I have to say the exact opposite, I have horrible luck with Western Digital, I have used Maxtor hard drives for years, plus now Maxtor is owned by Seagate. I have a Maxtor One Touch 3 300gb external hard drive that has been working now for over 2 years and my Dad nows uses a Maxtor One Touch 4 daily without problems.
I notice Lacie is now offering a 3-year warranty with their new 500gb desktop hard disc. Also, a new "heatsink"-style appearance. I've ordered one.
The warranty extension seems to apply to other items the new DVD/CD drive now has a 2-year warranty. The case is slightly different (no ridges for rack mounting and no on/off button on the front), but the fascia of the actual player looks the same. I'm hoping these longer warranties reflect some kind of increased reliability from Lacie the only item I've had up to now that has fully lived up to its good Lacie looks in the terrific little Rugged Drive.