Tech gadget

LG N2B1 1TB

For start, the LG N2B1 (NAS with two drives that can be used in separed) is well designed. The finishing is pleasant without attracting too much attention, the opening parts are not loose, and nothing vibrates.
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The front LCD screen provides essential information. Despite a reduced size, it remains quite readable. The front opens easily and provides access to two discs placed on removable racks.

The media card reader, the USB ports for connecting a hard drive or a printer, assure connectivity, but it is the Blu-ray drive that captures atentiom, especially given the price of LG N2B1: 329 euros.

The problem is that Blu-ray, which appears to offer great prospects, can not be used with a computer connected to the network. It can not read a Blu-ray, can not burn directly from one machine. It is possible to burn, but only a file stored on the NAS. It would be a greta idea to have an optical drive that could be shared on a network.

Since the NAS has an optical drive, it should import a CD directly into the iTunes folder, but here we must go through the PC and then drag and drop files. In the case of the print server, if everything goes like a dream with Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista and 7), do not print with Apple Mac OS X.

Mac OS X seems to be forgotten. The Time Machine function (the backup system from Apple) does not start did not want to get started. But LG's NAS is well over a Time Capsule from Apple regarding the functions: iTunes server to share its music library on network, compatibility with the DLNA standard for broadcasting digital content to the compatible devices, BitTorrent server... Even the remote access and WebDAV for fast sharing of data aren't forgotten.

The LG N2B1 is a very good choice for someone who wants to share its data easily and securely on its local PC network - even externally via the Internet. One major fault however: this product is quite noisy.