Pros and Cons

Some of the items I found during my testing period really didn't fit into the setup description above, but I felt I had to mention them. Here's a quick rundown:

• Pro: The GoFlex has an USB port, which lets you attach additional storage. I plugged in a Maxtor External drive I purchased on Black Friday a few years ago and it found the 500 GB drive and mounted it nicely. It even has a special share set up for "External Storage" which automatically shares out whatever is plugged into the port. That's a nice way to let a user go from external hard drive storage to NAS storage without losing valuable gigabytes!
• Con: The Memeo Instant Backup software is certainly bare bones, but it works. It does have quirks though - for instance, if I switch off wireless internet on my laptop and connect through an Ethernet cable, the software can't seem to find the NAS. A reboot usually fixes this, but switching back to WiFi will not.
• Pro: This thing is really unobtrusive. Living in a small apartment means that some things live in odd spots. My WiFi router and cable modem are on a dresser at the foot of the bed, meaning the GoFlex has to live next to them. The lights and sound produced by the device are subtle - no bright blue flashing LEDs or loud exhaust fans. This is much appreciated.
• Pro: For the majority of users, the included setup and configuration options are more than sufficient for the price. A quick search of an online retailer shows plenty of external 1 TB drives that are more expensive than the GoFlex Home, yet provide no network functionality.
• Pro: For someone like me who has all laptops at his home, the GoFlex is a great way to have storage accessible no matter what computers are running. I can power down my systems and be heading out the door for a vacation when I realize I need something - no powering up the gaming laptop just to get something off it's hard drives! While traveling it is possible to FTP into the GoFlex, which is also a nice feature.
• Con: You get what you pay for, I would have liked more features and certainly an interface that didn't take forever to load.

The Final Verdict?

The GoFlex Home is a solid product that will do what it advertises. It may have a bit of a clunky interface, and it does use Seagate drives (obviously), so if you're not too crazy about their hard disks (like some of my friends are), beware. However if you want a decent NAS to start with, don't want to run a server at all times at home, and don't run only Macintosh laptops, it will be worth your time to check out. It would also be a great device for someone who is just starting to need something more than flash drives and external hard drives.

Jon Westfall is the News Editor for Windows Phone Thoughts, a member of the Thoughts Media Network. When not writing about technology, he serves as the Associate Director for Research and Technology at the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia University. In his spare time, Dr. Westfall enjoys sleeping and eating, and spending time with his wife, Karey. You can learn more about him at his website, JonWestfall.Com.

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