Now that's just silly

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Steve Firth - 23 May 2008 00:07 GMT

WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
need to be plugged into both Firewire (400 only) and USB ports because
they use USB bus power, not Firewire.

Huh?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/22/wd_firewire_vs_usb/

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Woody - 23 May 2008 00:52 GMT

> WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
> interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/22/wd_firewire_vs_usb/

£134 or $130??? Did they get that bit right?

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Woody

www.alienrat.com

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Stephen - 23 May 2008 02:29 GMT

> > WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
> > interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> www.alienrat.com

It comes with a Firewire cable that has a 6-pin FW400 plug at the
computer end, and both FW and mini-USB connection at the other.

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Peter Ceresole - 23 May 2008 09:52 GMT

> It comes with a Firewire cable that has a 6-pin FW400 plug at the
> computer end, and both FW and mini-USB connection at the other.

And doesn't that mean that as far as the mac is concerned, it's a single
FW connector?

As I read it, the USB bit is strictly at the drive end of the cable.

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Peter

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Chris Ridd - 23 May 2008 06:40 GMT

I didn't think that could be right either, so I checked WD. They say:

"FireWire or USB powered - No separate power supply is needed.* "
"* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit USB power. "

That's pretty standard.

I couldn't see anything to contradict that *except* that the drawings
of the "Firewire" cable in the manual all seemed to have two plugs on
one end...

Cheers,

Chris

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Jim - 23 May 2008 07:07 GMT

Keep in mind that where El Reg[0] is concerned all bets on accuracy are
off.

Jim
[0] "Integrity? We've heard of it."

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Phillip Walters - 23 May 2008 10:16 GMT

Update
WD has since got back to us to state that the drive uses USB 2.0 and a
four-pin Firewire port at the drive end of the cable, not at the host
end, where it connects using a six-pin Firewire. We're happy to clarify
the point - though perhaps WD should have made this approach to
connectivity more clear on its own website?

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Phil

http://www.philwalters.co.uk

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Steve Firth - 23 May 2008 11:18 GMT

> > WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
> > interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> the point - though perhaps WD should have made this approach to
> connectivity more clear on its own website?

That's still slightly bizarre, but better than it seemed at first plonk.
Although I think I'll still be looking elsewhere for portable storage.

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Phillip Walters - 23 May 2008 11:36 GMT

> > > WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
> > > interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> That's still slightly bizarre, but better than it seemed at first plonk.
> Although I think I'll still be looking elsewhere for portable storage.

How about this ?
http://www.kellysquotes.co.uk/industrial/storage-containers-uk/qz_questi
ons_1020z.jhtml?_requestid=20191

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Phil

http://www.philwalters.co.uk

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Steve Firth - 23 May 2008 11:52 GMT

> > > > WD have launched a range of pocket, bus-powered Firewire drives. I was
> > > > interested right up until I read The Register's article on them - they
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> http://www.kellysquotes.co.uk/industrial/storage-containers-uk/qz_questi
> ons_1020z.jhtml?_requestid=20191

I already have several, they don't fit in the briefcase. And the
briefcase looks a little lost inside one.

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Mac Forum / Country Specific / UK Mac Group / May 2008

Now that's just silly