Network Storage Needs Better Software
I use the Seagate 500MB storage as a network mass storage resource. The software it came with made network setup almost impossible. Bought Network Magic software and suddenly my Seagate product became very useful

Does exactly what I need it to
I'm not too interested in some of the media capabilities this drive has so I can't comment on how well the streaming works. I was in the market for an external hard drive to attach to a pc on my network that could act as a "network share" in order to keep all of my files centralized. I discovered this drive which plugs into ethernet and can also act as a print server. At first I thought it was too good to be true.

I've had it for about a month now and I am amazed at how flawlessly it has integrated into my network. The drive runs so quiet you won't even know it is running. Even when transferring files, I hear nothing. Also, it runs amazingly cool. It doesn't even get warm. Heat was one of the things I had worred about when I first heard about this device. I have a couple hard drives in external enclosures and they get so hot that I always turn them off when not in use. I worried that this drive being on all the time would be a nightmare waiting to happen. It's not.

The interface is a bit clunky, but really you don't need it that much. I hit one snag during setup. When it prompted me to created my admin account password, it took a long time and then finally popped up some xml error. Turns out the password was saved anyway. The management software seemed to really slow down one of my computers, though it could've been that computer. I uninstalled the software, problem fixed, and put the software on a different computer and no problems there. So maybe it was a conflict with something running on the first pc.

A few days after installing it I had a power outage for a few hours. When the power came back on, all my computers could still access the drive. On the computer running the management software, it showed the drive as disconnected, but that is only for the management features I suppose. Even when it shows as disconnected there, the drive is still on the network and files can still be transferred and read.

Transfer speeds are great. I'm only on a 100mb network and I'm pretty happy with transfers. Also, no problems so far in transferring large files. I've sent files that were 4gb and no dropped connections. I've sent batches of 20gb worth of files at once and not a single problem.

I am very happy with this purchase.

Poor backup software and support for Visa
RECOMMENDATION:
Do not purchase this product to backup your computer(s). The initial low cost of the device will be offset by the need to purchase additional backup software.

MY EXPERIENCE:
Setup was quick and easy. I initially used the drive without installing the EasyManage software and it worked great. I then installed the EasyManage software so I could configure my backups.

I immediately noticed some bugs in the EasyManage software. For example if I clicked on the title bar the software would disappear forcing me to kill the app through TaskManager. I went to the Seagate support site (who recently purchased Maxtor) and was excited to see they had a Vista specific update v4.1.0.15. Unfortunately the updated version of EasyManage had even more bugs than the v4.1.0.10 version that shipped with the product. The newer version now forces the user to select user security control warnings and app still disappears when you click the title bar. I was able to get around these software bugs by carefully avoiding the title bar and accepting the annoying popup messages.

The real problems came after my first attempt to backup my outlook data. I started to get backup errors and after reading the Maxtor documentation on their support site I realized they block the backup of .pst files and any other system or hidden files. I contacted the Maxtor technical support via chat and the tech support person informed me that they do not recommend using the backup utility for "application data"

I purchased a network storage device to backup critical files on multiple machines. The Maxtor EasyManage software is crippled by design. There are a number of software products on the market for backing up to the drive but they cost - per machine. I decided that I would be better off buying a competing product for slightly more to avoid spending an additional 0 on backup software.

Functionably Sound with nice features
This product works very well, I have owned it for about 2 months and have had no problems with it. Its about half full and seems to have no performance issues. Easy to setup just plug in and install software. All my home computers have a drive mapped to its root for easy access. I am going to to buy a simple 500 GB external drive that I can attach to the NAS for autobackups at night. GREAT PRODUCT!!!

rather disappointing...
Amazon delivered but Maxtor didn't. The ethernet drive seems to work ok but the software is really outdated and sub-standard. I have un-installed it since it really doesn't do much and it puts an obtrusive icon in the sys tray that is hard to delete. The XP backup software seems to be much better than the Maxtor software and that's not saying much. It's noisier than I hoped and if you turn it off, you have to use the browser interface to get it so the computers on the network can "see" again, everytime.

I wish, just once, the product description would accurately portray the real situation instead of some idealized situation. It does operate though and store files.

Would I buy it again? Probably not but I'm not going to return it, that would be a real hassle.

Solid 1U RackMount Case - Earplugs not included
Solid, well finished Supermicro product. This of course is an industrial grade 1U Rackmount Case meant to be placed by the hundreds maybe thousands in a server room. Saving space is what this baby is all about but in exchange the main case blower and the tiny power supply fan are very loud. You do not want to have this next to you at your desk. Plan to stuff this in a spare room, close the door and forget about it.

First of all the front pannel, HD, power light, Reset and power switch use a proprietary ribbon meant to connect to a supermicro mainboard but will not plug into standard ATX main board headers. You need to order Supermicro part CBL-0068L or make your own. There will be extra header conections for the front panel like 2 for ethernet connection activity and one for overheated case environment that will not be used for standard mainboards.

make sure your ATX or Micro-Atx mainboard has the 24 pin power connection header at the front of the mainboard in front of the CPU. Meaning not close to the back panel where the Mouse/keyboard PS/2 connections are. Why? because the power supply cable is Extremely short and will only reach where I previously specified. Or you could get an power cable extender but it would be less expensive to know this ahead of time if you are planning on purchasing a new mainboard for this case. The 4 pin power cable is also not very long and that connector header on your mainboard should be as close to the vicinity of your CPU as possible for the cable to reach.

The power supply also has two standard 4 pin power leads. I used one for the hard drive and the other I used a convertor plug to fan power header to power the case blower fan. This is not included with the case and I used my own. I would not recommend you use your mainboard fan header that Supermicro expects you to use to power this blower because blower fan motor is rated at 2.7 amps which is alot of power compared to lets say an OEM Intel Heatsink fan that pulls 0.2 amps. Better be safe than sorry. maybe the Supermicro mainboards that this case is meant for has heavy duty fan power headers but I would prefer not to burn out the ones on my off the shelf consumer Micro-ATX mainboard. Also your back panel tin cutout for your USB/PS2/VGA connections will not fit the back of this case and the one supplied will more than likely not be in the arrangement required to fit your mainboard. I just removed the one supplied and left it open. The blower will push enough dust through the case so having a little more openings in the back won't make much of a difference.

Pros - Well built, Power supply is a quality 1U unit, SuperMicro reliability.
Cons - Non-Standard Front panel connection and back panel cut outs. Power supply 24 pin cable is extremely short and the 4 pin power cable is not much longer, Fans loud as hell and no ear plugs where included.

For the money and what it was intended for I would recommend this.