Advantages: Flexibility, Smartsync Software
Disadvantages: Simultaneous access to Mac and PC

...allows you to schedule folders locally to sychronize with folders on your network storage. Very handy and again very user friendly. Altogether a very cool piece of kit. I'm glad i got it.... Read review

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Advantages: Solid, feature packed, easy to use
Disadvantages: Not as fast as direct attached storage, plus a little noisy.

...I have been using my Buffalo (called 'Bertie'!) for over 4 months now, and it has worked very well indeed. Bertie is connected to my gigabit switch and is accessed by 4 other computers, and it also hosts a file sharing site too. The drive sits in a Windows environment, and is very easy to connect up. After a 15 second boot process, you access the features of the drive through a browser. All the usual tools for network drives are there, plus some seriously useful user permissions, and trashcan tools. It has hot swappable drives too (I bought a spare just in case), but this sold beast I feel will never breakdown. It's not the quietest drive in the world, but this is a minor annoyance. The actual data transfer over the network is not as fast as directly attached storage, but the benefits of using a network far out weigh this. When I need... Read review

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Advantages: Does what you want it to, reliability
Disadvantages: looks, speed, size

...I have found that this hard drive is pretty good, however, it is not the best! I will first describe what I like about the external hard drive: Storage: There is plenty of storage for most home users to back up their data onto it. There is also the option to connect this to a network hard drive by western digital (not sure if all of W D's network hard drives will allow this to be used as an extension). There is also the same item but with larger capacities. Tough: This item appears, and feels quite tough. USB 2.0 - good feature I don't like the fact that there is no firewire - faster than USB 2.0. USB speed changes, whereas firewire (either 400 or 800) stays at the same speed (400 mbps or 800 mbps) It looks quite ugly in my opinion - there are more appealing external HDDs Overall: If you want a hard drive that will do... Read review

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Advantages: Very stylish, reliable high specification PC
Disadvantages: HP software not really needed.

...or gaming. RAM - Possible 8GB maximum storage of 800Mhz bus speed ram nice and fast, also plenty of room for a upgrade if needed. STORAGE -250GB Hard drive. plenty of room for storage of any data required. NETWORKING - Onboard gigabyte network device fast dependable data transfer rated over any network. i would personally give HP 10/10 for support i have never had a issue with them. This desktop PC is reliable, fast, User friendly and comes with great manufacturer support. Highly recommended... Read review

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Advantages: All in one unit, compact
Disadvantages: Can get noisey when hot

...I must admit, I was a bit cautious about buying this, specially with the price and what it does. But got it home and I was amazed with all the features it acctually has! Got mine from zomp.net. Really good price, and delivery was the next day! Features: Built-in 160gb HDD - speaks for itself really, loads of storage for all you PC's to access, with the option to set up user profiles, so you all have your own part of tha HDD password protected. Plus you can limit the amount of HDD space each user uses. FTP Server - now this was my favorite. Able to access you documens from anywhere that has internet. You just need you username & password that you set up! And 'bobs you uncle' you can pull your files off to show friends. Or set up a guest account for anyone to access the files. Web Server - Not explored this yet, but it seems a very... Read review

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Advantages: Easy access to files, claim back computer hard drive space
Disadvantages: Not as fast as a USB2 or Firewire hard drive

...In this ever-growing digital world, where for entertainment we rely on digital cameras, MP3 files and movie downloads, the need for more and more storage space is a weekly, if not daily problem. For those of you who produce projects, such as home videos, the problem is even more evident. Add to this that the average household will have more than one computer, the value of some sort of shared centralised storage device is very valuable indeed. Network Attached Storage devices (or NAS as they are often referred to) are growing in popularity. In their simplest form, they are hard drives that connect to your network via ethernet, rather than locally to your computer via USB. The fact that they are attached to your network means that you can make the content accessible to computers that are also attached to your network. This even extends... Read review

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Advantages: Simple, dual speed, small size
Disadvantages: Only 5 ports (?)

...), and being the same size as my Office Connct wireless access point, looks great too, with LED status indicators on the front show power, port status/activity & duplex-ing. The Ciao picture's not quite right, I think, as the switch doesn't have a curved back to it... It would be a shame if something I bought for a pound did not meet my expectations, and there's certainly no dissapointment here ! If you need to connect more stuff to your network - more PC's, network storage, print server etc - then this is a great option. I hope this helps.... Read review

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Advantages: Free, easy, fast and reliable
Disadvantages: Complicated install and many configuration options

...Before i start i apologize for the technical language in this review but im assuming if your reading this review you have some knowledge of computers and an interest in geekyness !!. What is FreeNAS FreeNAS is exactly what the title says, its a Linux based operating system IE the software that tells a computer to run . FreeNAS stands for free network attached storage. To use this OS you have to download it from the website in the form of an ISO which then needs to be burnt to a CD, once that's done the complicated stuff is over, pop the cd into any spare computer you have and FreeNAS takes over, the installer runs and then you configure the network and disks following the comprehensive user manual. The computer reboots and you can access the web based configuration site over the network, and view the hard drives as network shares... Read review

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Advantages: external, fast, networked
Disadvantages: noisy fan

...If you need extra storage and you have a router then buy this - don't hesitate. I needed extra hard drive space particularly for back up and archiving a huge collection of photos (about 250,000 of them). The joy of this system is that you plug it into your router, although it will also work with usb if you don't use a router, and just map a drive in Windows Explorer. you install a small bit of software (if needed) to find it then just access it as normal. You can set up directories, sharing permissions and everything else via web browser. The added benefit is that anybody on your network can have access to shared files and private files. Only one thing I can say against it. The fan is quite noisy when it runs although most of the time it sits quietly in stanby mode. The noise is actually greater than the cooling fans running inside... Read review

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Advantages: 20 GB of storage, sleek design
Disadvantages: Navigating your way around the menus

...I bought the MP3 player in early '05 and it has not failed me to date. It's smart with a hell of a lot of storage, I have over 50 albums on the player, which has not faultered since the start. The only problem is that when scrolling around for your favourite songs, you only have artist, album, genre type and what is known as a group folder. You can customize this folder in whatever way you want. Sonic Stage offers excellent interface for you to transfer songs easily, there is no hassle and you can toggle with different types of settings to maintain space on your HD player. There is a sound lock on European models, which can be easily hacked into. Taking care of the MP3 player will give you a lasting performance, battery performance is excellent too. Compared with other MP3 players, this is a must buy mainly for the huge storage... Read review

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