Western Digital Network Drives Crippled?

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I have gotten e-mail all morning about this story claiming that the MyBook network storage system from Western Digital disables the sharing of movies and music. This isn’t true, the drive will hold / store / share anything you like. The problem the person had wasn’t with the drive, it was with the personal private network software from MioNET and even then it is only limited to internet file sharing. So the WD drive works fine, one of the optional features is to blame, so there is no need for wide scale panic.

"This is the most extreme example I've seen yet of tech companies crippling data devices in order to please Hollywood: Western Digital is disabling sharing of any avi, divx, mp3, mpeg, and many other files on its network connected devices; due to unverifiable media license authentication'.
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as always, better blame others first before searching the fault at your side ;)
 
Oh great, now the guy probably gave Hollywood a great new idea to push for on hard drives. :D
 
I bet this guy feels really intelligent right about now. :)
 
So the guy goes out of the way to install a third party network protocol nobody's ever heard of and then blames Western Digital?

Why?

Whats wrong with TCP/IP, IPX/SPX and NetBios/NetBui anyways (besides the fact that NetBios don't work behind a router)?
 
Wow, who uses the junk software that so often comes with external drives?
Four Steps to Happy External Ownership
1. Buy drive
2. Connect drive to computer and power source
3. Quick Format
4. Use
 
N00b + PEBKAC + Blog = mass hysteria
 
Sovereign said:
Wow, who uses the junk software that so often comes with external drives?
Four Steps to Happy External Ownership
1. Buy drive
2. Connect drive to computer and power source
3. Quick Format
4. Use
Click to expand...

It's a network drive. It's not exactly plug and play.

Usually you can search for it in Microsoft's Search using Search for Computer on the Network.
 
Don't blame WD, blame the RIAA, the MPAA and Congress for making it so any device/software that enables illegal sharing of copyrighted material a crime even if it has legitimate uses. This is WD's legal dept. covering their asses from lawsuits.
 
AARGH! said:
Don't blame WD, blame the RIAA, the MPAA and Congress for making it so any device/software that enables illegal sharing of copyrighted material a crime even if it has legitimate uses. This is WD's legal dept. covering their asses from lawsuits.
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psst.. WD had nothing to do with the blockage whatsoever. Read the article and the replies above.
 
AARGH! said:
Uh read my post again, wasn't blaming them...
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I did read your post several times. You said WD was covering their asses and it was RIAA and MPAA's fault.

WD didn't do anything, be it covering themselves or blocked or anything at all. It's still the same storage medium since the day it came into existence.

It was something entirely else, a network protocol that guy chose to use.
 
Steve said:
This isn’t true, the drive will hold / store / share anything you like. The problem the person had wasn’t with the drive, it was with the personal private network software from MioNET and even then it is only limited to internet file sharing. So the WD drive works fine, one of the optional features is to blame, so there is no need for wide scale panic.
Click to expand...
Optional software? According to the product's page on the WD website, this is marketed at the "World Edition". As opposed to the non-World Edition, which is just an external drive.

So the ability to read files over the internet isn't an "optional feature"; It's one of the major selling points of this product. And it doesn't work as advertised.
 
Go to this link from WD's website:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc...SZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PS5hdmk*&p_li=&p_topview=1

It's the software that comes with it, and the response as to why those media types cannot be shared using it:

Due to unverifiable media license authentication, the following file types cannot be shared by different users using WD Anywhere Access.

Now why would that be...... hmmm... I read more than just the first page thank you. My response is my opinion as to why they would restrict it this way, given the current legal attacks the good folks at the RIAA and MPAA have about file sharing over the internet. Seems like the most logical reason why.

Azhar said:
I did read your post several times. You said WD was covering their asses and it was RIAA and MPAA's fault.

WD didn't do anything, be it covering themselves or blocked or anything at all. It's still the same storage medium since the day it came into existence.

It was something entirely else, a network protocol that guy chose to use.
Click to expand...
 
What about those security systems that record video on to the system and then to an external drive for back up?
 
Sounds to me that the solution is simple:

1. find the IP addy of the drive
2. use Search for Network or Computer (or the Linux and Mac equivilent).

Just avoid that network software entirely.

And to Arghh, I apologize. I wasn't aware the protocol was handed out by WD. I assumed since it was made by someone else other than WD, it wasn't theirs.
 
I guess you could find the IP addy of the drive and connect the drive through your PC, but I think the whole point of this drive was supposed to be that you don't have to do that.

If you connect it like that then you have to leave the PC powered on at all times to access the Data from the WD drive, instead of accessing the drive directly. If you're going to do that, why not save yourself some money and just stick some internal HDDs in an old PC and use it as a Linux file server??

...or am I missing the point here?:confused:
 
the m0nit0r said:
I guess you could find the IP addy of the drive and connect the drive through your PC, but I think the whole point of this drive was supposed to be that you don't have to do that.

If you connect it like that then you have to leave the PC powered on at all times to access the Data from the WD drive, instead of accessing the drive directly. If you're going to do that, why not save yourself some money and just stick some internal HDDs in an old PC and use it as a Linux file server??

...or am I missing the point here?:confused:
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you don't have to search for the drive everytime with my method. Once you find it, you can just map it and it'll act like a regular external drive.

Network drives are far far far superior to USB external drive, primarily because you could just plug it into a network hub or router rather than a pc, and anyone with the proper permission can access it.
 
So, if I am away from my computer and want to listen to my CDs on my home drive over the internet, I am screwed?
 
ICE_9 said:
So, if I am away from my computer and want to listen to my CDs on my home drive over the internet, I am screwed?
Click to expand...

Only if you use the supplied network driver. Use Window's own drivers and you'll be fine.
 
That's what I'm saying. By the looks of things, yes you are!

....unless someone comes up with a patch for the software that WD are distributing with it ;)
 
Azhar said:
Only if you use the supplied network driver. Use Window's own drivers and you'll be fine.
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Yes but that still will not allow you to use the WD drive as a stand-alone device, which is what it was meant for. You may as well go with the server idea
 
i actually have the WD 1.5 TB my book world edition II and cant stand the mionet software. I want to access this drive remotely as opposed to just on my own network. does anyone here also have the drive and a way to do this without using mionet?

thanks

D
 
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