KickAss Home Server for Cheapskates
Even families are getting connected these days. Mumsy fiddles with friendster at the first floor, Junior plays online warcraft on the second floor, and Dad… well, he’s visiting Youporn.com in the locked basement. And while they’re at it, they’re sharing their latest finds inside and outside the home. Thing is, all those music, photos videos and apps are starting to take up horrendous space- bits and bytes that the Lacie Ethernet Disk Mini can easily manage for you.
Check out the Lacie. It’s impressive! At 500GB, it’s almost as muscle-flexing as the HP media Smart home server that robs you of $700. But this baby costs only $210 with all the same features.
First off, this cool device links to your router via ethernet. It took me less than 5 minutes to connect- easier than setting up a Linksys WirelessG router! It’s bundled with the HipServ App that must be installed on any PC that will access the server. Once installed, laptops and desktops will recognize it, transforming it into a moster storage device that provides media server functions like streaming video.
Then it goes a step further. The HipServ offers intermediate backup functions. With staggered and full backup protocols, you can restore files after a horrid crash and hit the ground running. Then here’s something the paranoid would love: any folder on the Lacie can be designated as private: grant users permission and only they can access and delete files from it. This serves as protection for your stash of financial data an shufuni downloads. 
Bottomline is, I found this device a darn easy tool to use. If all you want is a central location for storage that’s capable enough for video streaming and secure file protection- this is it. You don’t have to spend more than the cheap $210 price tag!
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Comment by jlava on 6 August 2008:
almost as muscle flexing as the MediaSmart Server? You Sure? What are the read/write speeds? How expandable is it? Have you actually used HipServ for any extended period of time? I have - it’s slow and unreliable.  Do a little research before you make absurd statements.
Comment by Zath on 7 August 2008:
I keep meaning to buy a home server or at least put one together - it would certainly solve my problem of leaving my main PC on all the time to ensure access to media files!
Read Zath’s latest blog post….Perpetual Gamer: Free Fantasy Football>>>
Comment by Roby on 7 August 2008:
Hi jlava,
The axentra team would like to invite you to join the HipServ forums at http://hipservforums.axentra.com/ . If you are experiencing issues with your HipServ or would like to provide comments/suggestions, we welcome them on the forum. Please note that we’ve recently released the HipServ 1.6.2 update which rectifies the problems which were causing slowness and frequent disconnects. It also enables a new feature, the ability to access your HipServ with a mobile handheld device.
Although the LaCie ED Mini - Home Edition may not have the horsepower of a HP MediaSmart Server, it sure holds it’s own on the horspower per dollar value.Â
Thank you Joseph for the great review, we are glad you enjoy the product.
Comment by PS3 on 7 August 2008:
I find it amazing how technology has gone so far in the last ten years….whilst prices have come down. Go figure!
$210 is a bargain indeed!
Comment by techie on 14 August 2008:
I find it very cheap but whats inside? which components they are using?
Comment by jdakiss on 2 October 2008:
Is there any cheap software out there that can archive and retrieve data off the net does anyone know http://www.wallstreetnewsalert.mobi