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Sony Combines Pocket Drive with 802.11
Ernest writes "They presented this at Net&Com 2003 in Tokyo. I've found this announcement in German at ComputerWoche
Sony selected Linux as the file server's operating system. They'll start selling this little 390 gram thing on the japanese market at the end of March for 585$. Inside is a 20GB 2.5" disk of which (only) 17GB will be available for files."
Here's the babelfish translation
Sony announces WiFi Fileserver in the milling one format 05.02.2003 at 11:00 o'clock MUNICH (COMPUTER WEEK) - Japanese electronics company Sony has a portable file server presented which, which kommunziert over Wireless LAN with PCS and PDAs. The "Fsv-pg1" works with a Linux based operating system and contains a 20-GB-Festplatte in the 2,5-Zoll-Format, 17 GB of it is available for user data. The equipment fits with masses of 83 x 155 x of 31 millimeters loosely into a hand and weighs 390 gram. For the enterprise all thing a power pack is necessary, the internal Akku serves only for baking UP purposes. The inserted ACCESS POINT (IEEE 802.11b) can serve according to manufacturer up to 250 users at the same time. Access to the stored files is possible over ftp, CIFS (Common InterNet file system) or NFS. By a Ethernet Cradle available as accessories the equipment can connect accessing Clients by WLAN in addition with the InterNet. As safety functions the Fsv-pg1 incoming inspection coding with alternatively 64 or 128 bits offers, stored files can by password be protected. On the Net & Com 2003 in Tokyo the equipment is presented today to the public for the first time. It is to come at the end of March for converted 585 dollar on the Japanese market, the Cradle costs again scarcely 60 dollar. Whether and when the equipment appears also in this country, is not well-known. (tc)
Hack = Sony iPod?
R4NT.com - A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
Sounds cool, but I'm not sure it'll get by on just "cool" if they decide to release it in North America...
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
Is that 17 gig's of porn on a 2.5" form-factor harddrive in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
Mac freaks have been speculating that the iPod will get 802.11 for a long time now... and sony beats them to it.
I wonder how customizable the Linux install is. This type of device will be very usefull with ZeroConf. Any services it provides (mp3, divx streaming...) will automagically appear as soon as it joins the network. yippee.
What could possibly take up 3 gigs? C'mon, it's not the OS, they're using Linux. What else are they hiding on that drive that's using so much space?
Work sucked, until it became unemployment, when it became slightly more tolerable. -Tet
Now, if we could get these things with rendezvous up and working, so they just automagically work with MacOS X (and eventually everything else).
:^)
That'd be nice, to have a portable scratch-space drive or something like that, that you just plug in and suddenly it works for everyone
In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it. -John Archibald Wheeler
This is great -- basically a network storage appliance, without the wires. I wonder how the battery life is, although I suspect it's good for a few hours (similar to iPod).
... or in a location that hasn't been fully wired.
I'm definitely interested. I work with lots of people who are WiFi capable and need storage larger than CF cards. It seems like this could be a very handy device for independent consultants and developers on the move
Hmm. I'd like to see this in the US.
The corrected post is as follows:
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it'd be very cool to setup a whole network of these guys and run fully off of these. imagine the space and electricity companies could save. imagine the nfs shares you could setup for mp3s in your bathroom on your laptop. mmm.. the possibilities.
I write code.
I think that sony has jumped the gun, they choose a technology limited to 11mbps. if anyone would try and do large transfers they are going to take a really long time. I hope that sony starts looking to add either 802.11a or 802.11g
This would be a great accessory to a PDA with an 802.11(a/b/g) card.
;) music without even using so much space as a hardcover book.
Imagine plugging setting it up at a hotel or on a train and streaming your (legal
This might entice me to actually get a PDA, if the proce drops.
- "Nobody came out that night, not one was ever seen. But Old Man Stauf is waiting there, crazy sick and mean!"
