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Western Digital My Book World Edition: Do Not Judge My Book By Its Cover!

littlelion | 22 May, 2009 13:37

From the outside, the latest My Book World Edition appears similar to the other My Book releases which Western Digital introduced in the past. However, we assure you that it is not. Color white aside, it is an entirely different mammoth of storage unleashed from WD’s stable, arriving with either 1TB or 2TB of hard disk drive storage.

 

 Western Digital’s choice of color makes the My Book World Edition a classy attraction to Apple Mac fans. OS-wise, it’s compatible with Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard. Nonetheless, it’s well-matched with PC users, since it works with Microsoft Windows XP and Vista as well.

 

 
Being a part of the successful My Book family of external hard disk drives, the My Book World Edition is punctured with the familiar Morse code design as well, which, as what we have mentioned in one of our previous weblogs, reads personal, reliable, innovative, simple, and design – words that exactly describe the characteristics of a My Book storage.
 
 
 
Positioned as a network hard drive, the My Book World Edition possesses a Gigabit Ethernet interface so you could connect it to a router and become mass storage for your LAN. Do not connect it just to a network switch as the LAN would not recognize it. On the other hand, unlike the other models of the My Book range, it doesn’t include a mini-USB port that would allow you to connect it straight to a computer. There is a USB port. However, it is essentially to enable you hook up an additional external storage device, such as a My Passport, onto the network hard drive.
 
 
 
To take full advantage of the capabilities of the My Book World Edition, it is a must that you install all the applications found on the supplied software disc. Noteworthy, the software must be installed on all the PCs where you would access the network hard drive. This requisite works as a security measure added by WD for this My Book to prevent any attempt of malicious infiltration.
 
 
Most significant among these applications is the WD Discovery Tool, which installs the network hard drive device driver. Once the WD Discovery Tool is installed, this is how the My Book World Edition appears on the My Computer and My Network Places windows in Vista... 
 
 
 
 
 

 ... and XP.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Because the My Book World Edition complies with UPnP protocols, this network hard drive seamlessly works across various computers in a network, even if they have different OSes. In our case, we tested it with two PCs: one operates on Vista, the other runs on XP.
 
 
 
Additionally, this is what the Device Manager window shows.
 
 
 
 By default, the WD Discovery Tool assigns the drive letters automatically. Nevertheless, you could eventually modify these settings through the WD Discovery Tool UI. Based on the screenshots above, in the My Computer window, the Public network drive appears as Y, while the Download network drive appears as Z.
 
 
 
Being compliant with the DLNA standard, the My Book World Edition is a media-centric device as well. Looking back at the My Network Places window, one of the icons is recognized as Windows Media Connect. Clicking this icon would lead you to TwonkyMedia which serves as a Web-based manager where you could access and play all your media files.
 
 
 
The next important application is the WD Anywhere Backup powered by Memeo, which allows you to backup all your data with just one click. With this software, you could create backup plans as well. In the process, you could proactively prevent a future event of data loss due to a hard drive crash or virus attack.
 
 
 
Last but not the least is the MioNet application, a Java-based software which enables you to remotely access the files stored on the network hard drive. Nevertheless, this application would not work if the PC you were using is part of the LAN. Logically, MioNet is not necessary in that case, considering that you could directly access the network hard drive via the My Computer panel or WD Discovery Tool.
 
 
 
 With all of these features, the My Book World Edition is highly recommended for home networks and SMBs. For those who are in the process of planning to build an additional PC as a server, leave that “has-been” idea behind and consider this network hard drive as an affable surrogate. With a compact physique and low power consumption, it delivers you space-saving and energy-saving benefits at a competitive price of USD $229. Plus, it gives you the advantage of having a chic ornament for your space, much different from the utilitarian image of a lifeless NAS.
 
 

Western Digital My Book My World Edition's Specifications

Storage Capacity

1TB / 2TB

Data Interfaces

Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0

OS Compatibility

Apple Mac OS X Tiger Or Leopard / Microsoft Windows XP Or Vista

Dimensions

173 x 147 x 58mm

Weight

1.09Kg

HWM Philippines, Storage, Software and Web Services, Unwrapped, Preview, Spotlight :: Comment (9) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

comments

Comment Icon lanshop

nethopia | 23/05/2009, 13:25

I'm planning to set up a small Internet shop. I think, I'll just buy this My Book World Edition to fulfill my storage needs.

Comment Icon weight

observer | 26/05/2009, 21:37

Based on the specs table, the weights of the 1TB and the 2TB version are just the same. I think, there should be a big discrepancy.

Comment Icon lanshop

charlez | 31/05/2009, 13:55

If you're just after storage, why don't you just build up a PC as a server? Even a Pentium IV PC is enough to work as a storage server.

Comment Icon lanshop

knut kittel | 02/06/2009, 21:54

Although it seems economical, you should think of the associated hidden costs if you're gonna deploy a PC as a storage server.

Comment Icon hidden costs

bolero | 07/06/2009, 11:05

Hidden costs such as power consumption and maintenance. The My Book seemingly trims these off.

Comment Icon Mine failed

Marcco | 23/07/2009, 07:45

I bought one about two years ago (1 TB)and it just died on me. Now it will cost about $900 to recover everything.

Comment Icon Mine failed

drivesaver | 23/07/2009, 09:43

Sorry to hear that. I cannot comment about the lost data, however, the drive, perhaps, is still under warranty, right?

Comment Icon Nice review

Chris | 11/10/2009, 16:27

Thanks for the information and the nice screenshots Littlelion.

In the comments i read different statements about what they will use the My Book for.

Let me remind you all that this is 1 hard drive and will not replace a back-up unit!
If you want your data safe, place your data at least two places. *Your own computer *Your NAS, for example.

You could also be thinking about online back-up. Experienced company's with lots of storage and back-up capabilities. Also for home users!

A good back-up plan is locating your data outside of your home/business as well.

Nevertheless, for home users this is a nice addition so i got myself a 2TB and will sync it with an offsite location.

Thanks again Littlelion.

Comment Icon I agree

carlo | 11/10/2009, 21:44

Chris, I agree with your point. One should not really rely on a single storage device as his/her backup device. With that said, it is regardless of brand. Other options such as a separate PC, NAS and online storage are backup devices that are worthy to consider.

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