Apple Time Capsule 500 GB

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- Price

+ Much better than I expected. Silent, good energy saving, good lan & wi-fi performance. Mixes PC & Mac storage very well. Not FAT32 so now file size restrictions. Attaching a network printer (for MAC & PC) better than I have found anywhere else.

- Time machine could be more flexible (a mac issue really)

+ Looks great, ethernet cable at 1Mb instead of data transfer thru usb at 480m/ps for great transfer speeds and the wireless network makes it great for use between PC and MAC

- The drive automatically shuts down after a set period to conserve energy which mean when you try to reacess music files the audio stops while the drive 'wakes up again. When Time Machine backs up you end up having a 250Gb HD instead of 500Gb because it backs everything up plus what you've aleady using.

+ Does what it is supposed to do and extends your network

- Runs a bit hot at times.

+ Perfect backup solution, just set it up and forget it's there knowing your always backed up when you need it.

- Could be smaller in size and backup could be a little faster.

+ Easy to use

- Gets very hot!
Cant back up files on the TC's HDD.

+ Design, high speed wireless, range

- Set up is very complicated, wireless backup is erratic and I have now connected my iMac via ethernet and have ended up having to wipe my macbook backup, then back up again (over ethernet) a number of times. Works fine over ethernet but this defeats the object.

+ Reliable, easy to use

- Noisy, expensive, can be slow at times

+ Good Wireless range; backup process with Time Machine is seamless, much more elegant than using Retrospect.

- No power switch - has to stay on all the time. No way to modify the frequency of backups. I had to reset the unit (and guess the procedure for doing so) to get it going after my first botched attempt at configuring it.

+ Really easy to setup. Great User account restrictions

- Need Apple airport client softwarwe on each PC you want to access.

+ once setup just works!

- a real pain to setup

+ Probably one of the best routers on the market, easy to set up, looks good and the signal is strong. It backs your computer up without having to think about it. So much easier than my old router.

- As with everything these days, it doesn't have an off switch. Product designers HELLO, we're trying to save the planet here, this product runs hot and burns valuable energy, we need to be able to turn it off at night.
Looks great but has to sit flat and therefore uses up too much desk space. But don't let these point put you off, it's still a great product.

+ Neat physical design however setup requires some stamina! but this is a comprehensive solution to network printing and file sharing so not too surprising. Does what it says on the tin!

- Requires its own software to set up. Not web based set up as in many routers. Gets quite warm (there are no obvious cooling fins, fans or vents.). Don't know if the internal disk spins down when there is no activity. Have seen no settings to suggest possible. I have not found out the power consumption but from the heat output, would expect it to be in the range 30-50 watts.

+ Plug & Play in the truest sense.

- It didn't cost £25

+ Does exactly what it says on the tin; effortless back up and wireless connection all in one. Great.

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