Slashdot Mirror
Asus Launching a Wi-Fi Hard Drive
TheFoot writes "The Register reports that Asus is promising to 'change your perception on data storage'. They're talking up a hard drive enclosure capable of taking any 2.5in ATA-100 hard disk. It also contains an 802.11g adaptor and antenna, plus a pair of wired 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports. US $150 + the price of the hard drive. They've changed my perception--why did data storage just get more expensive?" Now now, this could actually be useful. tempest2i notes that there's a Macworld story as well.
Blah Blah blah. Tell me more about Linux and gaming.
Linux isn't everything. In fact, this is a situation which makes you wonder if your file server really needs to be running Linux. If all your file server is doing is connecting an HD to your network, then this device can do it in hardware alone.
I hope it supports WPA. Ohhh, but imagine the fun of an "open" media drive. RIAA and the MPAA will really hate life.
Why does this device need to be both wired and wireless? Most users will use the device either by the wire, or as part of a purely WiFi network... who would use both interfaces? Seems like this device could be cheaper if it came in two different versions, one with the wired ports and the other with the WiFi parts.
Network storage drives aren't as much about performance as much as simplicity. Afterall, if speed really matters to you, the data should already be local to your PC if possible.
This is just a way to eliminate the needless parts from a low-end simple file server. Who needs to use a full-blown OS for that? Simpler software is often the most secure and faster.
The price for the hardware isn't that bad, as you say. But what about the utility? How would this change my perception of storage? I've been sitting here trying hard to think of a utility for the wireless capability that isn't handled better wired. The only utility I can think of is in an already completely wireless setting where one is too cheap to dedicate a computer to file serving - a situation I would think is pretty rare. Of course, I have a hard time understanding why several computers in a fixed location would be connected via wireless in the first place when going wired is cheaper, faster and more secure. Maybe I'm losing my geekiness.
With no doubt, this must be the biggest security hole I have seen lately. 802.11g directly to the hard drive. Bravo. Is this an April Fool's joke posted prematurely or are they really out of their minds thinking that anyone would be so stupid to buy such a hard drive, which is basically asking to be cracked? I find it insulting. I hope script kiddies will have lots of fun.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
As far as the wireless goes, I agree. But it also has the wired ethernet adapters on it which would come in handy. If you have a network of mainly older Pentiums or PIIs (they're still out there) that can't really handle a larger internal HDD and don't have USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394 then this would be a decent solution for large, shared storage. Dok
"You can't screw the system, but you can give it a good fondling." -- Too lazy to look it up