Seems unlikely since it's running linux.
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
I ask this question because it is going to be very, very tricky for Sony to pack much of a battery into the case with the size specs given (especially when using a 2.5" drive) and 802.11b is not exactly the most power-efficient spec. I guess that Sony was between a rock and a hard place on this particular choice, 802.11g is too new and there are not going to be any low power chips any time soon while bluetooth is too slow. By eating up the battery with a wireless link you are going to increase the number of charge cycles on the battery and decrease the lifespan of this battery.
While the thought of this little baby makes me drool, Sony's history on DRM is enough to make me sit back and wait for the new and inevitable Apple risponse with .11g. There's been so much talk of new iPods with 40G Tosh drives, Bluetooth, WiFi etc that something mighty fine must be imminent.
Pocket-sized, battery-powered Linux box w/20G hard drive, 802.11b port, small screen "console", and a way to attach (at least) an ethernet.
Add a GPS and you've got a warhiking setup.
Add intrusion tools plus automation and you've got an industrial espionage device, too. (Bad guy goes to an interview, hangs out in a waiting room, lobby, or parking lot, or hikes by on the sidewalk, while the pocket-sized box sucks down everything of interest on the internal net, or just sniffs packets for a while. 20G leaves plenty of room for netstumbler to crack the WEP.)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
First, it's absurdly big. Either that's a really small hand in the picture, or it's huge.
Second, $585?!? Get outta here.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
One point at a time:
expensive
Some people will be willing to shell out the cash; anyone else who finds it useful will wait until the price comes down a bit.
easily lost or stolen
For many people, this phrase translates to "portable"--not quite so negative a word as you'd like, but equally accurate. If you're worried about it getting stolen, zip your pocket.
why not connect to your pc with your wireless devices, easier to back up, maintain, expand, view files
PCs tend to remain on desktops, no? See previous point.
and did i say stupid?
Yes, in your subject line you admitted you were stupid. No need to repeat yourself.
ummm, you stupid...and ummm stupid...did i say you are stupid?
Ummm, saying stupid a bunch of times only makes it true for you...the rest of us are just as intelligent as we were before we read that.
I found the meaning of life the other day, but I had write-only access.
Carry it around as a mobile classroom: serve up notes, audio, video of your presentation when and where you give it. No more "I'll email you my presentation when I get back to the office" stuff.
You could hide one of these things in an airport or some other public place and use it to broadcast advertisements in the form of SSID and/or a 192.168.*.* intranet web site to anyone stumbling for accesspoints. Imagine a bus or taxicab service giving out dispatcher phone numbers or transportation rates. Suddenly advertising in an airport terminal isn't quite so expensive.
http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
Yeah. What about it?
Get a life, Nerd!
I'm really sick of this idiocy when a company announces a product and some broke nitpickers come out of the woodwork and say "But does it do XYZ?".
Jesus Christ, get a grip. Technology will finally catch up. If Sony or any other company for that matter, created a killer product that did everything in one small package, there wouldn't be much competition left, or companies wouldn't be able to make any money.
It's called steady progression. Suppy and demand. Simple case of Macroeconomics. Your opinion is utterly useless and insignificant in this case. If you're too eager to possess such a small toy with 802.11b AP built in, with 17Gigs of storage and have SSH, make one yourself and quit wasting slashdot's bandwidth with useless crap like feature suggestions only 0.001% of people would use.
Realisticly speaking, how many businesspeople do you personally know who have the slightest fucking clue about SSH? I would guess none. Simple authentication is enough. This is not geared towards companies like Lloyds of London or Dell R&D Division who have valuable company secrets. This is geared towards people in SOHO, and we all know what they use these types of gadgets for.
No self-respecting cracker would bother sniffing packets coming from a company who's annual budget is 10,000,000 or less.
You're a poser.
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IA-32 processor, about 2Ghz or so. 512MB of RAM. Hard drive. Ethernet and FireWire. No display.
