MyBook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MyBook is a series of external hard drives produced by Western Digital. There are currently three series of MyBook drives; Premium Edition drives, Essential Edition drives, and the new Pro Edition drives.
MyBook drives are designed to look like a standard black hardback book, with the exception of the Pro series which are silver. Other than the book-like appearance of the drive's case, MyBook drives are notable because the vent holes spell out a message in Morse Code.
Contents |
[edit] Essential Edition
[edit] Features
In addition to the book-like design, MyBook Essential drives have an unusual Intelligent Power Management feature that actually stops the drive platters after ten minutes of inactivity, rather than the usual expedient of slowing them down. The unit also turns on and off with the computer it is attached to. This feature has found interest with silent computing enthusiasts.
[edit] Physical design
Essential Edition MyBook drives are almost entirely black, with the exception of a single green light, used to indicate power, that surrounds the power button on the "spine" of the drive (the visible part of the drive if stacked in a bookshelf like a book).
If viewed as a book, where one would normally see the edges of each piece of paper, the drive case is perforated for ventilation using Morse Code (translation below).
[edit] Premium Edition
[edit] Features
Premium Edition drives have three addition features when compared with Essential Edition drives.
- FireWire 400 port(s)
- An external capacity gauge
- They ship with Western Digital backup software
[edit] Physical design
Premium Edition Mybook drives have the same black case as Essential Edition drives, however, the light surrounding the power button is blue. Also, inside the standard blue light is another blue circular light that lights up in 8 individual sections to indicate remaining drive capacity.
Presumably the Premium Edition drives also have the same Morse Code message as Essential Edition drives, however, this has not yet been verified.
[edit] Pro Edition
[edit] Features
Pro Edition drives have one additional feature when compared with Premium Edition drives.
- FireWire 800 port(s)
[edit] Physical design
Pro Edition Mybook drives have the same basic case design as Premium Edition drives, however, the case is silver rather than black.
Presumably the Pro Edition drives also have the same Morse Code message as Essential Edition and Premium Edition drives, however, this has not yet been verified.
[edit] Morse Code
The Morse Code message written into the drive case is translated below.
PERSONAL RELI ABLE INNOVATIVE SIMPLE INNOVA TIVE PERSONAL D ESIGN RELIABLE INNOVATI VE DESIGN PERSONAL DES IGN SIMPLE INNOVATIV E SIMPLE RELIABLE DESIG
Word length and frequency may or may not be part of a secondary cipher. The words "DESIGN" and "SIMPLE" each have 6 letters, "PERSONAL" and "RELIABLE" each have 8 letters, and "INNOVATIVE" has 10 letters. The frequency of the words contained in the message is as follows:
DESIGN 4 INNOVATIVE 4 PERSONAL 3 RELIABLE 3 SIMPLE 3 Total 17
[edit] External links
- http://westerndigital.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=5 The official Western Digital page for My Book drives
- http://www.vnunet.com/2152255 An article noting that Western Digital claims (with no source citation) that MyBook drives actually have Morse Code written in the case. Refer to the official Western Digital My Book webpage for Flash demo with Morse Code explanation.
