How is using things that you already own wasteful? I would think that buying a new larger hard drive to be much more wasteful. Not sure why you think people should use a computer the same way you do. Having 3 drives could provide way more benefit than one larger drive, for example maybe one drive is for time machine, another for a media collection and the 3rd that is a bootable backup. It would be really stupid for someone to put a time machine backup, bootable backup and media onto one drive. Having 3 drives would be more cost effective, provide better security and provide better performance.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
USB-C is all over eBay
- Thread starter mikeray
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How is using things that you already own wasteful? I would think that buying a new larger hard drive to be much more wasteful. Not sure why you think people should use a computer the same way you do. Having 3 drives could provide way more benefit than one larger drive, for example maybe one drive is for time machine, another for a media collection and the 3rd that is a bootable backup. It would be really stupid for someone to put a time machine backup, bootable backup and media onto one drive. Having 3 drives would be more cost effective, provide better security and provide better performance.
Why would you get a NAS if you already have a solution that works for YOU?
I personally have a Mac Mini in a Raid 1 configuration, an Apple Time Capsule that back up my Mini and Macbook air, a hard drive connected to my Mini for media and 2 other drives that I use to keep offsite backups which I alternate. I don't think an NAS would provide the same security as my current setup. I'm sure there are better solutions but mine works for me and one large drive(or NAS) would not provide the same security.
Agree in principal. The same drive or group of drives for all purposes defeats that purpose! However, wired connections for all these solutions seems a bit dated. For media libraries, yes. Myself have a 12TB RAID 10 setup (So 6TB usable space) for Photos and iTunes media library, and a 3TB Time Capsule for Time Machine - The media RAID setup is via USB 3.0, but the Time Machine is wireless. All non-multimedia documents are also backed up offsite using cloud services, Dropbox or iCloud mostly. My Mac mini usually only has that one USB port in use. HDMI for the monitor of course.
Never actually understood the real point of a NAS for home use if you've already got a computer that serves the same purpose, like a mini for example.
Then again, never understood trying to use a super ultrabook like the MB as the sole or main computer either. Its just not designed for that use case, and there are always going to be uncomfortable compromises. Same goes for the MBA. Always have had a stationary system that never moves and is always on (a server if you will) as the base of the home computing ecosystem with laptops, tablets and phones as satellites. Use the MB as it was designed and intended, as a compliment to an existing setup, and it will shine. Try to have it BE the setup, and you will get a bit frustrated.
Last edited:
Nope, a docking station is stationary desktop appliance that you actually dock your laptop to. A hub is a portable preripheral varying in size and complexity that allows you to expand wired connectibility options.
That USB-C with 3 USB-A and Ethernet looks tasty. Just wish it had a power-only USB-C out the opposite side of the USB-A ports, then it would be perfect for my personal needs. Almost exactly how I would design it.
Media streaming to non-computer A/V devices. e.g. watching video on a TV (remember them ?) and listening to audio on a speaker (remember them ?). Yes, there are devices between the NAS and the A/V output units.
Personally I have 2 identical NAS units - one as mirror backup to the other.
Yeah, and having 30 drives would be even more reliable... but there comes a point where reliability and convenience part ways. IMO 3 drives hooked to a laptop that weighs 2 lbs is absurd.... but hey whatever you want to do, just don't expect manufacturers to coddle to you. The idea of the Macbook is thin and light and for people who want ultra portability. If you've got the need to have a space station of cables and hubs and docks, you're clearly not in the demographic this laptop was designed for.
I get that usage, but isn't a NAS overkill? You still need an interface to get the media to play on the "dumb" media player, right? For me that is the Apple TV (realise it could be a roku or whatever as well with plea, etc.). and I've still got to have my computer to get the media and manage it in the first place, even if I store it on a NAS, so it seems like an extra superfluous device in the middle if it is just a media library.
I mean, if I have an AirPlay compatible receiver and an Apple TV hooked up to the same receiver, why do I need a NAS? 3 Apple TV's provides access to my media library on all three levels of the house, and home sharing does the rest for the iPads and iPhones in the house...it's also just as easy/difficult to get access
To those media files outside of the home network using my Mac mini as it is with a NAS.
I get the use case for a corporate setting, just never understood the need in a home personal use situation.
I DO understand if the NAS actually replaces/takes the place of a stationary home computer completely. Not the case for us though, does a lot more than just be a media server.
----------
Agree completely. As I said earlier, I think you are always going to be frustrated with the MB if you are going to have it as your only computer system.
My use case is a bit more complicated. I have a sound system with 7 Sonos units and 3 Video units - too much for an Apple system to manage without a lot more extra hardware. Apple TV also doesn't solve my problem.
Plus I also use the NAS for active file storage (mapped to the MBAs) and for passive file storage. In total some 9TB of working drive space over 5 drives (RAID5)
To be fair, the system did evolve over 5 years or so, starting with the active file storage. However, if I was doing it again I would still go the same way.
Plus I also use the NAS for active file storage (mapped to the MBAs) and for passive file storage. In total some 9TB of working drive space over 5 drives (RAID5)
To be fair, the system did evolve over 5 years or so, starting with the active file storage. However, if I was doing it again I would still go the same way.
I guess that's fair enough, so you're using it as an active file server as well as a media server. I just use Dropbox and iCloud instead.
