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Time Capsule - Is it improved?!

F

frozenflourish

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 1, 2008
34
0
Hey,
I am thinking about getting a 1T TIme Capsule - can get it for 249 from the campus store.
However, after all the reviews, I am concerned. If I get the new late 2009 model, is it as prone to "dying" as the others?

Also - is 180 bucks for APPLECARE on a white plain 13 inch macbook a good price?
Thanks,
prickly
 
pricklypear25 said:
Hey,
I am thinking about getting a 1T TIme Capsule - can get it for 249 from the campus store.
However, after all the reviews, I am concerned. If I get the new late 2009 model, is it as prone to "dying" as the others?

Also - is 180 bucks for APPLECARE on a white plain 13 inch macbook a good price?
Thanks,
prickly
Click to expand...

It's hard to tell if the recent changes made any difference or not, because it took about 18 months for the 500GB TCs to start dying en masse.

As for the AppleCare, you can find them cheaper online (e.g. eBay with Bing Cash Back). Keep in mind that if you get the TC, your AppleCare on your Macbook will cover it for 3 years as well.

Good luck!
 
The only way to "improve" the Time Capsule - the only way to prevent it from dying prematurely - would be to install a larger fan and enough venting so that the interior is properly cooled.

Apple won't do this.

Why not?

Not because it would improve the reliability of the product, but because it would DETRACT from the styling of the product.

A fan and vents would make the Time Capsule "noisy", and we all know how sensitive most Apple users are to "noisy" computer-related devices.

All too often, style reigns over substance at Apple. And the overheating/early death problems with the Time Capsule due to improper ventilation illustrate this philosophy as clearly as on any other product Apple has yet marketed.

This goes all the way back to the original 128k, 512k, and Mac Plus models.
 
Fishrrman said:
The only way to "improve" the Time Capsule - the only way to prevent it from dying prematurely - would be to install a larger fan and enough venting so that the interior is properly cooled.

Apple won't do this.

Why not?

Not because it would improve the reliability of the product, but because it would DETRACT from the styling of the product.

A fan and vents would make the Time Capsule "noisy", and we all know how sensitive most Apple users are to "noisy" computer-related devices.

All too often, style reigns over substance at Apple. And the overheating/early death problems with the Time Capsule due to improper ventilation illustrate this philosophy as clearly as on any other product Apple has yet marketed.

This goes all the way back to the original 128k, 512k, and Mac Plus models.
Click to expand...

Apple are now using Western Digital Caviar Green drives in the Time Capsule which will help it to run cooler.

Will it be enough to prevent the power supply from failing after 18 months, only time will tell?
 
OllyW said:
Apple are now using Western Digital Caviar Green drives in the Time Capsule which will help it to run cooler.

Will it be enough to prevent the power supply from failing after 18 months, only time will tell?
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I didn't know that they switched to WD Green drives on the 1TB TC. I wonder if my 2TB has the same drive too. I wish there was a way to tell without opening and voiding the warranty :D
 
thanks for the info. i hope it works out well - id hate for it to flunk out on me!
so, i'm guessing that to get the cooler running model that a late 2009 model would be in order?
is a refresh due in march?
 
pricklypear25 said:
thanks for the info. i hope it works out well - id hate for it to flunk out on me!
so, i'm guessing that to get the cooler running model that a late 2009 model would be in order?
is a refresh due in march?
Click to expand...

A refresh is unclear, it's also unclear if the late 2009 models have fixed the 18-month issue, for obvious reasons.
 
yeah - i guess at this point i am worried that if i go and buy it now, that there will be a major design change in what, 2 months?
 
I wouldn't if I were you

There already are seven 2 Tb Time Capsules listed on http://timecapsuledead.org/ as being dead and the score in total is 2114. Of course not all the dead ones are listed on here, and we don't know how many are sold in total, but are you willing to risk your backups on this?

I know because my 1 Tb is dead. The light was off and it never came back on. I get a new one if return the old one with my data on it for Apple to scrap. So much so for "saving everything important, including your sanity."

Good luck.
 
Fishrrman said:
The only way to "improve" the Time Capsule - the only way to prevent it from dying prematurely - would be to install a larger fan and enough venting so that the interior is properly cooled.

Apple won't do this.

Why not?

Not because it would improve the reliability of the product, but because it would DETRACT from the styling of the product.

A fan and vents would make the Time Capsule "noisy", and we all know how sensitive most Apple users are to "noisy" computer-related devices.

All too often, style reigns over substance at Apple. And the overheating/early death problems with the Time Capsule due to improper ventilation illustrate this philosophy as clearly as on any other product Apple has yet marketed.

This goes all the way back to the original 128k, 512k, and Mac Plus models.
Click to expand...

There is a much simpler way for Apple to fix the problem: just move the PS to the cord like they already do on the AEBS. No fans, no vents, problem solved.
 
anneke said:
So much so for "saving everything important, including your sanity."
Click to expand...

Using a Time Capsule (or any other backup product) is only 1/2 of a good backup solution.

My very strong recommendation is:

- Two totally independent backup solutions
- At least one must be offsite (for disaster recovery)
- Ideally, the 2nd is onsite (for speed of recovery)
- Both must be fully automatic... with no end user actions required
- Both must be totally independent of each other (ie: one not just backing up the other)

I think that Time Machine w/Time Capsule is a great local backup solution.

For the offsite cloud backup... I prefer either mozy.com or crashplan.com. If you use Crashplan... I recommend the paid Crashplan+ (plus) client software... not the free Crashplan because of the 448b (vs 128b) encryption. Mozy is always 448b blowfish encryption. Both Mozy and Crashplan encrypt the data on your own computer... and the 448b encryption will remain safe longer than you will be alive.

/Jim
 
OllyW said:
Apple are now using Western Digital Caviar Green drives in the Time Capsule which will help it to run cooler.

Will it be enough to prevent the power supply from failing after 18 months, only time will tell?
Click to expand...
Does anyone know when the switch to the Green hard drives occurred?
Were all the Dual Band TCs made with this drive, or just the current generation?
 
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