LaCie's new net-connected RAID external is featureless and black, like my soul


Luxury storage masters LaCie have introduced a new drive (well, drives) intended for maximum data protection and connectivity. Inside that forbidding black box are two hard drives, and every bit that’s written to one is written to the other in true RAID 1 fashion. It has built-in server and torrent download functions, which could be nice, and if it’s connected to your router, you should be able to access your files from pretty much anywhere.

It’s also got a USB 2.0 interface, so you can use it as a normal hard drive as well. Capacity is either 2TB or 4TB, though if I’m not mistaken, effective capacity is half that. After all, there are only two drives in there and they’re mirroring each other exactly. 4TB of space would require two 4TB hard drives… and those don’t exist yet. $480 for a total of 2TB of space is a bit insane if you ask me.

You might remember the Drobo FS that debuted a month or so back that shares many of these features. The LaCie is cheaper, but the limited capacity really kind of sinks it if you need a versatile or professional solution. For a little light storage and torrenting, the Network Space MAX will be fine, but if you need expandability and more options on the accessibility front, the Drobo is a necessary buy — though it’s significantly more expensive.