Buddy has a Sonos based system as well, 12 Sonos speakers throughout his property, outside as well as in, but he uses his venerable old tower desktop as a media server, with several external HD's in the mix, same for all his 8-9 smart TV's that access his home network directly (Samsung series 9 TV's I think? The guy is nuts about entertaining guest and having parties, like a 42 year old frat boy
- he's also got multicolor LED's wired up indoors and out, and he runs all his audio and lighting from his iPhone, as well as several IP security cameras, etc.) Doesn't have a NAS in the mix. His setup is obviously organic, and grown over time, much like yours.My setup is more family based - catering to the wife and kids rather than having video and audio in every room of the house as well as out in the yard, so ATV's are sufficient for me. I also had the opportunity to assess my needs and do a one time setup for the whole house just the once instead of slowly growing the system over time, and conforming that growth to what I had done before. But again, my setup is extremely simple, I just want to be able to play anything in my video, audio, or photo library from one room on each level of the house and on iPads that we each have.
Like I said, I see the point if the NAS relieves you of having a desktop computer in the first place, absolutely.
Last edited:
Why would you buy a new Macbook if you already had a solution that works for you? Just because something works doesn't mean there isn't something that works better. By your logic, there'd never be a need to upgrade computers or anything, because the old product works.
He has 3 external drives, is having 3 external drives unreasonable. No one said anything about 30 drives or cats, why do u get upset when people don't use their computer like you do?
----------
Maybe my computer may break or i decide to hand down my mba to my son. If my computer breaks why would I throw away the other equipment I have. Maybe I want a new computer to save weight, whatever reason to getone will not change the fact that have one large drive for backup is a disaster waiting to happen. Telling someone to get one large drive without knowing why they use 3 drives is pretty idiotic, you kinda sound like a troll when you bring up 17 cats and comparing 3 drives to 30 drives.
No reason to be coddled, a way to hook up more than one USB drive already exists. There is no reason why one should not be able to hook up more than 1 USB drive as the apple av dock already exists. Considering the av adapter is hard to find I think its safe to say that other people also want to hook up external devices. The only people who have got that shaft with the new MB are people with thunderbolt displays, and I'm not one of them as I have my good old Dell 2408.
Last edited:
I'm a professional photographer and also a fan of data redundancy. Once you have a drive fail on you, you won't think it's wasteful.
Yeah, I'll just slowly backup a few terabytes (not giga) of data to an expensive cloud solution and, even better, editing my photos and video will be slower! Have you ever tried editing gigabytes worth of video from the cloud? Your needs are not the same as everyone else's.
If you are not using your PC like shenan, you are using wrong. If you want to hookup 3 USB hard drives you should buy a MP for that. You obviously don't know your own needs.
My storage setup
I also used to have (& still do) lots of intermediate capacity external hard drives, some taken out of old laptops.
I tried to divide up the disks into logical groups (various backups, audio, video, TV, movies etc.) but it got to becoming a big overhead just organizing it all.
I finally got a NAS which has become my "source of truth" for of documents & media, and is just about fast enough to use as a primary network drive if I wanted to work on files from it directly.
Of course you still need backups of the NAS, and preferably n second off-site backup for disasters.
So my setup is roughly:
1) NAS for Time Machine backups, all media (it is also a media server), disk images, off-line VMs, video projects etc, and user documents.
2) Large external USB drives to backup the NAS. At least one copy of backup is kept off-site.
3) Old hard-drives are used to create bootable images of all machines (using Carbon Copy Cloner)
4) Cloud storage used for extra level of backup for documents, valuable media files (photos etc.), and to aid sync'ing docs across multiple devices.
I don't think the majority of domestic NASes (1Gig Ethernet) are really up to high throughput tasks such as video editing, and neither is cloud storage.
A NAS is definitely a good thing to have at home, especially if you have multiple devices or users. It also provides some resilience in the storage via RAID, which will save you the hassle of recovering from a backup if a disk dies. (This doesn't remove the need for the backup though - the whole NAS could fail!). The NAS can also act as "private cloud", so you can access it remotely, and have it sync all devices similar to the current public cloud offerings.
I also used to have (& still do) lots of intermediate capacity external hard drives, some taken out of old laptops.
I tried to divide up the disks into logical groups (various backups, audio, video, TV, movies etc.) but it got to becoming a big overhead just organizing it all.
I finally got a NAS which has become my "source of truth" for of documents & media, and is just about fast enough to use as a primary network drive if I wanted to work on files from it directly.
Of course you still need backups of the NAS, and preferably n second off-site backup for disasters.
So my setup is roughly:
1) NAS for Time Machine backups, all media (it is also a media server), disk images, off-line VMs, video projects etc, and user documents.
2) Large external USB drives to backup the NAS. At least one copy of backup is kept off-site.
3) Old hard-drives are used to create bootable images of all machines (using Carbon Copy Cloner)
4) Cloud storage used for extra level of backup for documents, valuable media files (photos etc.), and to aid sync'ing docs across multiple devices.
I don't think the majority of domestic NASes (1Gig Ethernet) are really up to high throughput tasks such as video editing, and neither is cloud storage.
A NAS is definitely a good thing to have at home, especially if you have multiple devices or users. It also provides some resilience in the storage via RAID, which will save you the hassle of recovering from a backup if a disk dies. (This doesn't remove the need for the backup though - the whole NAS could fail!). The NAS can also act as "private cloud", so you can access it remotely, and have it sync all devices similar to the current public cloud offerings.
YES. I am so excited for that. I need to find a wall plug that has one 29W + 10W ports. So i can charge my phone and macbook at the same time.
EDIT: Found it!
PlugBug
THAT IS AWESOME. What brand battery are you using? do you know if it suffers from the slow charging issue that most usb banks have?
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.