Drobo

[tw12lve]

Why does tekzilla sponsor this thing? Yeah, it's a neat idea, but this thing is ridiculously overpriced and lacks all the features that would earn that price tag

[m3thod]

I believe its the other way around . . . the makers of the Drobo sponsor Tekzilla.

I'm sure the price will go down.

[jas]

Value is something we each must weigh. For a photographer who isn't technical, needs storage that easily expands and demands data protection - the value for a Drobo is high (some photographers say they would pay MORE for a Drobo, and think it's cheap).

For the geek or tech head (maybe yourself) who can spend a few hours buying the components, spend a few hours building a RAID/NAS box of some sort on a Linux platform, and manage that system - upgrading it or fully replacing it when you run out of space - spending yet more time... maybe Drobo isn't the right product for you.

But for anybody non-technical with a mass of growing data - Drobo is a Godsend and great product that is well worth the cost.

I agree, it's not the right product for you... but for MANY others, it is the right product at a fair price.

[darknessgp]

Why does tekzilla sponsor this thing? Yeah, it's a neat idea, but this thing is ridiculously overpriced and lacks all the features that would earn that price tag

because apparently enough people buy their product for them to pay Tekzilla to put their ad on the show. Did you really need to make this thread? I mean you really couldn't figure that out on your own?

[nextgenxbox]

Drobo is an advertiser. Its like TV. Companies pay to have their commercial air during a certain show. This is the same thing that Drobo is doing with Tekzilla. It is nothing more than a paid ad.

Do you complain about the ads that air during your favorite TV shows?

[mikec]

The one problem with ads like the ones on Tekzilla is that usually the show doesn't make any money unless the viewer buys something. That is why GoDaddy sponsors almost every podcast in the world. They don't pay unless someone uses the "product code" for that show. The same goes with Drobo.

You will know that Rev3 really has taken off when you see a car ad or maybe a home appliance advertisement on the shows.

This type of advertising is called PI or per inquiry.

[nextgenxbox]

The one problem with ads like the ones on Tekzilla is that usually the show doesn't make any money unless the viewer buys something. That is why GoDaddy sponsors almost every podcast in the world. They don't pay unless someone uses the "product code" for that show. The same goes with Drobo.

You will know that Rev3 really has taken off when you see a car ad or maybe a home appliance advertisement on the shows.

This type of advertising is called PI or per inquiry.

I doubt Revision3 uses this. They're too big for this. For the smaller podcasts sure, but did you see Rev3's #s for 2007? There's no way they're doing this. In my own opinion.

[mikec]

They don't mention ad revenues, do they? I watch Diggnation, Tekzilla and Systm and when an ad has a "product" code that signs out to me PI...

[nextgenxbox]

They don't mention ad revenues, do they? I watch Diggnation, Tekzilla and Systm and when an ad has a "product" code that signs out to me PI...

I'm not saying your point isn't 100% valid it is just that Rev3 is huge and I don't see them making that much money if that's the case.... then again I could be wrong as fuck and they make a lot of money from PI, haha.

[bman]

In terms of the Drobo, I'd love to get one of these. They are useful and simple, and not a hassel. But yes, $400 or more for just the drobo itself, no drive. That is kind of a rip off.

[1_1_1]

well if it offered raid5 instead of just raid0
sure you get more space with 0 but 5 means a drive can die and you keep going
I might be wrong about the type of raid (it could be some special drive array)

[tw12lve]

I feel like rev3 shows typically only take on advertisers who they like.

Do i get mad at shows that have ads for stupid stuff? No, but is rev3's network of shows like anything you've seen on tv? Why not change this and actually take on sponsors they believe in. I thought that's what rev3 was trying to do, so seeing the drobo is like pat norton looking you in the eye and saying "hey, i'd use this thing"

I would love to get a drobo, but for that much? No thanks. I have drives laying around ready to roll, but for that price I can buy a gigabit ready to go nas with way more storage that's all new. Or, I could get a fw/usb drive with more storage and faster speed. It just seemed like a really overpriced product, and I was wondering if anyone thought the same.

