LaCie Bigger Disk
A humongous, no-frills hard drive that delivers the gigs
T
hink you have a big disk? So did we, until we received LaCie’s enor-
mous Bigger Disk for review. It’s touted as the biggest disk drive
available, and we’re inclined to agree, though it’s actually four 250GB
drives spanned together in a nifty aluminum alloy enclosure as opposed to a
single terabyte disk. No matter, because it’s still the highest capacity exter-
nal USB/FireWire hard drive we’ve ever seen.
If you’re unfamiliar with drive spanning, it essentially means that data
is written to one drive first until it is full, then the next drive, and so on until
the entire thing is full. If you’re worried about thermal issues, don’t be. The
Bigger Disk includes its own cooling apparatus that spins up and down as
needed to keep the drives cool. During testing there was an almost continu-
ous stream of lukewarm air shooting out the exhaust port on the unit’s back-
side, and the aluminum shell’s temperature never became warm enough to
warrant concern.
So, what do you do with this drive? Say goodbye to capacity con-
cerns and fill ‘er up. No backup software is included, because the drive
isn’t being marketed as such, so all you have to do is begin downloading,
ripping, and copying anything and everything in sight. We’ve found that
the LaCie Bigger Disk makes for an ideal media storage drive, as it can
store more than 100 hours of HDTV, 250 ripped DVDs, or literally tens of
thousands of MP3s and pictures.
In Lab tests, transfer speeds averaged a respectable 22MB per second
using the USB 2.0 interface. FireWire speeds were a smidge faster, though
we used the slower 400MB interface rather than the rare FireWire 800 ports
(of which there are two). There’s also an “auto on” function that intelligently
turns the drives on and off when necessary, but unfortunately it’s only avail-able for Mac users.
While we’re impressed with the product’s capacity (a 1.6TB version is
also available), we’re disap-
pointed that it doesn’t come
bundled with any software
whatsoever. Given the Bigger
Disk’s steep cost, some rudi-
mentary backup or video-edit-
ing software would have made
it a more compelling package.
—JOSH NOREMI
f you don’t like ballet, it’s likely that the only possible enjoyment you get
out of watching a performance is in wondering when one of the dancers is
going to screw up and land with a spectacular thud on the stage. It’s kind
of like that with Apple’s iPod: It’s a product so graceful and talented, we can’t
help but watch in mesmerized fascination to see how the next iteration will
screw it all up. But alas, Apple has once again pulled off another grand jete
that leaves us feeling breathless.
The major update to the 4G (fourth-generation) iPod is that the hardware
interface adopts the design of the iPod Mini, placing the four control buttons of
the 3G version—reverse, menu, play/pause, and fast-forward—directly on the
touch-sensitive click wheel. This design was a necessary space-saving innova-
tion on the Mini, but it turned out to also be an improvement over the original.
Not only is it easier to control all the functions of the iPod with one hand, but
feeling the click of the iPod’s scroll wheel also gives you tactile feedback when
you press a button.
The other improvements are subtle, but nonetheless brilliant. If your head-
phones get snagged or yanked out, for example, the iPod graciously pauses
music playback. This feature also comes in handy when switching between
earbuds and external speakers or an FM transmitter. The 40GB model is slightly
thinner than the 3G 30GB iPod, but the 20GB we reviewed is even slimmer still.
Battery life has improved as well; in fact, it improved over the span of our tests,
initially lasting a little more than nine and a half hours, but eventually sustaining
slightly less than 12 hours (as advertised) as we were wrapping up testing.
Our gripes are pretty much the same ones we’ve voiced since the origi-
nal iPod was released. We’d love to see a custom parametric equalization
option with at least five bands to tweak, and the option to associate custom
settings with specific songs and playlists. A removable battery would alsogo a long way toward reas-
suring potential converts
about the iPod’s longevity. And
although the 4G iPod supports
Apple’s proprietary lossless
compression format, would
it kill Apple to support the
open-source OGG and FLAC
standards? We think not.
—LOGAN DECKERHuge capacity, and includes cooling fans.TERABYTEOVERBITE
No software bundle.
$1,200, http://www.lacie.comMA XIMUMPCVERDICT 8
An improved interface, better battery life, and
smaller size than previous models.
DOCTOR’S OFFICE
Still lacks parametric EQ, removable battery,
and open-source format support.
$300, http://www.ipod.comMA XIMUMPCVERDICT 10
able for Mac users.No buttons,
software, or
gizmos adorn
LaCie’s Bigger
Disk—just 930GB of
storage waiting to be
deflowered.Apple iPod
The Lance Armstrong of MP3 players wins again
AN APPLE A DAYReviews
88 MA XIMUMPC OCOTBER 2004
New to the fourth-
generation iPod:
improved battery life
and a brand-new,
easy-to-use interface
lifted directly from
the iPod Mini.