Looking for a decent external hard drive enclosure...

ElDiabloConCaca · #1 November 16th, 2007, 02:30 PM

Wow... been to the rodeo on this one so many times it's ridiculous. My most recent experience involved a very unhelpful employee at a local computer parts store here in San Antonio.

"Do you have anything that doesn't look ridiculous? I'm looking for one that doesn't look like it'll protect me from alien mind-control waves or look like it's prepped and ready to blast off into outer space..."

"Ha! Good luck with that one... this's all we got..."

I'm looking for a decent external hard drive enclosure. FireWire or USB 2.0. Or both. Something without the manufacturer's logo emblazoned across the side. Something without "USB 2.0" written in 72-pt. type across the top (I could care less about advertising the connection protocol to every passer-by). Something that's not painted with flames, or has power/activity lights the size of my thumb. Something in black, silver, white, or some neutral color. Something that doesn't stick out.

Here are examples of "cases gone wild" that just don't fit my needs:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146610
["Firewire/USB 2.0" in 72-pt. type... WHY?!]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817714018
[Getting better, but what the hell is an "IcyBox?"]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817155003
[Getting better, but the logo on the side and front kill it.]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817364008
[Very close, but the text describing what the box does is just stupid. I don't need to look at it on my desk and think to myself, "Oh yeah, it's an external USB enclosure. Good thing they wrote that on the box, otherwise I'd just be wondering what the hell this black brick is for."]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817392003
[Not too bad, but status lights should be round or square, not logo-shaped.]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817388002
[Now we're getting somewhere! But the over-use of metal and the industrial look isn't quite right.]

At any rate, I'm sure you get the picture now. Isn't there an external enclosure that doesn't look like a spaceship, that doesn't expect me to be their free advertisement, that doesn't scream the protocol used, and that is compact and unobtrusive?

DeltaMac · #2 November 16th, 2007, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

I'm looking for a decent external hard drive enclosure. FireWire or USB 2.0. Or both. Something without the manufacturer's logo emblazoned across the side. ... Something that doesn't stick out.
...
At any rate, I'm sure you get the picture now. Isn't there an external enclosure that doesn't look like a spaceship, that doesn't expect me to be their free advertisement, that doesn't scream the protocol used, and that is compact and unobtrusive?

Ah - that would be one of the reasons I buy black electrician's tape.

You can buy duct (duck) tape in virtually any color.
Also, 5 seconds with a can of rustoleum will kill any painted logo the manufacturer can imagine. Likely would make it tough for returns/warranty replacement.... but there's plenty of choice for, well, your choice of color...

SGilbert · #3 November 16th, 2007, 09:14 PM

http://www.wiebetech.com/products/toughtech.php

aicul · #4 November 17th, 2007, 02:23 AM

Why not consider an airport extreme base with any external drive and hide the two away since with airport you would link to the drive by means of wifi?

.. and get a kick of knowing the marketing efforts of the external drive are wasted.

.. mind you what do you do about the Apple logo that is prominent on all apple products?

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 November 17th, 2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aicul

Why not consider an airport extreme base with any external drive and hide the two away since with airport you would link to the drive by means of wifi?

...because this is my Time Machine backup, and it won't work over wi-fi...

Quote:

Originally Posted by aicul

.. mind you what do you do about the Apple logo that is prominent on all apple products?

The Apple logo is subtle and simple. The other logos are garish and ugly.

DeltaMac · #6 November 17th, 2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

...
The Apple logo is subtle and simple. The other logos are garish and ugly.

Gee, and someone in marketing , or at least someone at the company has slaved over some artwork that they consider an artistic masterpiece, or at least something that gets people's attention (it is advertising, after all ??) And, it achieves that purpose by getting your attention. (despite being a negative for you...) Someone actually paid good money to have that (ugly, garish) thing on that drive case. <shudder!>
It's ... artwork, you know! And like all artwork, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
You own it, cover up the artwork if you don't like it....