[uteck]

well if it offered raid5 instead of just raid0
sure you get more space with 0 but 5 means a drive can die and you keep going
I might be wrong about the type of raid (it could be some special drive array)
It is not Raid 5 or 0 in the traditional sense, but you can mix drives of various sizes and there is data redundancy if one dies, but the size of the smallest disk determines this. Pat did a big segment on DLTV about this (http://dl.tv/2007/06/episode_171_drobo_its_not_a_na_1.php). Now if he would do more stuff like that on Tekzilla it would be great.
It's big drawback for me is that it is not networkable by itself.

[mikec]

Drobo now has an expansion box that lets the Drobo be used on a gigabit network.

http://www.drobo.com/products_droboshare.aspx


I doubt Revision3 uses this. They're too big for this.

Hmm, check the revenues of your local ABC or NBC affiliates, if they use PI advertising then Revision3 probably does too.

[uteck]

Now the Drobo is looking good to me. When I fill the remaining 800GB on my current NAS, I'll look at this to upgrade. :p

[slonkak]

It is not Raid 5 or 0 in the traditional sense, but you can mix drives of various sizes and there is data redundancy if one dies, but the size of the smallest disk determines this. Pat did a big segment on DLTV about this (http://dl.tv/2007/06/episode_171_drobo_its_not_a_na_1.php). Now if he would do more stuff like that on Tekzilla it would be great.
It's big drawback for me is that it is not networkable by itself.

It's not RAID at all. It acts like RAID5, but it's Drobo's proprietary scheme. The difference is that you do not need to have HDDs be the same size like you do in RAID.

And as for the people saying it isn't worth it for a geek, you have lost all credibility. This device is awesome. Redundancy, not having to worry about what size drive you buy, and eventually [I hope] an integrated NIC for NAS access... It's a great device for any non-corporation user.

[kopp]

My biggest gripe is that they're calling it a robot.

If it doesn't call you master, have a death beam of some nature, or have a deep seeded hatred of mutants, I don't think they should be calling it a robot. At the very least they could've had the thing make toast or coffee or something.

As far as it being an external hard drive enclosure with a couple of perks, I do think it's a bit overpriced. For $400 you could definitely build a standalone system with many more capabilities than this, but the price is for the style and conveniences that it offers, no doubt. It offers more than most hard drive enclosures do, but I don't think it's the best at what it does in it's price range. I have too many old towers sitting around waiting to do this thing's job a hundred times better for me to seriously ponder buying a robo hard drive enclosure. And if I want it to look good I could glue some glitter on it or something. You would earn plenty of geek credit or whatever tender you wish, building it yourself, to the standards you wish. But if I were a techish snob with some money laying around, maybe. It is black with rounded corners after all, maybe my dumber friends would get jealous and totally legitimize my purchase. Or maybe I could teach it to call me master and hate mutants.

[kronos6948]

So, if I were making a system for a home entertainment center, something that will be holding plenty of movies/shows/music, etc., what are the pros and cons of the Drobo compared to a RAID array or a NAS?

[uteck]

It you want to access your stuff, you will need the new networking expansion, so add in some more money there. I am not sure how it connects, but if the network adapter is using USB, I think that may lower your read/write throughput compared to a normal networking interface.
With my Intel NAS, I can download multiple torrents to it and still playback video files on it with no problem. I am not sure how well the Drobo would preform. I think we need Pat to do some geek-level stress testing of Drobo.

[corwin155]

id love to have a drobo :) but like everyone else its a bit pricey heh :eek:

[decepticon]

I agree that the price is too high for what you get, however, it is a great product, and one I'd gladly buy and use if you could knock the price back to something reasonable. Love the concept of the product though.

[damnedeyez]

I'd buy one, but they're only for SATA drives...hell, I'd buy two if they were cheaper and had an IDE model.

[tritium]

They don't mention ad revenues, do they? I watch Diggnation, Tekzilla and Systm and when an ad has a "product" code that signs out to me PI...
Rush limbaugh uses product codes in his ads... he does NOT get paied on a PI basis. Its not a means of PI payment, its ad value tracking, since there is no reliable rateings system for podcasts.