S+ARCK Lacie hard drives

Check it. Looks pretty nice. The Stark symhol “+” projected LED is a nice touch and the combo of the melty chrome and the aluminum (I’m assuming) massed enclosure is a good contrast.

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2009/10/500x_Starck-Desktop_3-4_Front_01.jpg

ooo… just read about this feature. sounds sweet-

…the surface is touch sensitive, so you can assign actions to different kinds of touch. Example: A short tap will trigger the launch of an application, while a long caress can initiate an automatic backup.

I have the Neil Poulton one, and it’s great, though a finger print magnet, but it’s not like I touch it that often. The blue glow is nice and matches my Samsung TV and Harmon Kardon Amp/Tune/DVD set.

http://abproductionsnj.com/lacie_hard_drive_designed_by_neil_poulton.jpg

R

That is one sexy Hard Drive. I never thought I would ever use sexy and Hard Drive in the same sentence. I have been looking for a new external drive. I think I might have found it. I tend to stay away from things done by big name designers such as Stark, Graves, Rashid, but this really look like it was done right.

Good Find!!

On a personal level, I like both of them… other than the branding seeming a bit large, but maybe it will look better in person. It looks like the contrast in finishes is really very nice. Look forward to checking these out in store.

I was flipping through a Raymond Loewy book this week when I was at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and I’m continually amazed at the variety of work he did and how most of it had a very optimistic quality. I think he tried to amaze people.

Starck probably comes closest to that today, and I’m glad he is out there.

I wish he would coach he communications a bit more. saying design is dead and a waste might get you on a magazine cover, but at this stage in his life I think he would be better served to up lift the profession a bit, and that is where I think he differs from Loewy.

Still, glad to see Starck back at hardcore product.

Personally think it looks waaaaay to retro, like it should have come out with the first calculators

I like it, the inner reflective surface is puzzling and intriguiing, can quite wrap my head around it.

However I hate the designed by starck branded all over the front surface. It just does match, that type of branding really annoys me and is probably my biggest bug bear about Starck, interesting character but wish he would come across as more humble.

Yeah looks good and all, but I think the most beautiful external hard drive should be one that is invisible. The purpose of an external hard drive is added storage and data backup. Just like an internal hard drive, I don’t need to see it. It only needs to be visible on your computer’s desktop.

variety is the spice of life, your welcome to hide it, I want to to celebrate it, so I need an option as well.

typically, yes, but this i think the whole idea for LaCie’s designer drives is that some want to display it, and have it look good if it’s going to be visible anyhow (as they most often are sitting on your desk). This is the same thinking behind Starck’s juicer, which as I recall the point was to create a conversation starter (I remember some anecdote he told about how it was an object designed to start conversation in the uncomfortable silence that is present in your kitchen the first time your to be in laws come over to visit).

to each their own. personally, i’m generally more a fan of less design than more (that is objects should be more minimal to avoid “fighting” visually if they each have a different aesthetic), but I can appreciate the nice design work here.

R

I like that drive a lot, just like I like many of the other la cie hard drives like the Ora-Ito gold brick, Neil Poulton’s, and Stark’s other designs for them, but…

I have several backup drives for different things now, and they usually look a little over-designed when they are all together near my desk. I really don’t like how much attention some of these call to themselves and how they can clash with the overall look of the office room - they start looking like curios when they’re all together like that, less like modern art. The cables mess that illusion up a bit too

I would just get one huge one, but I’m a paranoid back-uper and like them to be handy for an overnight sync

Yes, external hard drives are objects of our time and we can certainly celebrate it by making it look stunning. And in fulfilling that objective, I think Starck did a good job at it (but I think I’ll give more credit to the gold brick).

With today’s technology however, there’s room for better solutions such as Apple’s Time Capsule and beyond that perhaps storing your data in the clouds. What Starck have designed is just following a common architype. Nothing really revolutionary there except that touch sensitive surface.