ElDiabloConCaca · #7 November 17th, 2007, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaMac

Gee, and someone in marketing , or at least someone at the company has slaved over some artwork that they consider an artistic masterpiece, or at least something that gets people's attention (it is advertising, after all ??) And, it achieves that purpose by getting your attention. (despite being a negative for you...) Someone actually paid good money to have that (ugly, garish) thing on that drive case. <shudder!>
It's ... artwork, you know! And like all artwork, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
You own it, cover up the artwork if you don't like it....

Yes. I am fully aware that the company likes their logo.

I don't like their logo. I think it's a headache to look at. That's my opinion, and their logo emblazoned across their hardware is what's keeping me from purchasing their hardware.

I do not want to purchase hardware with a huge, ugly logo emblazoned across the top (huge and aesthetically pleasing may be ok). I do not want to cover it up with duct tape, because that would look even more hideous (otherwise the companies would have made their logo look like a length of duct tape).

I do not want to spray paint the case -- I am not a "modder," nor do I want to go to lengths to purchase something ugly and make it acceptable and aesthetically pleasing. I could build my own if I wanted that.

Imagine if Apple went further with their hardware: instead of a simple Apple logo atop their AirPort Extreme, they had the Apple logo, along with "Apple" in big-ass type next to it, then below that was written "AirPort Extreme Base Station 802.11n Wireless Router with Wi-Fi USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Access Mechanism Hardware Thingy." Then they had some random lines a la the Matrix drawn on there for whatever reason. Then they put a series of dime-sized octagon-shaped lights across the front indicating everything from wireless activity to hard drive access to power indication to error status. And instead of being rounded-box shape, it had bumps and miscellaneous plastic adornments that serve no purpose other than to differentiate it from other hardware. Kinda kills the aesthetics of it, no?

I want something aesthetically pleasing out-of-the-box. I know that today, in 2007, a lot of people want to draw attention to their computers... with neon lights and huge cases and "ABit" and "AsusTek" and whatever written in 72-pt. type everywhere it'll fit. I do not find that acceptable, and I will not spend money on hardware only to be their free advertisement to every passer-by.

I do not want something that simply does the job without taking into consideration how it looks. That's why I am drawn to Apple hardware, and with all the imitation of Apple going on by other companies, it would be nice if they took design into consideration as well instead of trying overly hard to draw attention to themselves.

I will not be persuaded, no matter how valid or great the argument, to purchase an external enclosure that is (in my opinion) ugly and attention-grabbing. I will also not be persuaded to modify the enclosure to meet my needs. I would like it to meet my needs out-of-the-box, and I know that something like that surely must be out there -- in fact, I saw one at Best Buy the other day: it was a Toshiba 2.5" external hard drive enclosure. It said "Toshiba" in small lettering and the case itself was simple and red. Unfortunately, it doesn't meet my needs: it's 2.5", and I need 3.5". It also came with a hard drive -- I'm looking for an empty case that I can put my own hard drive in. But this just verified the fact that some companies don't take the "space ship flashing lights Mountain Dew extreme in-your-face" route when designing their hardware. I intend to use the enclosure as an out-of-the-way Time Machine backup drive -- not as something to say "Hey, I've got more power than you because I've got EXTREEEEEEEEEME case modz0rz!"

Hey, you're not that guy at the computer store that told me, "Good luck finding a case that doesn't look like a space ship," are you? You're starting to sound a lot like him!

I guess I am, really, looking for that "needle in the haystack." I gotta wade through piles of crappy, cheap, ugly enclosures to find the one or two that meet my needs -- and I was in high hopes that someone here has run into the same dilemma I have and could point me in the right direction.

Help me!

DeltaMac · #8 November 17th, 2007, 12:35 PM

Did you check out the Wiebetech case that SGilbert linked a few posts up? Nothing too flashy, just a simple case, but kinda rounded, and the company name is there (they make it!)
If you check out their site, you will see a lot of tech-oriented gear for drive recovery even at a forensics level. Even bare-bones stuff to just plug a drive into for testing or other types of setups.