Labs

Our initial impressions of this Nas device were very favourable. As with most products that work on Windows as well as the Mac OS, the driver CD contains a welter of confusing files irrelevant to Mac users, and you have to do a bit of detective work to figure out what files you actually need. With this drive, though, you're presented with a neat window with a custom background and one single Mac OS X-styled icon for the application that finds the NetCenter on the network.

Indeed, it is ease of use and user-friendliness that are the watchwords here. While

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many Nas configuration pages look like refugees from the 1990s, Western Digital's is smart and attractive. A system of wizards guides you through the process of setting up shared folders and adding external USB disks.

It quickly becomes apparent, though, that the NetCenter's simplicity might be restrictive for some users. It eschews the server-like system of users, groups and permissions in favour of simple share points, which can be public or have password assigned to them. And the functionality pretty much ends there. There's no web or FTP features, and if you want to add external disks to either of the two USB ports at the rear, they must be 'claimed' by the system and formatted before they can be used.

The WD EasyLink application that finds your server on the network can also mount it, and it gives you the choice of Windows or Unix network protocols. A copy of Retrospect Express is bundled to back up Macs and PCs on your network.

The Western Digital NetCenter is the cheapest device here and acquits itself well for very low-end, foolproof home use. However, the Maxtor drive offers similar easy setup and much more besides.