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Very rugged, suitable for mounting in an offroad racing truck.
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Automotive temperature range.
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Powered from the vehicle 12V supply.
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Size and weight not too critical.
Any suggestions?after "3 gigs for linux?", my next realization was price, yes. that seems absolutely ridiculous for 17 useable Gigs! but that's probably why it's being sold in Japan, where i'm told size/useability take precedent over cost.
in America, we like things big and cheap. Japan likes things small, regardless of price.
now here's a question: how much would it cost a do-it-yourself'er to make a comparable product, but more useable?
5.25" 90 Gig HDD, SBC with 802.11b and IDE controller... it would be more of a backpack or fanny pack (child of the 80s) device, but portable and far more useable!
basic boot sequence with nfs? oooh! or portable internet proxy!?! lots of fun can be had!
The license for Apple's Rendezvous implementation is unacceptable to many people. I wouldn't be surprised if the license alone would keep Sony from using this. Furthemore, no major Linux distribution has packaged it up. So, in effect, there is no usable Linux implementation of Rendezvous. Also, since only a tiny fraction of all machines use Rendezvous yet, there isn't much incentive for Sony to expend any effort on this.
Here's a Sony press release about a "giga vault" handheld 40Gb hard drive gizmo, with USB2 and Firewire but no 802.11. They do seem to be getting into the portable storage biz.
If it's a file server you use much, it's nice to have it on a UPS. (Also, if it's a DNS server or DHCP server, you really want it on a UPS as well.) For a low-end device, laptop-style batteries are fine.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Sony delivers a walkman format WiFi-Fileserver
Munich(ComputerWoche) - Sony, the Japanese electronics firm have demonstrated a portable fileserver, that can connect to PCs and PDAs using Wireless LAN (protocol). The FSV-PG1 works with a linux based operating system, and has a 2.5 inch 20 GB harddrive, 17 GB of which are available to the user. The device , which is 83x155x31 millimeters fits neatly in your hand, and weighs 390 Gramms. It requires an external powersupply - the internal battery is only for backup use.
The built in access point (IEEE 802.11b) can, according to sony, server up to 250 users at a time. Access to the data is possible via FTP, CIFS or NFS. There is also an ethernet-cradle available as an accessory which enables standard ethernet connections. Security is dealt with via 64 or 128 bit WEP. Saved data is protected via passwords.
The devices will be publicly presented for the first time at the Net&Com 2003, Tokyo show. It should be available in Japan at the end of March for approximately 585 dollars, the Ethernet-Cradle costing approximately 60 Dollars. If and when the device will be available here (Germany) remains to be seen.
tom-george.comBecause geeks rate higher t
Honestly, I don't see a lot of uses for this thing...although it would make a great autonomous packet sniffer. Place it near an interesting target location (i.e. WLAN enabled company, coffehouse, etc.) and let it sniff away. With that 20 Gb hard drive, I bet it could store quite a few interesting tid-bits. Drop by a couple of days later and pick it up...wah lah!
hmmmm..... small *and* wireless.
"Honey have you seen the server?"
"Did you check in the sofa?"
No man is an island, but Gary is a city in Indiana.
A battery would make it heavier, but since I wouldn't need to take it out of my backpack/briefcase during the day, that's less of an issue.
Okay, now we have a reasonable Portable Storage Device ("PSD"). Make sure the interface is a well-documented standard, of course. Now any manufacturer can design and sell:
PSDs with different size disks, as the technology becomes available
PDAs with differing features/pricepoints, all of which store their data on the PSD -- in a format I can access/update directly from my PC
MP3 players which can play music from the PSM; and maybe some that can record to it as well
cellphones (preferably just the headset) that can dial from the PDA database, and save voicemail messages to the PSD
cameras that can download/upload images to the PSD
...profit!
11Mbps should make most of these feasible, but as with any bandwidth, more is better.
It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.