Wikidesign tracked down this hard disk drive enclosure which offers you some of very Apple-ish aesthetics. It's a standard 3.5" IDE/(P)ATA enclosure with USB 2.0 and 1394 support. The holes on the back are needed because it's a fan-free enclosure--which you need to take into account because this thing needs good ventilation. The aluminum materials used in the unit should help with heat dissipation but it's probably not very stacking friendly. At £39.99, it's a bit pricey--especially since it doesn't come with an actual disk. You're just buying the enclosure. Still, it's pretty good looking, isn't it? [via WikiDesign]Apple-styled HD Enclosure
Wikidesign tracked down this hard disk drive enclosure which offers you some of very Apple-ish aesthetics. It's a standard 3.5" IDE/(P)ATA enclosure with USB 2.0 and 1394 support. The holes on the back are needed because it's a fan-free enclosure--which you need to take into account because this thing needs good ventilation. The aluminum materials used in the unit should help with heat dissipation but it's probably not very stacking friendly. At £39.99, it's a bit pricey--especially since it doesn't come with an actual disk. You're just buying the enclosure. Still, it's pretty good looking, isn't it? [via WikiDesign]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-27-2007 @ 6:37PM
my_name_is_tudor said...
Its refreshing to see one of these that doesn't have a logo engraved into the front face, the otherwise lovely mac-aesthetics can be so easily ruined by a little over zealously branding.
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2-27-2007 @ 6:42PM
Kevin S. said...
there are other similar styled disk enclosures like this that also include a usb and firewire hub.
I have a micronet minimate (i scratched off the logo...) that sits under my macmini and looks great. everyone thinks i have two macminis. it confuses them.
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2-27-2007 @ 6:48PM
LD said...
Sabrent makes and/or OEMs this. The case is actually plastic. I don't understand why they keep saying it's aluminium.
So far it's my favorite of the mini styled exclosures though because it will spin down the drive when not in use. Very few USB enclosures do this.
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2-27-2007 @ 7:02PM
Patrick Haney said...
I highly recommend the Newer Technology miniStack for a similar look but some nicer features. Get it without a drive, and it's $69, which it is well worth. Now only is it a Firewire/USB hub, but it will only turn itself on when hooked up to your Mac. I find this invaluable as I have a laptop that I "dock" when I'm home, so this external drive isn't running all day long for no reason.
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2-27-2007 @ 9:01PM
Arun said...
ADS Tech has had one like this for a while now. Its pretty good! (only 20 bucks)
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2-27-2007 @ 9:20PM
Brian said...
I use a 320 GB disk from LaCie that is very similar looking. One thing that is really nice is it leaves a gap between the Mac Mini and drive so both of them stay a little cooler. I think it also has 2 usb and firewire in, as well as 2 usb and 1 firewire out.
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2-27-2007 @ 11:22PM
SubGenius said...
Why doesn't anyone make devices with internal power supplies anymore?
I hate having all those external bricks sprawled out under my desk.
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2-28-2007 @ 1:22AM
ClunkClunk said...
Why does this qualify as news or even a bloggable item? Mac Mini styled HD enclosures have been out for a few years, and this is one of many in the market.
Also by a note on the linked site: "You can only make one connection from your computer to the housing via USB or FireWire. You can not connect to both the USB and FireWire ports on the housing at the same time!"
It seems that other enclosures offer FW and USB simultaneously, so why bother with this one?
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2-28-2007 @ 3:35AM
tobias-digital said...
Who wants an Mac mini styled external HD. With the new Airport Extreme Basestation you can can connect an external HD and make it available over the WLAN. What I want is an Airport styled external HD, just like this one: http://www.apfelkueche.de/2007/02/23/apple-airdisk/
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2-28-2007 @ 8:59AM
I'm Lost said...
Just get:
http://www.newertech.com/products/ministackv2.php
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2-28-2007 @ 10:51AM
Matthew said...
This design has been out almost as long as the Mac mini itself. NewerTech introduced the MiniStack in 2005.
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2-28-2007 @ 11:11AM
JeffDM said...
Which of the competing designs are fanless? The linked mini stack uses a fan. If it's really a plastic enclosure, then I'm not interested.
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2-28-2007 @ 1:29PM
Shane said...
I have 2 of these... got them off ebay for $25 USD almost a year ago. They work good, but seem to trap heat really well to.
-shane
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2-28-2007 @ 1:51PM
Shane said...
Just to add to the fun...
Sabrents Specs: http://www.sabrent.com/products/specs/ECS-UFMC.htm
Good luck finding them. They seem to have been discontinued or just ran out of stock everywhere. Used to get them for $30 but now cheapest is about $50. (http://store4pc.stores.yahoo.net/ecs-ufmc.html)
shane
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