Strengths: Works great and flawlessly... for the first year.

Weaknesses: Seems to come with a 367 day self-destruct.

Summary: Actually... it seems that it is just the power supply module that goes bad.There are two powers that come from it... a 5 volt line, and a 12 volt line... that dies and drops to about 4 volts. This would be the line that drives the spin. No spin... no HD!!So AFTER LaCie sends you another one (for free)... be sure to put a shut off switch on the plug end, when not in use.Seems the heat from it always being plugged in kills them.

Strengths: Solid construction; plug & play for Mac; true power switch; quad interface for longevity; quiet, only invoking fan when needed. Priced competitively; 3 year warranty.

Weaknesses: Form factor not consistent with other peripherals; Needs second FW400 port in my opinion; Won't work as an alternate boot drive directly from Mac OS 9.

Summary: All in all I am very satisfied with this drive. 500GB is ample space. Bought to replace a failing 200GB Maxtor. The competition has gone to "auto-sensing" technology so their drives have no true power-on switch. What a mistake! And only scant acknowledgement of the Mac platform at that. LaCie shows real leadership by providing a three-way power switch (On or Auto, at the users option) in a drive targeted at Macs first. I have partitioned the drive and can boot up from it with an alternate OS. Competition left in the dust. This is such a transitional period in computer advances that backwards compatibility and forward- thinking versatility are really desirable and LaCie provides it in spades with this drive. Been running the drive since late November without a hitch.

Strengths: Large number of ports; quality construction

Weaknesses: A little noisy

Summary: I'm very happy with this purchase, but I was a little surprised by how much noisier the drive is than my iMac. I think this problem will be easily solved by getting a longer firewire cord and moving it further from my computer.

Strengths: Quite, Easy set up for iMac,Comes with all cables,FAST

Weaknesses: none yet

Summary: Just picked this up for new iMac. Set up was a breeze including partioning for Time Machine, iPhoto, iTunes. It match's pretty well with the aluminum iMacs and you can stand up or lie down, also rack mountable with other LaCie drives as your library expands. Bottom line wanted a good drive that was fast and reliable, i think this fits the bill.

Strengths: Lots of storage that can be downloaded or uploaded quickly using Firewire.

Weaknesses: None encountered at this time.

Summary: Had to try the software install three times to get it to work. Somewhat frustrating. Also had to wait over 25 minutes on the phone for customer service to answer.

Strengths: Quad interface! Solid metal housing (heavy) and base. Fan is nearly silent (had to listen carefully).

Weaknesses: No SATA 2 interface. Some noises. Heavy, random drive access causes a soft clicking or buzz. Drive has a quiet, very high-pitched whine which is normal, but annoying to my sensitive ears.

Summary: Speedy, versatile and solid. This drive performs well, and connects to any interface I need. I only wish the ESATA port had SATA 2 support, like my MyBook Studio drive. This drive is much hardier than the MyBook though.My d2 Quadra contains a Seagate ST3500630AS drive.The lack of a SATA 2 interface means the top speed of this drive is nearly the same as Firewire 800.ESATA 1 BenchmarksTransfer Rate Minimum : 39.1 MB/secTransfer Rate Maximum : 78.8 MB/secTransfer Rate Average : 64.9 MB/secAccess Time : 13.2 msBurst Rate : 103.2 MB/secCPU Usage : 1.7%Firewire 800 BenchmarksTransfer Rate Minimum : 39.1 MB/secTransfer Rate Maximum : 73.7 MB/secTransfer Rate Average : 63.7 MB/secAccess Time : 13.3 msBurst Rate : 64.8 MB/secCPU Usage : 3.0%Firewire 400 BenchmarksTransfer Rate Minimum : 24.8 MB/secTransfer Rate Maximum : 26.1 MB/secTransfer Rate Average : 25.9 MB/secAccess Time : 13.3 msBurst Rate : 23.9 MB/secCPU Usage : 2.4%USB 2.0 BenchmarksTransfer Rate Minimum : 32.5 MB/secTransfer Rate Maximum : 33.2 MB/secTransfer Rate Average : 32.9 MB/secAccess Time : 13.4 msBurst Rate : 27.8 MB/secCPU Usage : 8.3%

Strengths: Easy setup and fast data transfer.

Weaknesses: Not sure about the power saving feature. It is supposed to be turned off when the computer goes off, but mine does not. I will check with LaCie on this.

Summary: I am using the drive with the Mac Time Machine on my Power Mac G5 and it works like a champ. It was immediately recognized and configured by the Leopard OS. I also have the companion LaCie external d2 DVD-CD drive and both are mounted in the LaCie desktop rack, providing organization and security for the equipment.

Strengths: Very easy to set up. Just load the software and go.

Weaknesses: None so far

Summary: The D2 Quadra is a little power house. I like the fact that I can easily create partitions. With some easy programming, you can push the button in front of the unit that will save specific projects or groups of files. Very cool.

Strengths: Easy to use, easy to setup, very quiet, hard sturdy case. Love Silverkeeper SW

Weaknesses: Haven't found any.

Summary: Just hook up to my MAC and wella. Firewire 800 Fast. Silverkeeper Software was a breeze. Never a hitch. Very quiet drive and very fast. Would highly recommend.

Strengths: Easy to easy, quiet, hard sturdy case

Weaknesses: Only complaint is that is takes long to format because it's such a large hard drive and it comes preformatted for Mac. That's not the drives fault though.

Summary: After the drive was formatted, it was easily to use. There is an On/Off/Auto power switch that is supposed to shut the drive off when the PC is shut down, but I think you need to install the software/drivers included for that to work. I have not done that yet, but I'm sure the Auto will work fine once I do. Comes with plenty of options to connect to your PC/Mac, although it comes with 2 firewire 800 ports and only 1 firewire 400. On my previous Lacie d2 200gb there were 2 firewire 400 connections, but then again that is the older technology. Will not use USB 2.0 or SATA hookup, but there is the option to do so. This is my 2nd Lacie and I would only buy Lacie's for external hard drives in the future because of their performance and reliability.

Strengths: Easy to set up, with clear instructions. VERY quiet and cool. Nice looking style with a small footprint. Heavy, sturdy case. Comes with 4 Interfaces w/cables, Retrospect HD 2.0, plus a 2 year warranty

Weaknesses: None I have found.

Summary: The LaCie drive was immediately recognized by my computer with the USB 2.0 connection. I haven't tried the FW400. I partitioned the drive and did NTFS formats for XP, installed the Retrospect HD 2.0. And was off and running in no time. I use Retrospect to automatically backup my C & D drives to one partition. True Image automatically makes images of my drives on the other partition. I alternate periodically with another external HD, kept in a different location. The LaCie, set on Auto, comes on with my pc, hibernates when it does, and shuts off with the PC. The classy blue LED goes nicely with my blue back-lighted keyboard & other peripheral LEDs. The USB 2.0 backups of 23GB - 25GB are fast, and I have all the connections I'll need for my next computer.

Strengths: Easy instilation with no problems. I am amazed how well it worked right from the begining and its speed.

Weaknesses: none

Summary: I have an Apple and was advised to use your external hard drive. Everything worked with out a hitch and its design is great Backed up with great speed and ease