[Alfredo Claussen]

I too say W O W !!! (you have been caught in the numbers “make-up” that specs per se guarantee: NON SENSE!) I respectfully suggest you first understand how these things work. USB is meant to be used to handle simple tasks, like connecting mice to PC’s, keyboards and the like. But reading specs like those you saw guarantees a complete deception! USB is a Host-Client architecture, while Firewire is a “Peer-to-Peer” connection… meaning that FW is capable of MAINTAINING a given data transfer rate, unlike USB, which uses memory and recourses of the host, administering the transferring of the data in short bursts, not continuously. The true reason USB is being pushed by almost all manufacturers, is simply because it has caught with popular customers (not necessarily understanding ones), and it is CHEAP. It costs just pennies to add a USB port to a device, but adding FW is going to cost almost a dollar (at the very large number of produced units), and you know what that means. That is the explanation. Remember: for video and truly high quality audio, FW is way above ANY USB (even 3.0). It is a matter of Architecture, not transfer rate, and more importantly: USB published data refers to MAXIMUM INSTANTANEOUS rates, not SUSTAINED ones. If anybody tell you otherwise, send him to study a little about both standards. no doubt about that.

[Alfredo Claussen]

LaCie for doorstops? Good Idea!!!
(I only use them as projectiles to keep away wild animals, BTW.)

Surely the WORST HDD’s of ALL them.

And please don’t start me talking about their absolutely inexistent “customer support” as there is practically none. when a company treats its customers as LaCie does, it deserves the worst bad-mouthing possible, granted!. Amclaussen.

BTW, try OTHER HDD brands, Hitachi and WD seem to last enough to be called “problem free”. The thing is that you need to get external cases for them, and then it is not as easy to get them with FW… this malady of the ubiquitous USB!!! GRRRR!