Wichita, KS-based WiebeTech LLC noted today that it’s shipping its bus-powered Super DesktopGB. It’s a 3.5-inch desktop hard drive with FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces offering capacities up to 120GB.
Powered using the FireWire interface through WiebeTech’s own proprietary PowerBridge technology, the Super DesktopGB needs no external power supply to work on Macs or PCs with built-in FireWire interfaces. Some third-party FireWire interfaces don’t provide power over the bus — for those, WiebeTech includes an AC adapter.
The Super DesktopGB also utilizes 7200RPM drives and the Oxford Semiconductor OXFW911 bridge for maximum performance. WiebeTech said the drives have measured transfer rates greater than 30MB/sec.
If you’re using the drive with a PC, the Super DesktopGB can also work with USB 2.0-equipped systems. It’s downwardly compatible with USB 1.1, of course. It requires no drivers on Mac OS 9.1 or higher, including Mac OS X. The drive also has dual FireWire ports, so you can daisy-chain it to other FireWire peripherals.
The Super DesktopGB also includes MediaFour’s MacDrive 5 software — it enables the drive, if formatted for a Macintosh, to mount on Windows PCs as well.
Costs run from US$149.95 – $319.95, from a “0GB” user-configurable system to the 120GB model. More details are available from WiebeTech’s Web site.