MacDirectory Magazine

Fall-Winter 2008 (#39)

MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/839

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REVIEW | PRODUCTIVITY 108 MacDirectory Cables, cables and more cables. My desk is swamped with cables. USB cables, FireWire cables, power cables, speakers, microphones, mouse, laser and ink-jet printers and backup connections. I know that they are all essential to what I am doing but it does get rather cluttered. I just added a new set of cables and power supply – for a Newer Technology Guardian MAXimus Hardware RAID-1 (Mirror) storage unit and backup. Here's some product details: 1.0TB MAXimus eMAX RAID-1 [Mirrored] (1.0TB HDs X 2) FireWire 800/400+USB2 "EcoGreen" storage solution. Oxford 924 SATA chipset, Dual Drive 5400RPM, 64MB Data Buffer and a two-year warranty. It provides "live activity" backup/data redundancy of your critical data with Plug and Play simplicity on any Mac or PC. This was the easiest setup I have done in a long time. For the Mac OS X set-up, no driver is required and no software installation is required. It works great with Time Machine and you simply designate the Newer Technology Guardian as your backup unit. Plug the AC power cord into your nearest power source (UPS or wall outlet) and connect that to the DC transformer. Plug the DC power cord into the power port on the rear of the Guardian. Connect the FireWire 400, 800 or USB 2.0 cable to the appropriate interface that your computer supports – to the drive and the computer. Turn on the unit and you are done. I chose the FireWire connection as I wasn't using that one on my MacBook computer. The Guardian MAXimus is silent in its operation. There is a tiny LED power indicator glowing in the front of the case to let me know the power is on. The instructions say that the LED is green but we will disagree on that one. There are two LEDs (HDD1 and HDD2) that will illuminate when hard drive #1 and #2 are being written to. If the drive is not being written to, the LEDs do not illuminate. Should one of the hard drives fail, one of the two middle LEDs will turn red, indicating which drive has failed. There is an additional LED to the right that is the Rebuild indicator. If a drive fails, and the GuardianMAXimus is rebuilding, the LED will illuminate Green. If the rebuild fails, it will illuminate red. If the LED illuminates red, you need to contact the support department for further assistance. I was amazed at the ease of setup and operation. I am not a computer guru and if something requires more than a "point and click," then I am usually in trouble. The package came with power cable, transformer, USB cable and FireWire cables. The instructions were easy to follow and anyone could set this system up in less than 10 minutes and have a secure RAID system operating and protecting their valuable files. The GuardianMAXimus can be operated with Windows or Mac OS and the setup is virtually the same for all systems. The cables are top quality and the unit is built like a tank but good looking. Not only do you get all the necessary cables (ever go to the computer store and purchase a printer or other device and find out – after you get home – that you need to purchase a USB cable) but you also get the preloaded Newer Technology software bundle with lots of freeware and shareware applications. I would have preferred a longer FireWire cable but I also am familiar with the cable limitations for that use. The USB cable is longer and I could have gone that way if needed. I am already using both USB ports plus two "8 port" powered USB hubs so the FireWire output was best. To contact Newer Technology support, visit . GUARDIAN MAXIMUS RAID-1 > EASY SET-UP, EVEN BETTER QUALITY WORDS BY E.L. GRIGGS Product Guardian MAXimus Made by Newer Technology Price $469.99 on Newer Technology Web site Pros Quality workmanship, ease of installation, technical support Cons None Rating HHHHH

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