. The server is powered by EMC's Linux-based proprietary firmware, which offers a generous set of network storage features, including:… Read more

Netgear unveils Stora NAS

Thinking that its Ready NAS line of storage devices is too business-centric, Netgear on Monday announced a line of its network-attached storage servers, the Netgear Stora, that Drew Meyer, director of marketing for Netgear's NAS unit, called "most definitely a platform for everyone."

The new NAS server is a two-bay storage device that can hold two internal SATA hard drives of any capacity. For now, that means drives offering up to 2TB of storage in RAID1 (mirrored) configuration. This RAID configuration mirrors data on two drives for protection against a hard drive failure.

The server supports PCs, … Read more

Roundup: HP announces new laptops, PCs, network storage, and monitors

HP announced its fall lineup today, which included new Windows 7 laptops, an Ion-powered Netbook, SmartMedia network storage products, an all-in-one desktop, and an assortment of business-centric monitors.

HP gets an Ion-powered HD Netbook With a Nvidia Ion processor and a 1,366x768 11.6-inch screen, the HP Mini 311 looks to be the type of souped-up HD Netbook we've been waiting for. (Posted in Crave by Scott Stein) September 14, 2009, 9:06 p.m. PDT

HP 13-inch laptops bring on aluminum and affordability Just in time for Windows 7 comes HP's new Windows 7-preinstalled 13-inch thin-and-lights. (… Read more

HP launches new SmartMedia network storage servers

I reviewed the HP MediaSmart LX190 a while ago, and though I wished it had more storage, I still gave it the editors' choice award for its great performance. And now both the storage and performance have been increased.

HP launched Monday the two new models of the MediaSmart EX490 and MediaSmart EX495 Home Servers, offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, and more features.

Similar to previous models, both new servers are based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform. However, they both now have a refined user interface and a Web-based home page that further facilitates accessing and using the … Read more

Iomega ships new NAS server for small businesses, schools

It's back-to-school time, and this is something students might get to use without having to pay for.

Iomega announced Thursday the worldwide availability of the quad-drive desktop NAS server, the Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d. EMC, the parent company of Iomega, simultaneously announced that as part of its Academic Alliance Program which has the participation of more than 300 universities and colleges around the world, each school will score a StorCenter ix4-200d NAS appliance.

The new NAS server--which is geared toward small businesses and home office environments--can support four SATA hard drives of up to 2TB each, making the combined storage amount up to 8TB. It supports RAID 5 and RAID 10 (a combination of RAID 1 and RAID 0) as well as JBOD and is said to be so easy to use you can get it up and running via a few mouse clicks.

Other features of the NAS server include:… Read more

Crave giveaway of the week: HP MediaSmart Server LX195

Here we go again with another installment of the weekly Crave giveaway. This week's gadget: the HP MediaSmart Server LX195, a great network storage and backup device for home users.

In case you're wondering what CNET really thinks about it, CNET editor Dong Ngo recently gave the LX195 an Editors' Choice award. He says, "The device offers stellar performance, and great backup and remote access options for a reasonable price." (Read the full review of the HP MediaSmart Server LX195.)

Normally, HP's MediaSmart Server LX195 costs about $400, but you have the chance to get … Read more